Pratt & Whitney F100

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The Pratt & Whitney F100 is a high-bypass turbofan engine with a post-combustion chamber, designed by Pratt & Whitney for use in the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets. In 1967, the US Navy and US Air Force jointly issued a request for proposals for an engine to power the F-14 Tomcat and F-15 Eagle. This joint project was called Advanced Turbine Engine Gas Generator (ATEGG), with the goal of increasing thrust while reducing weight to achieve a power-to-weight ratio of 9:1. In 1970, Pratt & Whitney was awarded a contract for the production of F100-PW-100 engines for the USAF and F401-PW-400 engines for the USN. However, the Navy later canceled its order and chose to continue using the Pratt & Whitney TF30 engine from the F-111 on its F-14 Tomcats. The TF30 proved to be a poor performer in the Tomcat, leading to numerous problems with the aircraft. The F100-PW-100 made its first flight on an F-15 Eagle in 1972, producing 23,930 pounds of thrust. However, due to the advanced nature of the engine and the aircraft, many issues were encountered during its early operational period, including wear, stall, and over-pressure of the post-combustion chamber. These over-pressures could be caused by a failure to ignite the post-combustion or its extinction shortly after ignition, resulting in large fuel jets burning in the engine nozzle, leading to high pressure that causes the engine to stall. These initial problems were resolved, and the F100 remains in service with the US Air Force to this day. The F-16 Fighting Falcon entered service with the F100-PW-200, which is similar to the -100 version. In an effort to reduce unit costs, the USAF launched the Alternative Fighter Engine (AFE) program in 1984, under which the engine contract would be awarded through competitive bidding. The F-16C/D Block 30/32 was the first aircraft to be built with a cockpit compartment that could accept either the existing engine or the General Electric F110.