F135 on the web:
President Obama Releases Budget Plan Citing Wasteful Spending on JSF Alternate Engine
-- President Barack Obama, May 7, 2009
Secretary Gates Feels Strongly - There is No Need for an Alternate Engine
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What Others Are Saying About the JSF Alternate Engine:
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F135 Joint Strike Fighter Latest News
Pratt & Whitney Makes F135 Delivery
UPI
February 3, 2010
U.S. company Pratt & Whitney announced a milestone achievement for its F135 engine program following the first delivery of a production engine.
The Pratt & Whitney F135 propulsion technology was designed for the F-35 Lightning II stealth aircraft, a single engine fighter aircraft being developed by Lockheed Martin for the United States and eight other partner countries.
Pratt & Whitney says the delivery of the first F135 production engine to the F-35 team, which follows more than 13,000 hours of testing, marks a milestone for the next-generation engine system. More…
The Defense Budget
The New York Times
February 4, 2010
At a time when the country is fighting two wars, major savings are not likely to be possible. This Pentagon budget, like President Obama’s last one, makes some tough choices — but not enough.
On the positive side, the budget reflects the defense review’s priorities by adding billions in new financing for helicopters, unmanned drones and special operations forces that are all crucial to the fight against extremists.
It also calls for canceling some anachronistic or unnecessary programs. Defense Secretary Robert Gates boldly took on the lobbyists and their many allies in Congress last year and canceled the F-22 fighter jet, a cold war relic. We applaud his efforts to try — once again — to end production of the C-17 transport plane, which military planners say they have enough of, and an alternate engine for the F-35, which the planners say is redundant. More…
Robert Gates Gets Tough on Jets
By Jen DiMascio
Politico
February 1, 2010
In announcing the broad outlines of the Pentagon's $708 billion budget request Monday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he will be taking a new hard line against congressional plus-ups.
As in past years, the Pentagon wants to end production of Boeing's C-17 cargo jet and stop development of an alternative engine for the Joint Strike Fighter.
Congress has traditionally added back funding for both -- a practice Gates wants to end with a promise to recommend a presidential veto of any defense bill with money for either program.
"It's important to make a final stand," Gates said of the second engine threat. More…
Gates Vows 'Final Stand' on Alternate F-35 Engine
By Andrea Shalal-Esa
Reuters
February 1, 2010
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday said it was time to 'take a final stand' against congressional funding of an alternate engine for the Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter.
Gates said he would strongly recommend a presidential veto if lawmakers again funded that program, and a Boeing Co C-17 transport plane, during the budget process. Last year, the department backed off the veto threat after concluding the program would not seriously disrupt the F-35 program.
This year, given additional concerns about the program, Gates said he believed that 'it's important to take a final stand' and ensure the multibillion dollar weapons program was really ended. More...
February 1, 2010
Today the White House released its budget and has again proposed termination of the alternate engine program.
In his remarks this morning, the President said, "Even though the Department of Defense is exempt from the budget freeze, it's not exempt from budget common sense, it's not exempt from looking for savings.”
The budget proposal's "Terminations, Reductions, and Savings" section (available here) states:
The Administration proposes to terminate the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Alternate Engine Program (AEP) because it is no longer needed to prepare against the potential failure of the main JSF engine program. The Department of Defense (DOD) proposed canceling the JSF AEP in the 2007 Budget, and has not requested funding for it since, because development of the main engine is progressing well. In addition, analysis indicated that the savings from competition would not offset the high upfront costs of the AEP. However, the Congress has continued to fund the program.
Justification
The JSF AEP was started because DOD wanted to reduce technical risk in the development of a new engine for the JSF. However, since the main engine program for the JSF is progressing well, a second engine program is unnecessary and there is no longer any need to support two separate contractors. Moreover, financial benefits, such as savings from competition, have been assessed to be small, if they exist at all, because of the high cost of developing, producing, and maintaining a second engine. The reasons for canceling the AEP in 2007 remain valid today. Studies by both the Government Accountability Office and the Congressional Budget Office question the affordability of the current defense program, particularly the high cost of modernizing tactical aviation. Canceling the AEP will result in near-term savings of over a billion dollars
Why the F135 Engine is the Right Answer for the F-35 JSF
THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF AND SECRETARY OF DEFENSE AGREE AN ALTERNATE ENGINE IS NOT NECESSARY. The President and military leadership have canceled funding for this project because there is no military requirement "In addition, we're going to save money by eliminating unnecessary defense programs that do nothing to keep us safe -but rather prevent us from spending money on what does keep us safe. One example is a $465 million program to build an alternate engine for the Joint Strike Fighter. The Defense Department is already pleased with the engine it has. The engine it has works. The Pentagon does not want -and does not plan to use -the alternative version.“
--President Barack Obama, May 7, 2009. More...
ALTERNATE ENGINE DOES NOT EQUAL U.S. JOBS. U.K. based Rolls Royce is developing and manufacturing 40 percent of the alternate engine, and a large portion of the Rolls Royce content is likely to result in overseas jobs. More...
EXPECTATIONS, FOCUSED ON COST REDUCTION. The F135 is performing exceptionally well in flight test and has retired 90+percent of program risk. It is a by-product of the F119 engine, powering the F-22and has logged more than 10,000 flying hours. This proven record offers a significant single engine safety advantage compared to the unproven alternate engine. With testing nearly complete and performance objectives being met or exceeded, the F135 engine program is focused on cost reduction. The F119 achieved a 30% cost reduction from development to production without an alternate engine. We are on a path to achieve similar cost savings on the F135. More...
TWO ENGINES WILL INCREASE COSTS NOT LOWER THEM. An alternate engine won’t lower costs because the government pays the costs to develop both engines. Taxpayers will also pay the costs for two sets of parts, two production and maintenance lines, and additional personnel and training. The current Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Gary Roughead, supports a single engine because as he says, “On a carrier, space matters.”. More...
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