USAF is “comfortable” with the decision to terminate the F136 alternative engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, said Lt. Gen. Stephen Wood. Modern engines are so reliable that the Air Force doesn’t feel an alternate is a compelling requirement in order to guard against a fleet-grounding problem with the F135.
U.S. Air Force F-35s and F-22s regularly deploy deep into the Pacific region from Alaska, Utah, and Hawaii. In the future, though, the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command would like to see the Air Force permanently station fifth-generation aircraft west of the international date line—closer to China.