General Electric and Rolls-Royce have offered to the Pentagon a fixed price offer on their F136 engine for the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). The offer intends to create and accelerate competition between the JSF program’s two engine suppliers, and to shift the risk of cost overruns from the government to defense contractors. The offer could change the Government’s acquisition model for procuring approximately 150 F136 engines in the early years of the fighter program, allowing the Government to know immediately its costs over this period. Also, the approach is intended to drive lower pricing between the two competing engine suppliers.
With more than 70% of its development complete, the GE/Rolls-Royce F136 engine program is poised for flight-testing next year.
