F136 Fighter Engine Team Site

The F136 Engine Program - More competition. Lower spending. Better quality.

The Case for Engine Competition

Congress has long been a champion of competition for major

acquisition programs and served as a watchdog of taxpayer money,

demanding accountability and mitigating risk through annual

reviews and re-competes.

Strong Performance

There has never been an engine competition for the Joint Strike Fighter. Ever.
Congress has funded the F136 alternate engine from GE/RR for 14 years in order to preserve competition on the largest weapon procurement program in history.
Changing course to give a 30-year, $100 Billion, uncontested sole-source contract to Pratt & Whitney (P&W) directly contradicts the Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act of 2009.

Low Cost

The GE/RR engine is on budget. In contrast, P&W is over plan by $1.9 Billion to date. At this rate, it is projected to reach $12.7 Billion in total contract overruns. This could take more than 100 aircraft out of the program and represents a serious disruption to the JSF program.
A May 2009 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report cites a similar fighter program, the F-16, in which 21% overall cost savings were realized through competition. On the JSF, that would equate to more than $20 Billion over the life of the program. Further, according to the GAO, the GE/RR engine will pay for itself with just a 9-11% savings.
GE/RR will hold costs by offering fixed-price contracting, consistent with the objectives of a recent White House directive and the Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act of 2009.

Better Service

GE/RR has consistently received top Department of Defense contract performance evaluations. In contrast, the aviation media have reported on technical issues with the P&W engine that have been responsible for program delays.
The GE/RR engine was specifically designed for the JSF, and is the only engine designed to grow with the aircraft. P&W has already announced a redesign¹, which adds cost beyond their current $1.9 Billion overrun.
During the last major single-engine fighter procurement program, the F-16, P&W’s safety record and maintenance costs were 2 – 3 times worse before GE entered the game. Today, GE’s alternate engine powers every combat F-16 in the active U.S. Air Force, thanks to Congressional insistence on adding competition to improve the program.

Congress has invested $2.5 Billion to fund competition for 14 years. The alternate engine is nearly complete and will deliver benefits to taxpayers and the DoD for the next 30 years.

¹ - Jane's Defense Weekly (03-27-09)