F135 on the web:

BF-1 Arriving at PAX River

The Pratt & Whitney F135 engine successfully powered Lockheed Martin's BF-1 aircraft to Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Maryland to continue flight testing. Click on photos to see large images.

BF-1 arriving at PAX River. Click to Enlarge

Secretary Gates Feels Strongly - There is No Need for an Alternate Engine

President Obama Releases Budget Plan Citing Wasteful Spending on JSF Alternate Engine

"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. That's why the Pentagon stopped requesting this funding two years ago. Yet it's still being funded."
-- President Barack Obama, May 7, 2009

More Third Party Comments:

November 2009...

“…the GE-Rolls Royce team has had to redesign part of the engine after its fourth test failure during only 52 hours of testing, which will delay the date for ‘competition’ with Pratt and Whitney’s primary engine until at least 2016."
--Tom Schatz, President, Citizens Against Government Waste, November 17, 2009

--The Alternate Engine That Couldn't

“The alternate engine has become a burden to the F-35 program, driving up the plane's cost at a time when all weapons programs are under severe scrutiny due to record budget deficits.”
--Loren Thompson, Chief Operating Officer, The Lexington Institute, November 17, 2009

--http://www.lexingtoninstitute.org/ alternate-engine-problems-prove-critics-were-right

"The evidence is mounting that funding for the alternate engine must stop immediately."
--Dave Williams, Citizens Against Government Waste, November 6, 2009

http://swineline.org/sen-lieberman-wants-answers

"I have seen additional reports that the F136 Joint Engine Team cancelled its planned tests at the Arnold Engineering Development Center through April 2010, a step that indicates this latest failure will require a significant re-design of the alternate engine."
--Sen. Joseph Lieberman, Letter to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, November 4, 2009

“The F136 engine could be as much as a $560 million earmark, making it one of the largest in the defense appropriations bill.”

--Tom Schatz, President, Citizens Against Government Waste, November 2, 2009

http://swineline.org/f136-engine-grounded/

October 2009...

“Congress has been forcing us to pursue the alternate engine for years now and we still do not believe that is in the best interest of the program or the taxpayer.”
–Geoff Morrell, Pentagon Spokesman, Politico, October 6, 2009

September 2009...

“Two presidents, two secretaries of defense, a phalanx of top military officials, and a majority of the Senate have all agreed that this program should not be funded.”
– Tom Schatz, President, Citizens Against Government Waste, September 29, 2009

“America can’t afford this kind of high-flying waste.”
– Citizens Against Government Waste, September 29, 2009

“…GE is trying to create the first-ever ‘immaculate earmark,’ a designated spending item with no seeable father.”
--Tom Schatz, President, Citizens Against Government Waste, Politico, September 22, 2009

“…it would cost an additional $2 billion to $3 billion to finish developing the G.E. and Rolls-Royce engine and buy enough early versions to put it on the same footing as the Pratt & Whitney version.”
--Geoff Morrell, Pentagon Spokesman, New York Times, September 15, 2009

“With a national deficit of $1.6 trillion - three times higher than last year - something has to give. If we are to get out of this, our government needs to spend smarter and cut where cuts can be made.”
--Barney Bishop, CEO, Associated Industries of Florida, from the South Florida Sun Sentinel, September 15, 2009

“To the degree to which competitive prototyping is a measure to result in savings for taxpayers, the case for an alternate engine has not been made.”
--Mandy Smithberger, Project on Government Oversight, September 9, 2009

August 2009...

“Every dollar wasted in our defense budget is a dollar we can’t spend to care for our troops, or protect America or prepare for the future. If a project doesn’t support our troops, if it does not make America safer, we will not fund it. If a system doesn’t perform, we will terminate it. And if Congress sends me a defense bill loaded with a bunch of pork, I will veto it.
-- President Barack Obama, August 17, 2009

“Obama cited the presidential helicopter, a General Electric Co.-Rolls-Royce Group Plc backup engine for Lockheed’s F-35 fighter and a proposal to buy 12 more Lockheed F-22 fighters as examples of military spending that benefits contractors more than it helps U.S. soldiers.”
-- Bloomberg, August 17, 2009

July 2009...

“The Administration strongly objects to the addition of $438.9 million for the development of the alternate engine program.”
– Statement of Administration Policy, July 15, 2009

The Senate voted to support the amendment by Sen. Joseph Lieberman to ban continued spending on the alternate engine. The Senate rejected 38-59 a competing amendment by Sen. Evan Bayh to withhold 10 percent of the funding for the Joint Strike Fighter unless sufficient money was made available to continue development of an alternate engine. CQ reported that “Lieberman argued that the alternative engine would suck up money that should be used to buy more of the warplanes …”
-- Congressional Quarterly, July 23, 2009

June 2009...

“…the Administration objects to provisions of the bill that mandate an alternative engine program for the JSF. The current engine is performing well with more than 11,000 test hours. Expenditures on a second engine are unnecessary and impede the progress of the overall JSF program. Alleged risks of a fleet-wide grounding due to a single engine are exaggerated. The Air Force currently has several fleets that operate on a single-engine source.”
--Statement of Administration Policy, June 24, 2009

View all third party comments here...

F135 Joint Strike Fighter Latest News

Pratt & Whitney Delivers 400th F119 Engine to U.S. Air Force

Erin Dick
Pratt & Whitney Military Engines
November 23, 2009

Pratt & Whitney has delivered the 400th F119 engine, which powers the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, to the U.S. Air Force. This milestone delivery marks a significant accomplishment for the only operational fifth generation fighter engine in service today and demonstrates the maturity of this highly advanced propulsion system. Pratt & Whitney is a United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX) company.

“The F119 logbook continues to grow, surpassing more than 125,000 operational flight hours. Delivery of this 400th F119 engine is tangible proof of the maturity of this fifth generation engine,” said Tyler Evans, F119 program director. “We are proud of our ongoing partnership with the U.S. Air Force and Lockheed Martin, and this delivery reinforces our commitment to on-time delivery of quality propulsion systems to our valued customer.”

The maturity in both production and flight experience of the F119 engine continues to provide a heritage of proven performance for F135 engine because the F135 is a derivative of the F119 engine and uses a common core. The F135 engine is the lead propulsion system on the F-35 Lightning II. , is the only engine currently powering the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The common technology derived from the proven F119 offers a significant advantage to the F135 with respect to maturity and single engine safety. More...

Pentagon Withheld Information on F-35 Engine Failure, Lieberman Says

Frank Oliveri
CQ Staff
November 13, 2009

Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman says the Pentagon has withheld information about a test failure of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter alternative engine at a critical time: as lawmakers are determining whether to fund the program.

The fiscal 2010 Defense appropriations conference report (HR 3326) is nearly complete, but it has been delayed because Democratic leaders might use the bill as leverage to help pass more-contentious legislation or as a vehicle for other spending bills.

In a Nov. 4 letter, Lieberman, I-Conn., wrote that “it is critical that the [F-35 Joint Program Office] explain the root cause of this incident, planned remedial actions, and likely schedule and cost impacts so that Congress can make final decisions on appropriations for the Department of Defense for the fiscal year 2010.” More....

F-35 Alternate Engine Problems Delay Deliveries, Drive Up Costs

Loren Thompson
Early Warning Blog/The Lexington Institute
November 12, 2009

Andrea Shalal-Esa of Reuters reported this week that deliveries of the alternate engine being developed by General Electric and Rolls Royce for the F-35 joint strike fighter will be delayed by a year. Repeated testing failures are forcing the engine team to redesign an important part, driving up costs for the huge fighter program while putting off the time when users can benefit from competition between the GE-Rolls engine and the primary engine built by the Pratt & Whitney unit of United Technologies. More…

GE, Rolls F-35 Engine Deliveries Said Delayed

Andrea Shalal-Esa
Reuters
November 10, 2009

Deliveries of an alternate F-35 fighter engine being built by General Electric Co (GE.N) and Rolls-Royce Group PLC (RR.L) will be delayed by one year, a source familiar with the program said on Tuesday.

That may be bad news for the team, which is fighting to maintain funding for the second engine for the $300 billion Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) F-35 fighter despite opposition by the White House and Pentagon. In October, the GE-Rolls team was forced to halt testing of its developmental engine until January 2010 when a loose nut damaged turbine blades.

"The entire F136 delivery plan has slipped a year," the source, who was not authorized to speak on the record, told Reuters. More...

Pratt & Whitney F135 Engine Completes Initial Service Release Altitude Qualification Test

Erin Dick
Pratt & Whitney Military Engines
November 9, 2009

The Pratt & Whitney’s F135 engine powering the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has completed altitude qualification ground testing, the final testing that demonstrates the operability and performance required for Conventional Take-off and Landing (CTOL) and Carrier Variant (CV) Initial Service Release (ISR). ISR is the U.S. Government’s recognition that the F135 engine is ready for operational use and clears Pratt & Whitney to deliver and field production F135 engines. Pratt & Whitney is a United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX) company.

“I’m very proud of the Pratt & Whitney F135 engine team and the test team at Arnold Engineering Development Center in Tennessee for their efforts in completing this critical milestone, not just for the F135 engine but for the entire F-35 program,” said Warren Boley, Vice President of F135 Engine Programs at Pratt & Whitney. “Their hard work has demonstrated the performance of the F135 engine and puts us at the doorstep of achieving ISR.”

The most recent testing, which included a total of 126 test hours, evaluated the F135 engine’s air start capability and augmentor performance, as well as demonstrated and proved the performance of critical systems such as in-flight throttle response, inlet compatibility, engine ice protection and combustor stability. The final test period was also a testament to the reliability of the F135 engine and, at 38.7 hours, was the longest continuous test period completed to date on the F135 program. More...

Some Sense on Defense Spending

The New York Times
November 4, 2009

Mr. Obama did not get everything he wanted. Congress defied a veto threat and insisted on authorizing $560 million for research and procurement of an alternate engine for the F-35 that the Pentagon says is unnecessary. Lawmakers authorized an extra $1.8 billion to buy 18 F-18 fighter jets — twice as many as the administration sought.

President Obama and Mr. Gates are going to have to work hard to make sure that their hard-won victories stay won. The House and Senate are negotiating a defense spending bill that experts predict will include money for the C-17 transport plane. They should also continue to press lawmakers not to finance the alternate F-35 engine. More...

Just How Bad Are F136 Problems?

Colin Clark
DoD Buzz
November 2, 2009

Rumors flew last week that GE faced the prospect of having to redesign its cumbustor and that the engine is in such deep doo doo that it would be off the test stand for at least six months.

GE’s usually responsive spokesman, Rick Kennedy, was on vacation last week (after all, they made it through the defense authorization bill.…) but he did find time late Friday afternoon to tell me that he was “positive no analysis has been done.”

Then Loren Thompson, uber-source for many defense reporters, put out an item this morning summarizing the rumors: “The repeated failure of the GE engine has given rise to rumors that its combustor — the vital component that burns a mixture of fuel and compressed air — will have to be redesigned. One version of the rumor has GE giving up all its testing time at the Air Force’s Arnold Engineering Development Center until next April — the kind of lengthy delay typically associated with a design problem. If true, this would put the GE team in a financial bind, because it has already expended 70% of funding for the current phase of development.” More...

Why the F135 Engine is the Right Answer for the F-35 JSF

No Military Requirement

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...

Jobs & Industrial Base a Non-Issue

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...

Safe, Reliable and Ready to Go

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...

High Cost for Fewer Planes

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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