WASHINGTON, March 23 (UPI) -- The GAO supports an alternative engine development program for the latest U.S. fighter aircraft though it may cost an extra $4 billion.
"Continuing the alternate engine program for the Joint Strike Fighter would cost significantly more than a sole-source program but could, in the long run, reduce costs and bring other benefits," said Michael Sullivan, the U.S. Government Accountability Office's director of acquisition and sourcing management.
The JSF is meant to replace three aircraft -- the U.S. Navy' F-14, the Marine Corps AV-8, and the U.S. Air Force F-16. The Pentagon expects to develop, producer and maintain 2,438 aircraft at a cost of $338 billion over the next 20 years, the single most expensive U.S. aircraft program to date.
Pratt & Whitney is developing the F135, the primary engine for the Joint Strike Fighter. Under pressure from the U.S. Congress, the Department of Defense in August 2005 initiated a $2.1 billion contract to GE Rolls Royce to develop the F136, an alternate engine for the JSF. Just under $700 million has been spent so far. However, the DOD has tried on two occasions to get permission to cancel the contract in an effort to save money on JSF. It made the request most recently in the fiscal year 2008 budget submitted to Congress earlier this year.
GAO says completing the second engine development program may add between $3.6 billion and $4.5 billion to the $53.4 billion JSF engine development program budget still to be spent. However, it carries with it possible benefits that outweigh the costs, according to GAO: competition on engines have saved other aircraft program more than 10 percent of their costs; competition keeps a second engine company economically viable for future programs; and competition will compel Pratt & Whitney to perform more efficiently and more responsively.
