Blair said to fail to win over Bush on F-35 engine

Posted on: Jan. 21st, 2006 || Source: today.reuters.co.uk | E-mail Article | Print Article

Blair said to fail to win over Bush on F-35 engine

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair has failed to get U.S. President George W. Bush to save a multibillion-dollar engine-development contract for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the world's costliest warplane project, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.

The idea had been to offer a choice of engines for the first F-35s — which are being built in three versions to replace a wide range of other U.S. and foreign fighters.

One engine is by Pratt & Whitney, a United Technologies unit, while the other is being developed under a $2.4 billion Pentagon contract by General Electric of the U.S. and Rolls-Royce of Britain.

Blair left a videoconference with Bush this week "empty-handed" after a review of a Pentagon plan to kill the engine being built by GE and Rolls-Royce Plc, said Loren Thompson, a consultant with close ties to defense contractors and the Pentagon.

Read the full article

Other Recent Headlines

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. (Disclaimer)