Collins Aerospace has completed altitude testing of its Enhanced Power and Cooling System, or EPACS, advancing the next-generation power and thermal management system for the F-35. The RTX business ran the tests over several days at multiple altitudes and power levels, validating performance under flight-like conditions and confirming emergency power capability as development continues from earlier aircraft-integration work.
The tests pushed the system across operational limits to gather mission-representative performance data and verify system models. Collins Aerospace described altitude testing as an early risk-reduction step for a new power and thermal management system, with the latest work aimed at building confidence in EPACS’ ability to deliver expected power and cooling performance in service.
Ira Grimmett, vice president of Environmental and Airframe Control Systems for Power and Controls at Collins Aerospace, is among the executives linked to the programme. The company tied the latest milestone to a 2025 announcement that EPACS had met requirements for aircraft integration, while the system continues to target substantially higher cooling capacity for current and future aircraft needs.