The Air Force has some reassurances for members of the Senate Armed Services who are rattled by DOD’s plan to drop the F136 engine. Gen. John Corley, Vice Chief of Staff, noted at a recent hearing that the Air Force fleet possesses approximately 10,300 General Electric engines and 7,800 Pratt and Whitney engines. These power everything from fighters and bombers to trainers, helicopters, and airlifters. He added that both companies have made exceptional products for the force, and that the demand for their work won’t go away any time soon. “There’s still big business out there,” Corley said.
Raytheon, a division of defense giant RTX, recently announced a multiyear deal with the Pentagon to increase annual production of the Air Force’s primary dogfighting missile by more than 50 percent from two years ago.
