The US Air Force (USAF) has elected to end participation in the Adaptive Engine Transition Program (AETP), intended to result in an advanced engine for Block 4 of the Lockheed Martin F-35. The service will instead advance the Pratt & Whitney.
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said that if the development cost was lower, the Air Force may have found the space in its budget to fund the engine for its jets alone, “but at the level of several billion dollars to do that [engineering and manufacturing development], we couldn't get there.”
Building off trends established by the fiscal 2023 budget, the service is asking for even more retirements in FY24 while seeking to launch new efforts like a program to field autonomous wingmen. “We've built a budget that we think has a reasonable balance between current-, midterm- and longer-term investments, if you will, or capabilities,” Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said.