Cutback in F-35 program frustrates British

Posted on: Feb. 8th, 2006 || Source: dfw.com | E-mail Article | Print Article

Cutback in F-35 program frustrates British

WASHINGTON - Diplomatic friction between the United States and Britain over the F-35 joint strike fighter worsened Tuesday, after Pentagon budget-cutters whacked an alternate engine being jointly developed by General Electric and British-based Rolls-Royce.

Cancellation of the $2.4 billion alternate engine program prompted an outcry in Britain and was depicted in the British news media as an embarrassment for Prime Minister Tony Blair, who had appealed personally to President Bush to keep the program intact.

The decision also fanned talk in some British circles that the U.S. ally should consider ending its participation the $256 billion JSF program to protest the Pentagon decision. British officials have been bristling for months over U.S. refusal to share all military technology on the strike fighter, including software codes.

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