Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Wednesday revealed a new reason why the Pentagon wants to drop the General Electric-Rolls Royce F-136 engine from the F-35 strike fighter program: its performance. “We think that the current engine that GE is offering probably does not meet the performance standards that are required,” Gates told members of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s defense panel during an oversight hearing. Further, “the taxpayer would be required to pay for any enhancement that would bring it up to the performance standards.”
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
