Posted on 03/24/2011 5:18:40 PM PDT by Blogger
The U.S. Defense Department ordered GE and Rolls-Royce to stop production on a second engine for the F-35 joint strike fighter Thursday.
The government said they want them to wait until the fiscal 2012 budget is complete and there is a better direction of how the project will look.
Hundreds of employees in Indiana are directly tied to the project. Rolls-Royce is the city`s second largest manufacturer behind Eli Lilly.
In a statement from the fighter engine team they said they are "disappointed with the U.S. Department of Defense decision which goes against the precedent to continue funding for this important competitive program under prior short-term continuing resolutions."
And on top of all that, it didn't even exist.
No wonder they canceled it.
Oh fer crissakes, name another fighter that has more than one engine model.
Hustler. B-58. Supersonic. Broke my bedroom windows when I was a kid. Carried one big nuke. Single handledly killed supersonic flights over CONUS.
/johnny
But that was generally after the golden era of aircraft procurement, when we got value for the gold we spent.
/johnny
Name another fighter that will represent this big of a piece of the pie. Name another fighter that, along with the F-22, will represent 90% of our entire flying force. You’ve paid for this thing for 15 years. You’re okay with just chucking that money aside, chucking the manufacturing know-how and jobs aside, and giving a monopoly on a $100 Billion contract to a company that is already well overspent? Again, it doesn’t make sense. Penny wise, pound foolish.
I KNOW he never pushed for the engine. He’s tried to kill it. Hopefully Congress tells him the same thing re the F136 as it did the C-17.
Yes.
And......?
Your argument about the "stance of the CR" still doesn't hold any water.
Since we have had to banter this back and forth, I am going to second what diogenes ghost said:
Oh fer crissakes, name another fighter that has more than one engine model.
Your response about the F-35 being so important that we need it doesn't hold up to logical scrutiny in this budget climate or environment.
We can't afford "jobs program" defense dollars anymore, and I have come to the conclusion that this second engine is about as useful right now as a second engine for the Sherman Tank.
Think of the cost savings just for leather flight jackets. ;)
F-16. Great Engine War. Read up on it.
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