Rumsfeld Defends F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Engine Cut

Posted on: Feb. 17th, 2006 || Source: govexec.com | E-mail Article | Print Article

Rumsfeld Defends F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Engine Cut

Pentagon leaders on Thursday defended their fiscal 2007 budget before the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, stressing that cost-cutting proposals on the Joint Strike Fighter and other military hardware programs are central to their long-term plans.

The panel oversees $380.7 billion of the Pentagon's $493.3 billion budget request, including spending for major weapons systems. In addition to the fiscal 2007 budget, appropriators also soon will consider a sweeping fiscal 2006 emergency supplemental spending request.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Thursday estimated the Defense Department's portion of that supplemental bill at $65.3 billion. In recent weeks, several lawmakers have opposed a Pentagon decision to cancel an alternative engine program for the Air Force's Joint Strike Fighter, essentially taking Rolls-Royce and General Electric off the program.

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