Report comes mere weeks after the shuttering of GE's Adaptive Engine Transition Program (AETP), seemingly owing to whether it would fit in the Navy's & Marine's

Report comes mere weeks after the shuttering of GE's Adaptive Engine Transition Program (AETP), seemingly owing to whether it would fit in the Navy's & Marine's F-35B & F-35C configurations. Supposedly having an advanced controllable "third airstream" flowing into the engine, this XA100 was supposed to improve range by 30%, thrust by 10%, and "double thermal management capability". https://breakingdefense.com/2023/03/air-force-will-not-develop-new-f-35-engine-keeping-pratt-as-sole-contractor/ https://breakingdefense.com/2023/03/air-force-will-not-devel... Pratt came up with their own adaptive XA101, in case. But primarily has been pushing a Engine Core Upgrade (nee Engine Enhancement) plan and new Emergency Power and Cooling System, which is now locked in, which leaves most of the existing F135 engine intact. It too claims double the cooling capability, with 7% range & thrust boost. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2023/03/13/pentagon-rethinks-f-35-engine-program-will-upgrade-f135/ https://www.defensenews.com/air/2023/03/13/pentagon-rethinks... https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/aircraft-propulsion/collins-pratt-whitney-pitch-new-f135-power-cooling-system https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/aircraft-propulsion/c... Personally for a plane the US alone expects to purchase well over 2000 of, with ~$80m a plane expected & many significant computer, electronics warfare, & sensor upgrades coming in Block 4 / Technology Refresh-3 (potentially raising price) (https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/new-electronic-warfare-suite-top-feature-of-f-35-block-4-air-combat-boss-says https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/new-electronic-warfare...) ... I do wonder if maybe having another really great engine upgrade isn't advantage enough. Hopefully the new Pratt & Whitney is at least good enough. Also noted, the Air Forces Next-Gen Air-Domination (NGAD) might well use adaptive-engine tech. Notably though, this article is about a defense of the ECU path, which hopefully is indeed sufficient. Also nice, we have many allies who have purchased these planes, and they'll be able to keep a sizable fraction of their existing engines during this upgrade as well.