The Pentagon remains defiant with Congress over the fate of the F136 engine program after the House last week voted to keep the program alive in Fiscal 2011 despite Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ continued objections. “We don’t want nor need the extra engine, but this is just one step in a long journey and Secretary Gates is committed to staying engaged in this process the whole way,” Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said after the House’s May 27 vote (see below On to Conference for F136). Morrell said Gates would still recommend a Presidential veto if the final version of the defense policy bill contains F136 funding. The White House’s May 27 statement of Administration policy reiterated that point, as well. (See Washington Post report, DOD Buzz report) (See also GE statement, Pratt & Whitney statement)
The Air Force overall reduced its size by 120 aircraft in fiscal year 2021, but kept about the same number of fighter, bomber and attack aircraft, according to data supplied by the service. The F-35 fleet saw the biggest increase while the B-1B bomber fleet saw the largest decline.