Pratt & Whitney is developing a high-performance demonstrator
engine aimed at future unmanned air vehicle (UAV) requirements.
The engine will be based on the PW800 core and is being tested
under a 39-month, $12.7 million contract from Naval Air Systems
Command, as part of the Joint Technology Demonstrator Engine (JTDE)
program.
The PW800-based demonstrator will incorporate lightweight materials
in hot sections of the engine and is expected to deliver a high
specific thrust (thrust per unit of airflow) within a compact,
efficient design. It is aimed at intelligence, surveillance and
reconnaissance UAVs and at high-Mach aircraft.
UAV engines meet a unique set of requirements. In particular,
many UAV designs-such as the flying-wing configurations proposed
for the Air Force/Navy Joint Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (JUCAV)
program-require high-performance, very compact propulsion systems
that include stealthy inlets and nozzles within a short overall
length. P&W touts its experience with the F/A-22 and F-35
fighter programs in this area. The company also helped Northrop
Grumman to make an off-the-shelf JT15D-5C engine work behind the
curved, slit-shaped inlet of the X-47A Pegasus UCAV demonstrator.
The PW800 program will help Pratt & Whitney challenge rival
General Electric, which has already been selected to provide the
F404 engine for the Boeing X-45C operational-size UCAV demonstrator.
The definitive JUCAV is expected to need an engine of 12,000 pounds
thrust or more. P&W's goal is an engine "with a common
commercial core," says P&W program coordinator Clay Small.
Pratt & Whitney is also promoting its existing small engines
for UAV use. Under a separate Army program the company is studying
an advanced, very efficient 500 shp turbine engine for vehicles
such as the long-endurance A160 Hummingbird helicopter.
