Pratt & Whitney licenses Hermeus to produce F100 fighter engines for vertical integration and second-source supply
RTX's Pratt & Whitney has licensed Hermeus to manufacture the F100-PW-229 fighter engine in the United States. Hermeus CEO Zach Shore told Breaking Defense the company can now vertically integrate production of its Quarterhorse drone and serve as a second source for Pratt's F100 powerplant, which equips F-15 and F-16 fighters. The license allows Hermeus to build engines domestically rather than rely on Pratt's supply chain.
Why it matters: Pratt is licensing a startup to build fighter engines—unthinkable a decade ago, now a hedge against sole-source risk and a vote of confidence in Hermeus's manufacturing capability.
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