Honeywell has successfully demonstrated the ability to upgrade the current cooling capacity of the F-35’s power and thermal management system (PTMS) to 80kW. Honeywell has been the supplier of the F-35’s PTMS for the past two decades and will now be best-positioned to support future mission systems’ modernisation requirements. With this significantly enhanced cooling capability, Honeywell now far exceeds the current 32kW cooling needs of the U.S. military and its allied partners.
Although Honeywell’s PTMS meets the current airframe requirement in service for the F-35, the F-35 Lightning II Joint Programme Office (JPO) indicated in 2023 that more cooling power would be needed in the F-35 to support advanced avionics in future generations of aircraft. Honeywell has now proved it can offer a low-risk and affordable solution that meets the JPO’s future needs all while utilising the existing supply base and sustainment network.
To demonstrate the 80kW cooling capability, Honeywell used a digital twin of the PTMS, which utilised data from over 2,500 hours of performance testing in Honeywell’s test facility and more than 750,000 hours of in-flight experience. The digital twin incorporated low-risk advancements to heat exchangers and controls changes that further optimise system performance. These modest changes significantly increased cooling potential, while simultaneously maintaining all existing critical interfaces with airplane thermal systems without invasive redesigns or concurrency.
Honeywell’s PTMS is a proven, low-risk solution that has undergone years of development and decades in service. Since 2006, more than 1,000 PTMS have been delivered, with more than 750,000 flight hours logged and an extensive network of sustainment depots established across the globe. In addition to providing cooling systems aboard the F-35, PTMS also serves many other purposes critical to flight safety.
