F135 on the web:
Make your voice heard in the F-35 debate. Write to your Representative today to stop funding the JSF alternate engine for F-35.
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
Pratt & Whitney Bringing F135 Costs Down
What Others Are Saying About the JSF Alternate Engine:
|
|
F135 Joint Strike Fighter Latest News
Navy, Marine Corps Leaders Stick to JSF Message
Christopher Cavas
Defense News (Subscription Required)
March 12, 2010
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, testifying with Conway and chief of naval operations Adm. Gary Roughead before the House Appropriations Defense subcommittee, said the recent restructuring of the JSF program, "will have the effect of getting the program on the path of where it should be," with the aircraft's initial operating capability (IOC) date holding at 2012 for the Marine Corps, and 2014 for the Navy's carrier version.
"Our focus is still on making our first JSF squadron deployment in 2016," Roughead said. "The adjustments we've made will enhance that probability."
Roughead again firmly declared an alternative, second-source engine for the strike fighter is not necessary.
"We do not desire an alternative engine," he said, pointing out that all other Navy aircraft have engines from only one source. "We want to be as compact [on an aircraft carrier] as we can." More (Subscription Required)…
Last Mission Before F-35 Vertical Landing
March 11, 2010
Test pilot Graham Tomlinson guides the supersonic F-35B Lightning II stealth fighter in a 40-knot (46 mph) flight above Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., then descends for a 75-knot (86 mph) slow landing. The flight on Wednesday, March 10 , was one of the last missions before the aircraft's first vertical landing. The F-35B features a shaft-driven lift fan propulsion system that produces more than 41,000 pounds of vertical thrust, enabling airspeeds from zero to Mach 1.6. F-35B customers include the U.S. Marine Corps, the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and Royal Navy, and the Italian Air Force and Navy.
Lockheed Martin Eyes 90 Extra Joint Strike Fighter
Amy Butler
Aviation Week
March 4, 2010
One official close to the effort says the focus last year on problems with the engine—while valid to ensure the engine works as advertised—distracted senior program officials from managing other parts of the program. “The program was not focused on the right thing,” this official says. “Last spring and summer was focused on engine problems that frankly didn’t exist. . . . Meanwhile, the [independent Joint Estimating Team (JET) II] on the airplane side is very critical, and they weren’t focused on that.”
William Begert, vice president of military business development for Pratt & Whitney, says that by Engine 250, the company plans to be on the cost target established by a Joint Assessment Team (a separate entity from the program’s JET); this is a contractual requirement. “Both with F-22 and F-35 at the beginning of the programs, we weren’t quite on the [cost] model curve—the predictive curves—and that is what came into question. That is what you strive to do, you close that gap,” he says, adding that the engine price is within a fraction of a percent off. It is “really small. Now, a fraction of a big number is a big number, but we are really close.” More…
Bottom Line On The Alternate Engine: A Waste Of Money
Loren Thompson
The Lexington Institute
March 8, 2010
However, the plan for low-cost, stealthy fighters is being undermined by constituencies that want to further their own agendas by attaching themselves to the program. One such constituency is the congressional faction backing an "alternate engine" that would be bought in addition to the primary engine already flying on the plane. Proponents of the alternate engine say that by developing two different engines, the government can have competition that will hold down costs while providing a hedge against a failure in the primary engine. More…
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...
Download the Right Answer for F-35
Click here to see Pratt & Whitney's advertising campaigns on the jsf alternate engine debate.
© 2009