Competitors Pratt & Whitney Launch Anti-Alternate-Engine Video Campaign

As the House Armed Services Committee begins consideration of H.R. 5136, the FY 2011 Defense Authorization Act, Pratt & Whitney has unveiled a new series of web videos it says highlights bipartisan opposition to the alternate engine for the Joint Strike Fighter.

The first video in the series features floor speeches from Senators Joe Lieberman (I), along with John McCain, Saxby Chambliss and James Inhofe, all Republicans, during last year's Senate debate on the Defense Authorization Act.

"Not only do we not need it, the Air Force testified before our committee that if we spend this money on a second engine, we are going to get, by General Shackelford's testimony to us, 53 fewer Joint Strike Fighters in the next 5 years," says Lieberman (I-CT). "We will not be able to afford them. That is a serious consequence."

Senator John McCain (R-AZ) says "Taking money out of the program's research, development, and testing and evaluation effort will, in my view, most assuredly disrupt the program."

"We are going to be buying a lot of F-35s in a short period of time," says Chambliss (R-GA). "They have a great engine on them today. It works. It is successful. That is where we need to concentrate. That is where we need to spend our money."

The F136 alternate engine program has been pronounced dead several times over the past year, even drawing the threat of a Presidential veto, But as ANN reported last week , the U.S. House Armed Services Seapower and Air-Land Forces subcommittees each marked up the National Defense Authorization Bill for Fiscal Year 2011 (H.R. 5136) last Thursday. Both subcommittees voted to authorize $485 million in continued funding of the GE/Rolls-Royce F136 engine for the JSF.

“The committee has believed that competition in the F-35 engine program helps ensure against the operational risk of up to 95 percent of the entire U.S. tactical fighter fleet being grounded due to an engine problem,” said Air-Land Subcommittee Chairman Adam Smith (D-WA) at Thursday's markup.

FMI: www.f135engine.com, www.f136.com