Despite threats from budgetary buzzards, Joint Strike Fighter development continues, with Pratt & Whitney reporting that it has completed the first flight-test engine that will power the F-35 next year. P&W has been the lead propulsion system on the JSF since the concept demonstration phase in 1996, and the completed engine—the F135—is an evolved version of the F119 engine used on the F/A-22. P&W says engines will go on the test F-35 fighter early next year, with test flights scheduled for late summer 2006.
The ongoing government shutdown has not slowed progress on the Joint Advanced Tactical Missile, a congressional official said, correcting a previous statement from lawmakers about the secretive program.
