StandardAero has announced that it has successfully achieved all Initial Depot Capability (IDC) requirements for the repair and overhaul of the Pratt & Whitney F135 engine, which powers all three variants of the 5thÿGeneration F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft. With this achievement, StandardAero?s F135 Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul and Upgrade (MRO&U) facility, or depot, in the Netherlands becomes the first fully operational F135 engine depot outside of the United States.
The IDC milestone was reached following the qualification of StandardAero?s assembly and disassembly capability for the F135?s fan and power modules as well as engine test operations at its state-of-the-art 30,000 square foot facility in the Netherlands, located at the Logistics Center Woensdrecht (LCW) of the Royal Netherlands Air Force. This facility features the first purpose-built international test cell for the F135 engine that was designed and constructed from the ground up to support F135 aftermarket test operations.
?Since our acquisition of DutchAero Services in March of 2015, we have been purposefully driving toward standing up our capabilities at LCW and operationalizing our F135 engine MRO services,? said Marc Drobny, President of Military & Energy for StandardAero. ?We are proud to achieve the IDC milestone status and grateful for the collaborative efforts of all of our partners.?
The U.S. Department of Defense selected the Netherlands as one of the F135 MRO&U European regional depots in late 2014. Since that time, the Netherlands Ministry of Defence, the F-35 Joint Program Office, StandardAero, and Pratt & Whitney have worked collaboratively over the past six years to standup this regional MRO&U capability which will support the Royal Netherlands Air Force as well as other F-35 operators in the region under the F-35?s Global Support System.
?Congratulations to the joint industry and government team on achieving IDC for the Netherlands F135 depot,? said O Sung Kwon, Vice President, Pratt & Whitney Military Engines Sustainment Operations. ?This critical sustainment milestone is the culmination of years of planning, construction, deployments, training and qualification. I?m exceptionally proud of how this team navigated the various challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic to standup this F135 MRO&U capability on-time for the customer.?
?For decades, StandardAero has been an excellent provider of MRO&U services across both our military and commercial franchises,? added Kwon. ?This includes more than 40 years of experience on our F100 engine, with over 3,000 overhauls. We are proud to expand on this partnership with the F135 engine, which will power the F-35 fighter for the next 50 years.?
