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Engine data to be added to F-35 logistics system in November - Pratt

RAF FAIRFORD, England (Reuters) - Data about Pratt & Whitney's F135 engine will be integrated into the computerised logistics system used to service the Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) F-35 fighter jet by November, the president of Pratt's military engines business said on Friday.

Pratt, a unit of United Technologies Corp (UTX.N), has been providing data about the engine to Lockheed software engineers, and is standing by to test the new software, Bennett Croswell, who heads the Pratt unit, told Reuters in an interview.

Lockheed's F-35 fighter jet is seeing marked improvements after years of technical issues and cost overruns, but the jet's highly complex Autonomic Logistics Information System, or ALIS, has continued to prove challenging, officials say.

Adding the engine data will mark a key milestone for the system, which includes more lines of software code than the actual jet.

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U.S. Marine Corps and Air Force officials told reporters at the Royal International Air Tattoo, the world's largest military airshow, that the ALIS system still needed work, but was already performing well enough to support deployments of aircraft.

Marine Corps Lieutenant General Jon Davis, deputy commandant for aviation, said the current version of ALIS had worked fine since the Marines declared an initial squadron of jets combat-ready a year ago.

"Our turnaround times are within reason," he said, referring to the system's ability to facilitate repairs and maintenance of the jets. "It's not slowing us down at all."

Croswell said engine data was available to F-35 technicians outside the ALIS system, and even at-sea deployments of the aircraft had gone smoothly without the engine data being fully integrated into the ALIS system.

Lockheed now expects to complete the new software version of ALIS - which is due to include the engine data - by October or November, instead of August, as initially planned.

U.S. Air Force General Hawk Carlisle, who heads Air Combat Command, on Monday said software delays in the ALIS system were "not a limiting factor" in his decision on whether to declare an initial squadron of F-35 jets ready for combat.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Tom Brown)