Pratt & Whitney, a unit of RTX (NYSE: RTX), has signed a new production licensing agreement with Hermeus for its F100-PW-229 fighter engine.
The agreement grants Hermeus the rights to manufacture the F100-PW-229, one of the most widely deployed engines across U.S. military fighter aircraft fleets.
Hermeus operates under a rapid build model, which could support schedule discipline, cost control, and customer confidence on long-running engine programs.
The new licensing deal effectively gives Pratt & Whitney another qualified production source, strengthening supply chain resilience and overall manufacturing throughput.
Separately, Pratt & Whitney completed the F135 Engine Core Upgrade Risk Reduction Design Review, a significant milestone for the engine that powers the F-35 fighter jet.
The design review completion signals growing technical maturity for the F135 upgrade program, which has been a closely watched development effort within the defense propulsion sector.
RTX is a U.S.-based aerospace and defense group with a market value of approximately $266.4 billion, supplying engines, systems, and services to military, commercial, and government customers worldwide.
Progress on fighter propulsion programs feeds directly into one of RTX’s most globally visible business franchises, with implications for margins and backlog execution.
Both the F135 design milestone and the F100 production license reflect RTX’s broader push into technology-heavy defense work while managing engine-related program risks.
The next critical marker for investors will be whether the F135 Engine Core Upgrade transitions from design milestones into funded production and retrofit orders across the existing fleet, with clear timing and committed volumes.
That shift would confirm that the validated design is converting into real workload, and would test whether RTX’s engine industrial base can deliver against demanding program schedules.
RTX’s fighter propulsion moves come as defense budgets remain elevated and demand for advanced military aircraft engines continues to grow across allied nations.
