A New Engine For The F-35?

Combat Engine Demo Plan Troubles F135 Supporters -- Aviation Week

General Electric and Rolls-Royce's decision to abandon their fight for an alternate engine to power the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter finally put an end to a long, politically charged battle with incumbent Pratt & Whitney. Or did it?

No, the GE-Rolls F136 is not rising from the dead. But a U.S. Air Force demonstrator program, in which GE, Rolls and Pratt are competing separately to develop fuel-saving propulsion technology for combat aircraft, could conceivably produce an alternate engine sized for the JSF as early as 2020. That possibility has sent jitters through Pratt and its allies on Capitol Hill.

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My Comment: The above article is a revealing insight on how defense contractors and suppliers are chosen and selected. What's my take .... I certainly hope that General Electric and Rolls-Royce are able to develop and build a better engine that would put to shame what is presently being built for the F-35 .... but politics and lobbyists is what rules Washington today .... and even if GE and Rolls-Royce can produce an awesome and vastly superior engine .... I predict that it will still be an uphill battle for the present F-35 program to change their suppliers.