Did anyone think that dropping the alternate Joint Strike Fighter engine would be easy? The Senate Armed Services Committee plans to meet next week with international partners in the JSF program and, in a separate hearing, with the deputy secretary of defense and the two engine makers—Pratt Whitney, the original F-35 engine producer, and GE-Rolls Royce, the alternate engine team. Lawmakers in both houses have signaled their concern. Even the top Air Force civilian, who believes there is little technical risk, worries about having only one industrial source.
The Pentagon’s fiscal 2026 defense budget, submitted to Congress last week, accelerates the downsizing of the U.S. Air Force. It proposes divesting 340 aircraft, while only acquiring 76. These cuts risk the Air Force’s ability to prevail.
