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the F-35 was never the appropriate platform for AETP. Alternatively, had the Air Force designed AETP for sixth-generation applications, perhaps adaptive engine technology would enable accelerated fielding of sixth-generation capabilities to the Warfighter (anonymous personal communication, January 24, 2024).
If the goal of AETP was to maintain viable competition in the industrial base and mature technology in preparation for sixth-generation aircraft propulsion competitions, then it was wildly successful.
On the other hand, if the goal of AETP was to maintain viable competition in the industrial base and mature technology in preparation for sixth-generation aircraft propulsion competitions, then it was wildly successful. As the Air Force looks ahead to the successor program, NGAP, which is designed to power future NGAD aircraft, the Air Force is once again postured to hold another fierce competition for technologically advanced engines suitable for the demanding requirements of NGAD (Losey, 2023). Although AETP technology will undoubtedly feed the NGAP designs, if the Air Force wants to replicate the success of the First Great Engine War, there are other lessons to learn from AETP. • First, the Air Force needs to build a cost-informed requirements roadmap that drives technology investment for NGAD across all subsystems, including propulsion. As AETP reminded the DoD, propulsion development is expensive but can provide revolutionary capability. A cost-informed roadmap would enable the Air Force to appropriately trade requirements to yield an affordable system for NGAP (anonymous personal communication, January 17, 2024). • Second, the Air Force needs to ensure competition remains viable throughout the sixth-generation timelines. Ideally, competition would be in the form of dual sourcing, allowing the Air Force to reap the benefits of competition throughout procurement; however, in the current budget-constrained environment, the feasibility of dual-source approaches is in question. Alternatively, technology
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Defense ARJ , Summer 2025, Vol. 32 No. 2: 104—130
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