Navy League 2026: Honeywell reshores production of F124 jet engine

Honeywell Aerospace Technologies F124-GA-200 turbofan engine (Honeywell Aerospace Technologies)

Honeywell plans to expand manufacturing of F124 jet engines at its facility in Phoenix, Arizona, by adding on-site assembly, the company said in a 20 April statement. The new-build F124-GA-200 engines are intended for the Beechcraft M-346N jet trainer being offered for the US Navy's Undergraduate Jet Training System (UJTS) programme, according to the statement.

The move enables Honeywell to “co-locate production of the F124 on site alongside the existing engineering and design centre in support of the UJTS programme”, the statement said.

The navy is expected to award contracts for the UJTS programme in 2027, the statement noted, adding that assembly of F124 engines for the M-346N would begin after that if the Beechcraft aircraft is selected.

More than 400 F124 engines are anticipated to be built over the next 13 years, the statement added.

Origins

The F124 was originally designed by Honeywell in Phoenix to US standards for the Taiwanese Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF), John Turco, general manager for engines and power systems for Honeywell Aerospace Technologies, told Janes on 20 April during the Navy League Sea-Air-Space 2026 exhibition in National Harbor, Maryland.

The original model was equipped with an afterburner and designated F125, he noted, adding that 50% of the IDF engines were required to be built in Taiwan.

Honeywell has built more than 860 of the F124 engine cores since, including 325 with the afterburner, Turco said.

Platforms include the Taiwanese T-5 Brave Eagle jet trainer, the Czech Aero Vodochody L-159, as well as the Leonardo M-346, which forms the basis for the M-346N being offered for the UJTS programme, he added.