To the Joint Strike Fighter engine team at Pratt & Whitney, it is a little more complicated, even though they have some 7,000 hours of development testing on the F135 engine behind them. The team has begun assembling the first flight test F135 engine for the F-35 JSF. P&W says it plans to deliver the engine to Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth, Tex., in December.
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.