GKN and Pratt & Whitney to 3D print F135 engine parts

GKN and Pratt Whitney just signed a deal for the F135

GKN Aerospace and RTX's Pratt & Whitney have signed a Technology Development Agreement to explore additive manufacturing for large structural parts of the F135 engine. The F135 is the powerplant behind the F-35 Lightning II, so this is not a small component we are talking about. The companies want to build a working demonstrator and deliver certified parts by 2028.

Why this is a bigger deal than it sounds

Additive manufacturing has spent years proving itself on brackets, ducts, and small housings. Large load-bearing engine cases are a different class of problem. They have to survive heat, pressure, and vibration for the life of a combat aircraft. If GKN and Pratt Whitney can print one at scale and certify it, that opens the door for the rest of the engine.

The work will be led from GKN's facility in Kongsberg, Norway. A first pilot component is expected in 2027. GKN brings real production experience here: it already reached full-rate production of the fan case mount ring for Pratt Whitney's geared turbofans using laser metal deposition, and it runs directed energy deposition centers in Trollhattan, Bristol, and Fort Worth.

The competitive angle

This agreement lands as a direct challenge to Norsk Titanium, which has pushed its own near-net-shape titanium process for aerospace structures. GKN's move signals that the big suppliers would rather own this capability in house than buy it from a specialist. That is how additive goes mainstream in defense supply chains: not as a curiosity, but as a line item in the prime's own factory.

Where this fits in the wider trend

GKN is not stopping at the F135. It is advancing inner and outer ring structures for the geared turbofan family and working on split engine cases that are in certification now. On the GE side, it is developing additive work for the GEnx that powers the 787 and the in-development GE9X for the 777X.

For makers watching from the garage, the takeaway is simple. The same laser and electron beam processes that build an F135 case are cousins of the metal printers showing up on workbenches. The technology is moving from lab demo to flight-certified part, and that raises the ceiling for everyone.