The F136 team of General Electric and Rolls-Royce announced Tuesday that it has extended its fixed-price proposal for F-35 joint strike fighter engines with price reductions through 2014, offering to “assume the risk of meeting or beating price targets for early production engines” and setting up “lower pricing” between the GE/RR F136 and Pratt & Whitney F135. David Joyce, GE Aviation president and CEO, said, “We can create a competitive environment that will save the government $1 billion over the next five years, and $20 billion over the life of the JSF program.” The F136 team offered a shorter-term fixed-price deal last fall, but Pentagon officials remained unconvinced that maintaining an alternate engine program would produce savings. Already this year, Defense Secretary Bob Gates said he would “strongly recommend” a veto for any bill that continues F136 funding, a threat that surprised many lawmakers. (F136 team April 27 release; also see GE/RR Fighter Engine Team Web site)
House and Senate lawmakers say they’re hopeful Congress will pass a defense appropriations bill in the coming weeks to avoid a repeat of last fall’s government shutdown, with only having a handful of working days remaining before the Jan. 30 deadline. Yet legislations still have to release a compromise version of defense spending legislation, which will have to…
