This is a rendering of the US Air Force’s future crewed Next-generation Air Dominance (NGAD) combat aircraft by the US Air Force Research Laboratory. Credit: RTX.

The US Department of Defense (DoD) awarded two distinct contracts modifications, now worth up to $3.5bn each, on 27 January 2025 for the development of two competing jet engine prototypes.

General Electric (GE) and RTX’s Pratt and Whitney (P&W) are in the running to supply an advanced engine to power the sixth generation crewed fighter at the centre of the US Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) programme.

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Both engines are scheduled to be completed two days apart in July 2032. They are currently in development under a portion of NGAD known as the Next Generation Adaptive Propulsion (NGAP) effort.

In August 2024, the Senate Appropriations Committee stated it supports the competitive acquisition strategy for NGAP and “notes the importance of maintaining no fewer than two viable competitors to ensure innovation and cost realism.”

At the time, the Committee recommended an additional $280m – on top of the $562.3m allocated to NGAP in the President’s 2025 Budget Request – only to maintain competition for the engine development and to reduce programme risk.

Competing prototypes

At present, GE is developing a variable-cycle XA102 engine prototype while P&W is designing an XA103 engine prototype.

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The DoD stated that it had raised the ceiling for these prototypes to ensure the two vendors deliver a propulsion system with a flexible architecture that can be tailored for future combat aircraft operating across various mission threads; and digitally transforming the propulsion industrial base.

Notably, P&W’s XA103 prototype will benefit from a digital design, which the company suggests will “cut lead times and improve efficiency and effectiveness.”

P&W is already providing its F135 engine to power the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. However, F135 is currently undergoing an upgrade under the Block 4 modernisation effort to improve the overworked unit’s power and cooling to meet new and emerging aerial threats. A digital design will help to pre-empt future engine concerns such as the F135 capacity issue.

Meanwhile, in May 2024, GE announced that it had completed the next series of testing for its XA100 engine, and that the data from this test will inform engineers in developing its XA102 prototype for NGAP.