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14h ago

Air Force Awards EMD Contract for GE–Kratos F143 Turbofan as JASSM Second Source

The contract seeks to establish a domestic backup supplier to ease production strain and scale low-cost missile engine manufacturing.

JASSM is one of Lockheed Martin's first cruise missiles.
Pictured is a U.S. Air Force photo of personnel moving an AGM-158 for loading onto a B-52 bomber during an exercise at Barksdale AFB, La. in 2022.
JASSM hangs inside the South Dakota Air and Space Museum
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Overview

  • The Air Force on Monday, August 17, 2026, designated the GEK800 as military engine type F143‑ZZ‑100 and gave GE Aerospace and Kratos an Engineering, Manufacturing and Development contract to mature it as a second‑source engine for the JASSM family.
  • The F143 is an approximately 800‑pound‑thrust turbofan that GE and Kratos have developed since 2023 with internal funding and support from the Air Force Research Laboratory.
  • The joint program has completed more than 50 ground engine starts and finished altitude testing at Purdue University’s Maurice J. Zucrow Laboratories in October 2025, but the engine remains in development and is not yet fielded.
  • Williams International remains the incumbent supplier through its F107 engine and a December 2024 Pentagon award to expand F107 production, so the F143 is intended to add supplier redundancy rather than immediately replace existing engines.
  • Program leaders say the award supports a broader Department of Defense push to rebuild U.S. capacity for low‑cost, mass‑producible jet engines for missiles and uncrewed platforms, a move that could reduce single‑supplier risk and help meet rising demand for long‑range weapons.