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F-35A version (NDAA, 2021). While the Air Force started preparing an acquisition strategy, in late 2021, the F-35 JPO initiated a propulsion modernization business case analysis (BCA) to evaluate five engine and four PTMS options to meet emerging Warfighter requirements for restored engine life, increased power and thermal capacity, range, acceleration, and increased vertical lift for the F-35B STOVL variant (anonymous personal communication, January 11, 2024). Upon completion, the results of the BCA were briefed to numerous stakeholders, including the JSF Executive Steering Board and the Deputy Secretary of Defense’s Management Action Group (anonymous personal communication, January 24, 2024). Ultimately, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall announced the difficult choice to forgo fielding AETP to the F-35, citing the $6.7 billion cost and incompatibility with all variants of the F-35 as the primary causes (Tirpak, 2023). Instead, the DoD chose to continue upgrading P&W’s F135 engine through the Engine Core Upgrade program. Although the DoD decision appears to be final, congressional direction for AETP is unclear. The 2024 NDAA recommended $588 million to continue technology maturation and risk- reduction activities to buy down risk for the Next Generation Adaptive Propulsion (NGAP) program, planned for integration into the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) aircraft (NDAA, 2023a). Furthermore, The NDAA also required the JPO to establish requirements for the propulsion, PTMS, and electrical systems that adequately support all planned mission system upgrades (NDAA, 2023b). Although this language does not explicitly favor AETP, testimony provided to the House Armed Services Committee by the GAO expressed concern that the F-35’s BCA lacked key details, including requirements that were not fully defined, costs that were not fully assessed, and technical risks not fully considered (GAO, 2023a). In March 2024, an FY 2024 Appropriations Act was signed into law, including $280 million to “develop advanced engine technologies for integration into future engine development programs”; this funding is separate from NGAP funding (Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024). The bill supported the DoD's decision to forgo integration on F 35, even prohibiting the use of the funds for activities to integrate into F-35. However, it remains uncertain how the Air Force will use this funding to continue AETP, although, at least for now, activities are funded to continue.
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Defense ARJ , Summer 2025, Vol. 32 No. 2: 104—130
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