TAE Aerospace Bundamba facility reaches Pratt & Whitney F135 engine fan and power module maintenance capability

An Ipswich jet and tank engine repair and maintenance facility has become a vital player in the Asia Pacific region.

Ipswich’s TAE Aerospace has become the first location in the Asia-Pacific region capable of performing repairs and maintenance on the F135 jet engine fan and power module.

The RAAF aircraft and tank facility built at the former Master’s hardware site at Bundamba in 2019 has achieved the requirements for repair of the Pratt & Whitney F135 engine fan and power modules used in all three variants of the fifth generation F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft.

Build from the shell of the failed hardware giant, which TAE purchased for $12.5 million in 2018 before spending $66 million converting it into a maintenance hub for tank and jet engines, the facility has been in operation for about 18 months, employing about 200 people.

TAE Aerospace CEO Andrew Sanderson said the achievement marked a critical point in the development of a regional F135 engine maintenance and repair facility.

TAE Aerospace has reached a significant milestone at its Bundamba facility. CEO Andrew Sanderson (inset).

TAE Aerospace will support engines for all F-35 operators in the Asia-Pacific region under the F-35’s Global Support System.

“The investment made by the Commonwealth of Australia and TAE Aerospace over the past five years will result in benefits for both Australia — with an important sovereign industrial capability now available in country — as well as at the local level, with the creation of many jobs over the coming years,” Mr. Sanderson said.

Pratt and Whitney military engines sustainment operations vice president O Sung Kwon said the activation of the Ipswich depot would bring increased capacity to the global maintenance network for the fleet.

TAE Aerospace project manager Tibor Ban; TAE Aerospace CEO Andrew Sanderson; ICON project manager Angus Walker at the Bundamba site when it was still under construction.

Since being assigned the Asia-Pacific region’s F135 engine maintenance responsibility in 2015, TAE Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney and the Australian Government have delivered a broad range of initiatives including the development of the new 16,000 square metre turbine engine maintenance facility at Bundamba.

The completion of the first fan module repair outside the US was achieved in February last year, followed by the completion of the first power module outside the US in May this year.

Mr Sanderson said all three organisations had worked closely towards the milestone over the past six years.