OPINION:
The recent downing of an American drone flying over international waters by Russian fighter aircraft serves as a stark reminder that American air superiority is constantly under threat. As such, leaders in Congress and at the Pentagon must always be strategically thinking and ensuring we are making smart investments in our own aerial capabilities.
As we enter the 2024 budgeting cycle, several of these conversations will once again come to the forefront. Many will likely involve the F-35, one of the most lethal and connected fighter aircraft in the world. During my time in Congress, I gained first-hand knowledge of America’s 5th generation fighter aircraft as I was privileged to represent a significant multinational training facility for the F-35, Luke Air Force Base. Nearly every day, I can still hear pilots conducting exercises over my home.
As with any aircraft, pilots depend on the engines to provide the necessary thrust and maneuverability. But advances to the radar and other sensors on the F-35 in the past twenty years have created power and cooling demands beyond what the F135 was originally intended to provide that will come to a head by the end of the decade.
Experts in the defense community agree that an upgrade is needed but have been unable to agree on whether to retrofit the existing F135 engine with a suite of upgrades known as the Engine Core Upgrade (ECU) or procure an entirely new engine from scratch, known as the Adaptive Engine Transition Program (AETP). Both engines are designed to increase performance and efficiency and provide greater range, speed, and maneuverability, but there are some notable differences.
After several years of debate, the Air Force has definitively weighed in on the issue, indicating with its fiscal year 2024 budget request that it does not intend to move forward with the AETP for the F-35 and will instead pursue the ECU. While a difficult decision, it is ultimately the right one for several reasons.
Rolling out the AETP would take money and time that the United States does not have in light of Russian and Chinese aggression. Developing a new engine from scratch is a complex process, requiring years of research and development, as well as testing and certification that would have taken at least half a decade to implement. This is simply too long to keep up with the ever-changing threat environment.
The cost to develop the AETP is $6 billion by one estimate and could balloon to as much as $40 billion when other maintenance and parts costs are taken into account. This money that the Air Force simply does not have as the program is already running $1.4 billion short. Pushing forward could have led to a hard tradeoff, as Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall put it because that could have roughly equated to “70 less F-35s.” Given the fact that the Air Force already has “a fighter gap problem,” this is an unacceptable option.
In contrast, the F135 ECU package leverages technologies from previous U.S. services investments to upgrade an engine with a proven track record of performance and reliability for a price tag of roughly $2.4 billion over four years. With over 600 engines delivered to date, upgrading it would require significantly less time and resources and would negate the need for a complete redesign. This would allow the F-35 to extend its technological edge and maintain its existing infrastructure and supply chain with minimal disruption to operations and logistics.
Ronald Reagan once famously observed that nothing lasts longer than a temporary government program. After serving in the House of Representatives for fifteen years, I can definitively say that is, unfortunately, all too often the case. But as Congressional Appropriators digest the recommendations of the Air Force budget, they would be wise to follow their lead on the F-35 engine upgrade. Secretary Kendall, who led the charge on the AETP program when he served in the Obama Administration, has already indicated that the Air Force is firm in its decision not to move forward with the AETP. Continuing to fund it would be sending more good money after bad.
Fortunately, the money spent to date on the AETP will not be in vain. The Air Force plans to take what it has learned from the AETP program and apply it to the Next Generation Adaptive Propulsion Effort, which is part of a broader initiative to develop America’s 6th generation fighter aircraft. An encouraging development, no doubt, but the United States is still many years away from making that program a reality. In the meantime, it is important to stretch every increasingly limited defense dollar as far as possible to ensure the United States is getting the best bang for its buck when investing in the common defense against current and future adversaries.
- Trent Franks represented Arizona in the House of Representatives from 2003-2017 and served on the House Armed Services Committee
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