Honeywell, a company that makes systems for airplanes, says it can improve the power and cooling performance of the F-35 fighter jet by 25%.
Small Change, Big Impact
What makes this announcement stand out is that they claim to do this without adding any new physical parts to the aircraft. Instead, the upgrade would happen through a software change.
The military uses the F-35, a stealth fighter plane. It is packed with powerful electronics such as sensors and communication systems. These parts help the jet complete difficult missions. But all that advanced equipment creates a lot of heat, and the current system that cools everything down is struggling to keep up.
This cooling system, called the Power and Thermal Management System (PTMS), also gives power to many parts of the plane and serves as the backup power source when needed. The F-35 has needed additional power and cooling as new features have been introduced over time.
The current system can’t handle the extra load properly, which has led to problems like the engine being overworked. When the engine gets pushed too hard, it needs to be repaired more often, which adds to the cost and time needed to keep the jet ready for use.
Honeywell believes it can solve a large part of this problem with just a software update. This would increase the PTMS performance by 25% and help support the new systems that are planned to be added to the jet in the future.
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Software Over Hardware
What makes this solution interesting is that Honeywell is not asking to change any of the physical parts inside the jet. Instead, they are offering a software upgrade that would raise the PTMS output to 40 kilowatts (kW). That’s the level of power thought to be necessary for the next big set of changes to the F-35, known as Block 4 upgrades. These changes include more advanced weapons and better communication tools.
The specific requirements for a PTMS update have not yet been made public by the US government. For now, work is being done to improve the F-35’s main engine by the company that makes it. But a report from 2023 said that by 2029, the cooling and power system will need its own upgrade. Without that, the new systems being added to the jet might not work properly.
Honeywell is not stopping at the 25% improvement. They say they are also preparing a future plan to deliver up to 80 kW of power by making some minor changes to the current hardware. They believe that most of the system—about 95%—can stay the same, and the software will remain mostly unchanged too. That means very little will need to be redesigned or retrained for.
To prepare for this, Honeywell is using computer models to test different ways to improve the PTMS, even before official requirements are set. This helps them get ready in advance, so they can act quickly when needed.
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Competing Ideas, Different Approaches
There are other businesses providing a solution besides Honeywell. The Enhanced Power and Cooling System (EPACS), a brand-new cooling and power system, is being developed by another business. This new system promises to deliver the same 80 kW output but would replace the current system entirely. The company claims it can be added to the F-35 without changing the structure of the jet, and that it will work for all three types of F-35 aircraft.
In February, this company tested a working version of EPACS, and it was said to be ready for the next stage of development. They are also ready to begin working with the jet’s main builder to start fitting the new system into real planes.
This situation is similar to an earlier decision involving the jet’s main engine. At that time, there was a debate over whether to build a whole new engine or just improve the existing one. In the end, the military chose to upgrade the current engine because it was faster, cheaper, and worked better with all versions of the F-35.
Honeywell is using the same argument for their PTMS upgrade. They say their solution will cost a lot less and be much quicker to install. They also point out that it won’t require mechanics to learn new maintenance procedures or change the parts supply system already in place.
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According to Honeywell, the cost savings from choosing their upgrade over a brand-new system could be more than $7 billion over the life of the aircraft. On top of that, the time it would take to upgrade each aircraft with their system is only about one week. Installing a whole new system, by comparison, could take up to seven weeks per jet.
The military has not yet reached a definitive conclusion. Both companies are still working on their own versions using their own money while they wait. They are preparing for the moment when the official plan is shared and the real competition begins.
Honeywell says they are ready for whatever comes next. They are certain that they comprehend the F-35 and the system’s requirements. While the path forward is not yet clear, what is certain is that improvements to power and cooling are necessary if the jet is to keep up with new demands.