The Pentagon’s program to upgrade the F-35′s engines could start to run out of money early next year if a budget is not passed in time, officials told lawmakers. The Engine Core Upgrade program, which seeks to give the fighter jet’s current Pratt & Whitney-made F135 engines more power, thrust and cooling ability, has enough money to last through roughly February, F-35 program executive officer Lt. Gen. Michael Schmidt said in a hearing before the House Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces. The Pentagon budgeted $75 million for the Engine Core Upgrade, or ECU, program for fiscal 2023; its proposed budget for fiscal 2024 would increase that to more than $400 million.
The Pentagon budgeted $75 million for the Engine Core Upgrade, or ECU, program for fiscal 2023; its proposed budget for fiscal 2024 would increase that to more than $400 million. But since the new fiscal year began two and a half months ago, the Pentagon has operated under continuing resolutions that keep funding programs at 2023 levels. Pratt & Whitney, who created the F135 engine, hopes to complete its Engine Core Upgrade’s preliminary design in December 2023, and noted the government’s review will take place about a month later.
Pratt & Whitney declined to comment to Defense News on how another continuing resolution would affect the engine program’s timeline or budget. The related effort to upgrade the F-35′s power thermal management system, which would allow future improvements to the aircraft, is also sorely in need of increased funding to begin, Schmidt said. Bill LaPlante, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, told lawmakers that the Pentagon may have to rethink its funding strategy for ECU if money starts to run out early next year. The Pentagon also paused negotiations with F-35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin on a performance-based logistics deal for the aircraft, after costs came in higher than expected and time started to run out on extending a standard sustainment contract
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