In its mark-up of the Fiscal 2011 defense authorization bill Thursday, the House Armed Services Committee’s air and land forces panel added funds to keep alive the F-35 competitive engine program, the General Electric-Rolls Royce F-136, defying the Pentagon’s determination to kill the program. Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), panel chairman, said in his opening statement the F136 would receive $485 million next fiscal year, with half of those funds authorized by his subcommittee and half by the committee’s seapower and expeditionary forces panel, which also marked up on Thursday. This is the fifth straight year that Congress is taking action to stave off F136 elimination, still wary of having a sole engine provider—Pratt & Whitney and its F135—for huge fleets of future US F-35s. As part of its marks, the air/land panel also added $60 million toward the Air Force’s unfunded requirements. (Smith statement)
US Space Command Should Always Be Led by a Guardian
Sept. 12, 2026
General Stephen Whiting took command of U.S. Space Command in January 2024, and if customary three-year tenures hold, his tour would end in January 2027. The question now before the President and Senate is who should follow him? Whoever they choose, it has to be a Guardian—and so should every successor…
