The General Electric Rolls-Royce partnership to produce F-35 Joint Strike Fighter engines received a $2.5 billion contract to “transition the development engine into a long-term production program,” say GE officials. The team’s F136 engine is slated to make its first flight test on the JSF in 2010 and begin production delivery in 2012. Until then, the game belongs to Pratt & Whitney. After that, JSF customers will be able to select the engine of their choice.
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.