RTX's Collins Aerospace EPACS power and thermal management system ready for aircraft integration
Rhea-AI Summary
Collins Aerospace, an RTX business, has achieved a significant milestone in testing its Enhanced Power and Cooling System (EPACS), a next-generation power and thermal management system. The system, designed to replace the F-35's current PTMS, demonstrates more than double the cooling capacity of existing solutions.
Following the 2024 announcement of EPACS achieving 80 kilowatts of cooling capacity, the system has now reached Technology Readiness Level 6. Collins has invested heavily in thermal systems development labs to validate EPACS performance across various operational conditions, positioning it for the Engineering & Manufacturing Development phase once a competition is launched.
The technology's dual-use capability makes it suitable for both military applications, including sixth-generation fighters, and commercial aircraft, addressing the increasing cooling demands of modern aviation systems.
Positive
- Successfully tested next-gen PTMS with doubled cooling capacity
- Achieved Technology Readiness Level 6, ready for integration
- Potential market expansion to commercial aviation sector
- Strategic positioning for F-35 upgrade contract opportunity
Negative
- Competition for F-35 PTMS replacement not yet launched
- Significant investment required in development labs
Insights
RTX's Collins Aerospace has achieved a critical milestone with its Enhanced Power and Cooling System (EPACS), successfully testing a fully functional demonstrator that delivers double the cooling capacity of the current F-35 system. This technological advancement is strategically significant as it directly addresses a critical constraint in modern aircraft development - thermal management.
The system has reached Technology Readiness Level 6, the maturity threshold typically required before entering Engineering & Manufacturing Development phase. This positions Collins favorably for when Lockheed Martin launches the competition to replace the F-35's current power and thermal management system.
What makes EPACS particularly valuable is its dual-use potential. As both commercial and military aircraft incorporate increasingly power-hungry technologies, thermal management becomes a important bottleneck. Collins has strategically invested millions in specialized thermal systems development labs to validate EPACS across various environmental conditions.
This achievement represents more than just a product enhancement - it's a capability enabler for future F-35 upgrades and potentially other platforms. As modern aircraft essentially become flying supercomputers with advanced sensor suites, weapons systems, and electronics, the limiting factor increasingly becomes heat dissipation rather than physical space or power generation. Collins is positioning itself at this critical technological intersection.
This EPACS development represents a significant competitive positioning move by RTX in the high-value defense sustainment and upgrade market. The F-35 program, with its massive lifetime value and global footprint of over 970 aircraft delivered to date, creates substantial long-term revenue opportunities through system upgrades.
By proactively developing a solution for the F-35's anticipated cooling requirements, Collins has established a technical advantage before the formal competition has even begun. The thermal management challenge is particularly acute for the F-35 platform as it undergoes Block 4 modernization and subsequent upgrades, which will introduce more powerful computing systems and sensor packages.
The dual-use potential expands EPACS' market beyond just the F-35. Sixth-generation fighter programs across multiple nations and next-generation commercial aircraft will face similar thermal challenges. RTX is effectively creating a technological moat in an increasingly critical subsystem area.
From an investor perspective, this represents RTX's continued execution on its strategy to capture high-margin aftermarket and upgrade business across its installed base. The company's willingness to invest millions in specialized testing facilities demonstrates commitment to maintaining technological leadership in critical subsystems that enable platform capability growth. While not an immediate revenue driver, this positions RTX favorably for significant future contract opportunities as thermal management becomes an increasingly critical constraint in advanced aircraft design.
Technology will provide increased cooling to enable enhanced capabilities on F-35 and future defense and commercial aircraft
"As the F-35 is modernized with advanced weapons and mission equipment, increased cooling will be required to dissipate all the heat these new systems will generate," said Henry Brooks, president, Power & Controls for Collins Aerospace. "EPACS can deliver that cooling and with our successful demonstrator test, we stand ready to begin the integration process with Lockheed Martin and help service members meet their urgent mission requirements."
Collins has invested millions into state-of-the-art thermal systems development labs, allowing engineers to simulate relevant, real-world combat aircraft conditions. Using these labs, Collins validated the EPACS demonstrator's performance across a range of temperatures, pressures, air flow rates and humidities to achieve Technology Readiness Level 6. Most customers typically require this level of maturity for a new technology before entering the Engineering & Manufacturing Development phase, which would be the next step for EPACS, once a competition to replace the current F-35 PTMS has been launched and a winner has been selected.
In addition to F-35, as a dual-use technology, EPACS technologies could be applied to a range of future military and commercial aircraft, including sixth-generation fighters and passenger planes. Much like combat aircraft, passenger planes are incorporating newer, more power-hungry technologies that require more robust thermal management systems like EPACS.
About RTX
RTX is the world's largest aerospace and defense company. With more than 185,000 global employees, we push the limits of technology and science to redefine how we connect and protect our world. Through industry-leading businesses – Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, and Raytheon – we are advancing aviation, engineering integrated defense systems for operational success, and developing next-generation technology solutions and manufacturing to help global customers address their most critical challenges. The company, with 2024 sales of more than
For questions or to schedule an interview, please contact corporatepr@rtx.com
View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rtxs-collins-aerospace-epacs-power-and-thermal-management-system-ready-for-aircraft-integration-302387977.html
SOURCE RTX
FAQ
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