TAE Aerospace has successfully achieved Initial Depot Capability (IDC) requirements for the repair of the Pratt & Whitney F135 engine fan and power modules, which power all three variants of the F-35s.
With this achievement, TAE Aerospace’s F135 Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul and Upgrade (MRO&U) facility, or depot, in Australia becomes the first operational F135 engine depot in the Asia-Pacific region and has begun supporting the repair of fan and power modules for the fleet.
The module IDC milestone was reached with the completion of a full rebuild of an F135 power module at TAE Aerospace’s Queensland facility. This achievement follows the company’s successful fan module repair qualification in 2020.
According to TAE Aerospace’s CEO, Andrew Sanderson, achieving module IDC marks a critical point in the development of a regional F135 engine MRO&U capability. As an operational F135 engine depot outside of the US, TAE Aerospace will support engines for all F-35 operators in the Asia-Pacific region under the F-35’s Global Support System.
“The investment made by the Commonwealth of Australia and TAE Aerospace over the past five years will result in benefits for both Australia, with an important sovereign industrial capability now available in country, as well as at the local level, with the creation of many jobs over the coming years,” Sanderson said.
“We congratulate the TAE Aerospace team on reaching this critical sustainment milestone for the F135 engine,” O Sung Kwon, Vice President, Pratt & Whitney Military Engines Sustainment Operations, said. “The activation of the Australia depot will bring increased capacity to the global F135 MRO&U network in support of the growing fleet.
"Standing up the regional MRO&U depots is an integral part of the enterprise’s strategy to accelerate capacity growth across the F135 MRO&U network to exceed program requirements.”