Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) announced Tuesday that he has “received confirmation” from the White House’s budget director that the continuing resolution designed to keep the government afloat through early next year “will continue funding” the F136 engine program. Proponents of F136 cancelation, Brown stated in a release, “had incorrectly argued that a CR would not require the Administration to fund the program.” Over Defense Department objections, Congress appropriated funds in Fiscal 2010 to continue the F136’s maturation. This engine, if it isn’t axed, would compete against Pratt & Whitney’s F135 to power future F-35 strike fighters. Congress has drafted the latest CR to fund government operations until March 4, 2011, in the absence of completed Fiscal 2011 appropriations bills for the federal departments. The Senate on Tuesday passed the CR by a 79-16 vote. The House subsequently approved the resolution 193 to 165. GE develops the F136 in Evendale, Ohio, near Cincinnati.
Anduril and General Atomics will develop their Collaborative Combat Aircraft for the Air Force, beating out Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, the service announced on April 24. But any of the non-selected companies can compete to actually manufacture the eventual design, the Air Force said.