Air Force Research Lab also issued a contract—this one just over $231 million—to General Electric for work on its revolutionary engine program, dubbed Adaptive Versatile Engine Technology. As with the contract awarded to Rolls Royce, AFRL expects the work to be done by September 2012 on this hunt to find greater fuel efficiency and thrust and reduced maintenance and production cost.
The U.S. military is sending more fighter jets to the Middle East to step up its war with Iran, adding to what is already the largest buildup of airpower in the region since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. For now, the operation shows little sign of coming to a quick…