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 Air Force ramped up operations and maintenance spending to keep its F-35A fighters flying over the past six years, but readiness continues to lag behind goals, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.