A House panel has proposed legislation that would require a competitive engine acquisition strategy for the Air Force's next-generation, long-range strike program, which could open up a new battle between lawmakers and the Pentagon over dueling jet engines/.../ Mark Gunzinger, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments and a former senior Pentagon official, believes the proposed legislation could complicate, and even delay, DOD plans for a new bomber. “The next bomber undoubtedly will be a very sophisticated, low-observable platform,” Gunzinger told InsideDefense.com. “ As such, its design will be inextricably intertwined with the engines that it uses.” Gunzinger is a retired Air Force colonel who authored a study last fall that examined options for rapidly developing a new bomber. He said a competitive engine program could lead the Pentagon to define the propulsion system for aircraft designers in the bomber competition, something he says might complicate the effort. “This could limit options offered by the contractors, who may be in the best position to develop the most effective designs, and who in fact conduct their own competitions to determine the best integrated options for their designs,” Gunzinger said. “Moreover, a directed government engine development and competition effort could add significant unwanted time and cost to development, and the prime contractors would probably have to wait until the competition was completed before they completed their final designs, adding even more growth to the program.”
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