The General Electric-Rolls Royce team developing the F136 engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter expects to resume ground testing in late December or early January following identification of the root cause of a test engine issue that arose in September. GE spokesman Rick Kennedy told the Daily Report Wednesday that, during a planned boresight inspection of test engine No. 005 after it had “experienced normal operation and controlled shutdown” during a run to maximum power, the test team discovered damage to some turbine blades. Team engineers subsequently determined that this was caused by “small pieces of a diffuser panel mounting lug” that had come off. Kennedy said modified diffuser panels are being manufactured. He noted that this issue “does not require a re-design of the combustor.” This is contrary to an assertion made earlier this week at the Lexington Institute’s blog. (See also Lexington’s follow-on entry.)
After years of describing to lawmakers and Pentagon leaders the nature of that threat and the key role spacepower plays in deterring conflict in the domain and enabling the rest of the joint force, Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman told reporters during AFA’s Warfare Symposium here that the message appears to…