Pratt & Whitney F100

One of the two interchangeable engine options for the F-15 and F-16 (the other being GE's F110), competing since the 1980s 'Great Engine War'. The -229 is the current-production high-thrust variant fitted to late-model F-15E/EX and F-16C/D Block 50/52/70/72 airframes.

In service since 1991

Compiled from public sources ·primary reference ↗ ·last verified 2026-08-10

129

kN thrust

1,696

7.78

T/W

Procurement snapshot

Availability & export

US ITAR-controlled

Export needs U.S. State Dept (DDTC) approval; end-use & re-transfer restrictions apply.

Channel: Foreign Military Sales (FMS) or Direct Commercial Sale

Fielded & proven

Operator data not public

In service since 1991. Status: active.

Lifecycle cost (est.)

No public unit price to model from. Why so few systems publish one →

Interoperability

No standardised NATO calibre / datalink detected in public specs.

Derived guidance from public data, export regime by country of origin, lifecycle from the GAO ~30% acquisition rule. Verify eligibility, pricing and offsets with the manufacturer and your acquisition authority.

Overview

The F100-PW-229 traces back to the U.S. Air Force's 1984 'Great Engine War', a competitive fly-off between Pratt & Whitney's F100 and General Electric's F110 that both airframes have carried as interchangeable engine options ever since. F-15C/D and early F-16 blocks generally used the earlier F100-PW-220, while the -229 became the standard high-thrust variant for the F-15E Strike Eagle, F-15EX and later F-16 blocks.

Powers these platforms

Systems in the WeaponSpecs database that list the Pratt & Whitney F100 as their engine.

F-15EX Eagle II

F-16C Block 70/72 Fighting Falcon

F-15C Eagle

F-16C Block 52 Fighting Falcon

F-15E Strike Eagle

Full specifications

Performance

Speed, range, altitude and engagement capability.

Performance specifications
Thrust-to-weight Engine thrust divided by loaded weight. Above 1.0 the aircraft can accelerate going straight up. On a standalone engine record, this is the engine's own thrust divided by its dry weight, the standard figure of merit for jet engines.	7.78 Stronger than 28% of engines

Physical

Dimensions, weight and crew.

Physical specifications
Length Overall length including gun/probe where applicable.	4.85 m
Width Overall width, matters for rail/road transport of vehicles.	1.18 m
Empty weight Weight without fuel, ammunition or crew.	1,696 kg

Propulsion

Engine, power and fuel.

Propulsion specifications
Thrust Total engine thrust (with afterburner where applicable).	129 kN Stronger than 70% of engines
Propulsion type Turbofan, turboshaft, diesel, gas turbine, solid-fuel rocket, ramjet…	Afterburning turbofan
Bypass ratio Ratio of air bypassing the engine core to air passing through it. Low ratios suit combat engines built for thrust and speed; high ratios suit transport engines built for fuel efficiency, so neither direction is simply better.	0.36

Specifications compiled from public Pratt & Whitney and reference sources ↗. Published defense figures are approximations, treat comparisons as directional. Last verified 2026-08-10.

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