Obama Budget Cuts JSF Alternative Engine
By John M. Doyle
The Pentagon is killing the alternate engine program for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) in the fiscal 2010 Defense Department budget request.
The move will cease funding for the F136 General Electric/Rolls-Royce engine for the JSF, leaving funding only for Pratt & Whitney’s F135 engine. But lawmakers have restored the program’s funding every time the Pentagon has sought to cut it in the past. The alternate engine program received $465 million from Congress in FY ‘09. Still, lawmakers have restored the program’s funding every time the Pentagon - under President George W. Bush - has sought to cut it in recent years.
The budget request also cuts funding for the Reliable Replacement Warhead, even though Defense Secretary Robert Gates previously had said he favored continuing the effort. The RRW is considered critically necessary in overhauling the U.S. nuclear stockpile and weapons capabilities, according to critics, while opponents fear it sends the wrong signal to the world in an era of non-proliferation and weapons reductions.
President Barack Obama’s first defense topline budget request is $533.7 billion in FY ‘10 – a 4 percent increase over FY ‘09.
The proposed reductions in Pentagon spending represent about half the $17 billion in savings the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) expects to realize from cuts, terminations or other changes to the FY ‘10 budget. Critics note the savings appear miniscule compared to the total $3.4 trillion federal budget request.
In a conference call with reporters Thursday morning, OMB Director Peter Orszag rejected any assertions that the White House was ganging up on the Pentagon being that half of the 121 cuts he outlined fall under the DOD. The OMB director then emphasized that Gates has called for procurement reform and a shift in DOD’s acquisition priorities.
The proposed $17 billion in government-wide reductions include all of the cuts disclosed April 6 by Gates. Overall, the cuts affect $11.5 billion in discretionary spending by the federal government.
Photo: Lockheed Martin
