GE, Rolls Face Reality As Defense Budgets Are Threatened

When the US Department of Defense finally won its five-year battle with pork-minded federal lawmakers and ordered an end to the development of an alternative jet engine for the F-35 in April, GE and Rolls-Royce said their F-136 engine was 80 percent through development, and that they would continue its development at their own cost. The hope was the dawning of a new fiscal year and an improving economy would provide more cover for politicians in affected states to re-start the program.

But the economy hasn't improved, the federal deficit has only become an even bigger political issue, and the new federal fiscal year dawned October 1 with no new support for the alternative engine. Defense News now reports that GE and Rolls have announced they'll discontinue further development. The decision has implications for employment in Ohio and other states, and means the Pratt & Whitney F135 engine, which won the original competition years ago, will remain the sole engine used in the Joint Strike Fighter.

To the end, the partners have claimed that theirs was the superior engine. A joint statement says, in part, "“GE and Rolls-Royce are proud of our technology advancements and accomplishments on the F136. Before the program was terminated, six F136 development engines had accumulated more than 1,200 hours of testing since early 2009. The (fighter engine team) consistently delivered on cost and on schedule...

"GE and Rolls-Royce are deeply grateful to our many Congressional supporters on both sides of the aisle over these many years as well as the military experts who have supported competing engines for JSF. We do not waver in our belief that competition is central to meaningful defense acquisition reform.”

FMI: http://f136.com/discontinued/press-release