GAO Slams F-35 Dual-Engine Program Cancellation

GE-RR F136 Prototype(click to view full) The proposed cancellation of the GE/Rolls Royce F136 engine program threatened to undermine British support for the JSF program, pull GE out of the military jet engines business, and hand Pratt & Whitney a near-monopoly on engines and long-term maintenance for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter via its F135 engine. The US Congress seems decidedly unhappy with ending the F-35’s interchangeable engine program, which may have been an unusually inflammatory version of the classic “Washington Monument” false budget cuts gambit. Now the USA’s official Government Accountability Office weighs in, in response to a request from Sen. John Warner and Rep. Curt Weldon: “The Department of Defense (DOD) expects to purchase about 2,400 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) aircraft, with potential international sales of 2,000 to 3,500 aircraft. When the number of aircraft engines and spare parts expected to be purchased is considered – along with the lifetime support needed to sustain the engines – the future financial investment will be significant. DOD implemented the JSF alternate engine development program in 1996 to provide competition between two engine manufacturers in an effort to achieve cost savings, improve performance, and gain other benefits. Since then, DOD has […]