In another coup over Connecticut rival General Electric Co., East Hartford jet-engine builder Pratt & Whitney Co. says its powerplant for the prototype for the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter has landed a permanent place of honor in the Smithsonian Institution.
The JSF119 propulsion system has been installed by the Smithsonian at its National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va.
The propulsion system was the power behind Lockheed Martin’s X-35B, the precursor to the F-35B, that flew in 2001.
That aircraft also is on display at the museum, located adjacent to Washington-Dulles International Airport.
Meanwhile, GE is scrambling to convince federal budget and policy planners to reverse their course and also adopt its version of the F-35 engine for the fighter.
