F-35 alt engine work ends

General Electric and Rolls Royce stopped financing their F136 turbofan designed for the F-35. The two companies had been privately funding the developmental effort after the Defense Department formally terminated the project in April. The decision marks the end of a 15-year effort to develop an alternative to the Pratt and Whitney F135 engine that powers the Joint Strike Fighter. (Source: Defense News, 12/02/11) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the F-35 training center; Rolls-Royce and GE have operations in the Gulf Coast region.