The Pentagon should spin off the F135 engine upgrade for F-35 fighters into a separate programme to track progress and cost

The US Department of Defence will have to consider making the F135 engine modernisation programme a separate project. This is what the Government Accountability Office is pushing for.

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The Pentagon had previously refused to make the F135 upgrade a separate programme. However, now the Government Accountability Office, using the US Congress, wants to force the defence agency to change its decision.

Upgrading the engine for the F-35 fifth-generation fighter jets as a separate element would allow the agency to monitor the extent of overspending and get more information on delays. At the moment, the increased costs are masked by the current agreement.

The Government Accountability Office says the current arrangement does not allow it to be determined whether the programme breaches the Nunn-McCurdy amendment. It was introduced in 1982 and obliges the Pentagon to report to the US Congress if expenditures exceed the target by more than 15%. If it exceeds the target by 25%, the programme must be shut down.

At the same time, Pratt & Whitney, maker of the F135, is asking the F-35 programme office to determine a way to meet the fighter's rapidly growing power and cooling needs. This will allow the company to adjust its engine core upgrade programme.

The F135 powerplant must go through an overhaul that will improve component cooling. And there is a high probability that this will happen sooner than planned. The U.S. Department of Defense will have to allocate an additional $38 billion to upgrade the propulsion system.