Honeywell Enhances F-35 Support and Fleet Readiness

Continued Support for U.S. Government and International Depots Strengthens Fleet Readiness

Honeywell has strengthened its longstanding support for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program by facilitating depot activation and sustainment activities worldwide in partnership with Lockheed Martin to ensure the reliability and effective maintenance of the F-35 system.

As part of the U.S. Government's (USG) commitment to the ongoing sustainability of the F-35 program, the Joint Program Office has designated Fleet Readiness Center East (FRC-E) in Cherry Point, North Carolina, as the USG depot responsible for the repair of 32 Power and Thermal Management System (PTMS) components. Honeywell has supported depot activation for this site since 2011.

Delivery of a PTMS turbomachine Modular Test Cell (MTC) to FRC-E is one of Honeywell’s many repair capability transfers to strengthen USG’s organic sustainment of the F-35 PTMS. Other notable achievements include repair capability transfers to FRC-E for PTMS fuel controls in 2016, valves in 2017, pumps and fans in 2021, controllers and turbomachines in 2022, and heat exchangers in 2023.

“Honeywell’s support for the F-35 program dates back more than 20 years to when the joint strike fighter was first conceptualized, and we are able to leverage our extensive experience, resources, and technical capabilities to meet current and future warfighter needs,” said Matt Milas, President, Defense and Space, Honeywell Aerospace Technologies. 

Honeywell has also partnered Lockheed Martin, the F-35 Joint Program Office, and international allies to establish PTMS repair capabilities in the European and Asia-Pacific regions. In 2022, Honeywell successfully transferred PTMS turbomachine repair capability to Aeronamic, which is co-located at the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) base in Woensdrecht, Netherlands. An MTC is on track for delivery to the RNLAF in late 2025 to enable full turbomachine test capability after repairs. In addition, Honeywell is pursuing opportunities in Australia to transfer repair capabilities for a select group of PTMS components.

Honeywell’s PTMS combines all the functions of an auxiliary power unit, emergency power unit, environmental control system, and thermal management system in one highly integrated package. The PTMS is the only system of its kind in operation, with its operational performance and maturity proven throughout the more than 971,700 flight hours of over 1,100 F-35 aircraft delivered to date.

PTMS is not a “plug-and-play” system; it is the heart and circulatory system of the F-35. In addition to supplying cooling for avionics systems during normal in-flight operations, PTMS performs many safety-critical functions, such as cooling and pressurizing the cockpit, providing oxygen to the pilot, sealing and defogging the canopy, inerting the fuel tanks, supplying emergency power to primary flight controls if the main engine fails, and supplying ram air cooling to the cockpit and air-cooled avionics to enable a safe landing during an in-flight emergency.

Honeywell supplies many advanced technologies onboard the F-35. Each F-35 contains over 100 unique Honeywell parts, including radio frequency components in the AN/APG-81 radar and AN/ASQ-239 electronic warfare countermeasure system, radar altimeter, inertial navigation systems, engine fuel controls, wheels and brakes, pilot life support systems, as well as the Power and Thermal Management System (PTMS).