Fund F136, Say House Acquisition Reformers

Fund F136, Say House Acquisition Reformers: The chairman and ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee's defense acquisition reform panel on Monday urged members of the House Appropriations Committee to fund the F136, the competing engine for the F-35 strike fighter. "We are firmly convinced that engine competition will be of enormous benefit to the [F-35] program," write Rep. Robert Andrews (D-N.J.) and Rep. Michael Conaway (R-Tex.) in the letter to their colleagues. Their missive came on the eve of the appropriators' scheduled Tuesday markup of the House's version of the Fiscal 2011 defense spending bill. Over the objections of the Pentagon leadership, the House has already included $485 million for the F136 in its version of next year's defense authorization bill. The Pentagon wants to proceed solely with Pratt & Whitney's F135 to power the F-35 and halt work on the F136, built by General Electric and Rolls Royce.

7/27/2010

On the Record

Mission One
"The health and safety of our pilots—all of our pilots—is our utmost priority. Our operational flight surgeons and our medical staff interact with our pilots on a daily basis."
—Brig. Gen. Daniel Wyman, Air Combat Command command surgeon, speaking to reporters during a teleconference, May 9, 2012. He was emphasizing that the Air Force is doing all it can to ensure the safety of F-22 pilots as service officials continue to home in on the cause of why some Raptor pilots have experienced hypoxia-like symptoms in the cockpit like difficulty concentrating, fatigue, headaches, and nausea.

On the Record

Message to Congress
"If you give us force structure back, give us the money, too. Because the quickest way I know to a hollow force is to give us structure without money. Simple as that. . . . 'Make it work' is not a satisfactory solution."
—Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz articulating his message to lawmakers on the Air Force's Fiscal 2013 budget proposal during a speech at the Stimson Center in Washington, D.C., May 1, 2012. The Air Force leadership has proposed reducing force structure and personnel next fiscal year in order to maintain a ready and capable force as the service absorbs significant spending cuts.