Aircraft

The General Electric/Rolls-Royce Fighter Engine Team plans to resume testing the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter's alternative propulsion system in May. The resumption comes after a potentially two-month hiatus to correct an unexpected problem.

The first new-build F136 engine entered testing on 30 January, but was removed from the test-stand about four weeks later. "There was a little bit of debris discovered in the oil," the team says.

After tearing down the engine for inspection, the programme's engineers believe they have tracked down the root cause of the debris, a source says, while declining to elaborate. Once the F136 is reassembled, the engine will be placed back on the test-stand to verify any design corrections made and resume testing.

© GE/Rolls-Royce

The GE/R-R joint venture began testing the conventional take-off and landing propulsion system one month early, mitigating the impact of the delay.

The F136 is being developed to compete for sales against the Pratt & Whitney F135 jet engine, but the alternate design has been a source of controversy.

US military officials have not requested funds for the F136 since 2006, calling it an unnecessary investment. But Congress has reinserted the funds required to complete the $2 billion development programme. Supporters of the F136 programme claim that sustaining a competitive engine war will save money in the long run, but military officials and the US Government Accountability Office have disputed these claims.