Collins Aerospace, an RTX business, has successfully tested a fully functional demonstrator of its next-generation power and thermal management system (PTMS). Targeted as a replacement to the F-35's current PTMS, Collins' Enhanced Power and Cooling System (EPACS) will provide more than double the platform's current cooling capacity—enough to support planned upgrades for the life of the aircraft. This latest milestone follows Collins' announcement in 2024 that EPACS had successfully demonstrated 80 kilowatts of cooling capacity.
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 humilities 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.
