Funding a Second F-35 Engine Makes No Sense
.By Daniel SavickasApril 20, 2022
The F-35 has been a taxpayer boondoggle with multiple delays and a budget exceeding $1 trillion from the very beginning of the project. Now, some want to double down on those problems and fund a second engine that is unneeded, expensive, and won't work across all branches of the military.
Many people within the Pentagon and in Congress are calling for upgrades to the F135 engine, which is the main propulsion system for the F-35. The push from the administration and certain officials in the military and Congress would create an Adaptive Engine Transition Program (AETP). This would be an incredibly costly endeavor and would also make little sense from a practical perspective.
This is not the first time special interests have tried to replace the F135. A decade ago, during the debate over the fiscal year (FY) 2011 Defense Appropriations Bill, some lobbied to continue government funding for an F136 engine (a second engine for the F-35). The current F135 engine is manufactured by Pratt & Whitney and had beat out General Electric (GE), the makers of the F136, for the Joint Strike Fighter contract. However, GE and its allies in government still pushed for billions in funding for the F136 regardless.
https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2022/04/20/funding_a_second_f-35_engine_makes_no_sense_827998.html
