StandardAero in the Netherlands has achieved all initial depot capability (IDC) requirements for the repair and overhaul of the Pratt & Whitney F135 engine.

The F135 powers all three variants of the fifth generation Generation F-35 fighter aircraft.

With this achievement, StandardAero’s F135 maintenance, repair, overhaul and upgrade (MRO&U) facility in the Netherlands becomes the first fully operational F135 engine depot outside the US.

The IDC milestone was reached following the qualification of StandardAero’s assembly and disassembly capability for the F135’s fan and power modules as well as engine test operations at its state-of-the-art 30,000ft² facility in the Netherlands, located at the Logistics Center Woensdrecht (LCW) of the Royal Netherlands Air Force.

This facility features the first purpose-built international test cell for the F135 engine that was designed and constructed from the ground up to support F135 aftermarket test operations.

“Since our acquisition of DutchAero Services in March of 2015, we have been purposefully driving toward standing up our capabilities at LCW and operationalising our F135 engine MRO services,” said Marc Drobny, president of military and energy for StandardAero. “We are proud to achieve the IDC milestone status and grateful for the collaborative efforts of all of our partners.”

The US Department of Defense selected the Netherlands as one of the F135 MRO&U European regional depots in late 2014. Since that time, the Netherlands Ministry of Defence, the F-35 Joint Program Office, StandardAero, and Pratt & Whitney have worked collaboratively over the past six years to standup this regional MRO&U capability which will support the Royal Netherlands Air Force as well as other F-35 operators in the region under the F-35’s Global Support System.

With the declaration of IDC, the Netherlands depot will immediately begin supporting fan and power module repairs for the F135 engine fleet, providing increased capacity to the global F135 MRO&U network.

Modules will be disassembled, repaired, and reassembled by StandardAero personnel with technical assistance from Pratt & Whitney, followed by testing and return-to-service of the module for use by global operators of the F135 engine.

This F135 MRO&U capability brings significant benefits to the Dutch workforce and industry, from high quality jobs to the technical expertise and know-how gained from the maintenance and repair of the most advanced fighter engine in the world.

www.prattwhitney.com