In addition to overruling the Pentagon on the F-22 Raptor, the Senate Armed Services Committee, like its House counterpart, is backing the F136 alternate engine—once again. The Senate defense authorizers put $438.9 million in their version of the 2010 defense policy bill to continue development of the General Electric-Rolls Royce F136 for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. Despite its inclusion in the committee’s markup, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), chairman of the committee’s airland panel under whose jurisdiction the engine falls, vowed to fight additional work on the engine. In a June 26 statement, he said that, like the President, he doesn’t believe the alternate engine adds to the nation’s security, so he will “work with the President to stop wasting tax payer dollars on this project.” A Congressional majority disagrees and has done so for three previous years when the Pentagon tried to cancel the program.
America Must Resource Its Spacepower Advantage
March 2, 2025
The Department of Defense’s directive to reapportion 8 percent of its spending to Trump administration priorities presents distinct opportunities and challenges. However, in seeking to realign funding, leaders must be careful not to cut to the bone of core capabilities and capacity. Nowhere is this more germane than in the…
