Aircraft

The General Electric Rolls-Royce Fighter Engine Team’s hopes of restoring funding for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter’s (JSF) F136 alternate engine received a further boost last week, with fresh backing from the US Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC).

Endorsing the earlier recommendation of its House of Representatives counterpart, the SASC on 4 May said $400 million should be restored to the Department of Defense’s fiscal year 2007 budget to continue development of the alternative to the F-35’s baseline Pratt & Whitney F135 powerplant.

Lockheed, meanwhile, has received a contract worth $52.4 million to certify the Small Diameter Bomb on the US Air Force’s conventional take-off and landing F-35A. To conclude by October 2013, integration of the 115kg (250lb)-class weapon had previously been listed only as an option for the USAF aircraft. Lockheed will conduct over 90% of the work, with the rest to be divided between BAE Systems and Northrop Grumman.

The USAF has also eliminated previous requirements to certificate the Lockheed Wind-Corrected Munitions Dispenser and external fuel tanks for carriage by the F-35A.