The US owes allies stability in fighter jet programs

As the air war raged over Ukraine, U.S. and Polish officials engaged in an embarrassing flap over whether to deliver Poland’s Russian-built MiG-29 fleet across the border for Ukrainian pilots in exchange for U.S. F-16s, a comparably-aged light interceptor. The deal fell apart when the Poles publicly suggested they would fly them to Ramstein Air Base in Germany for the Americans to handle transfer details, reportedly blindsiding the Pentagon.

It doesn’t take a veteran like me, who served in Germany, to recognize this isn’t the way to run a railroad, let alone the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. Also, as a former director of international trade with the U.S. Small Business Administration, that’s no way to treat our friends. President Biden’s visit to Poland last week evidently was intended to help smooth things over.

Yet, while Biden continues to walk a fine line between supporting Ukraine and not provoking an escalation into World War III with a country that owns 6,000 nuclear weapons, America owes our allies stability in fighter jet programs and mutually beneficial partnerships.

Since the early days of NATO, our allies mostly have flown U.S.-made military aircraft. It’s been a win-win for collective security and our industrial base. Interoperability and integrated supply chains lead to better warfighting ability, which is why they often buy American instead of entirely building their own jet fleets.

However, with the European Union (EU) planning its own military rapid reaction force of 5,000 troops and already boasting a capable aerospace and defense industry, European nations have other options. We shouldn’t be driving them away.

While the MiG-29 transfer debacle garnered world attention, virtually nobody is talking about how domestic moves to change F-35 engines mid-program also will negatively impact our allies. 

To review the details, Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, a fifth-generation aircraft, is the world’s premier stealth-fighter jet with 14 international allies flying them. Eight partners include the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia, Denmark and Norway. Six are via FMS: Israel, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Belgium and Poland. Others, such as Germany, Switzerland and Thailand, declared their intent to join the club. Turkey was kicked out in 2019 for purchasing the Russian S-400 air defense system.

Three U.S. military services fly three different variants to suit various requirements. The Air Force flies the F-35A for conventional runways. The Marines use the F-35B for vertical and short takeoff and landing (VSTOL). And the Navy flies the F-35C for catapult assisted takeoff and arrested recovery (CATOBAR) onboard aircraft carriers. Some allies such as the U.K. and Italy also fly both the F-35A and F-35B.                                                   

It has worked well so far.

Despite the dramatically improved safety record of F-35s, compared to earlier fighter jets such as the F-15s and F-16s, there’s a major push to replace the F135 engines currently produced by Pratt & Whitney to an entirely new system. Though hardly a new initiative — Congress defeated such a move in 2011 by cutting $450 million for a competitive engine replacement to the F-35 — it has resurfaced and is gaining traction.

In the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Congress calls for F-35’s to be converted to the Adaptive Engine Transition Program (AETP) by 2027. Meanwhile, Pratt & Whitney has proposed the Enhanced Engine Package (EEP) to simply modernize the F135 engine, extending the aircraft’s range and boost thrust by over 10 percent each.

One caveat of the AETP system is that it applies only to the Air Force model F-35As because of different airframe requirements — and the simple fact that no other service branch is interested in the AETP engine. These facts should not come as a large surprise, since Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall has been one of the more vocal supporters of the AETP program.

According to the F-35 program executive officer at the Pentagon, Lt. Gen. Eric Fick, the Air Force would be responsible for paying for it. Last September, he told reporters it would be unfair to have the “Navy, Marine Corps and [international] partners all footing part of the bill,” and moreover, would require two or three power plants for the F-35 fleet.

Particularly considering COVID-related disruptions, this measure would complicate U.S.-allied supply chains involved in the production of the engine. 

At a time when Russia has wrecked Ukraine and China continually reminds us it will “reunite” Taiwan with the mainland, if we expect our allies to stay with us, we should make things easier for them. Selling F-35s to 14 countries and counting, and then forcing them into two different complex supply and logistics chains to maintain their fleets, does just the opposite.

The Biden administration and Congress ought to see the big picture. We must support our allies if we expect their support in return.

Manuel A. Rosales, a Vietnam-era Army veteran, is owner of Inter-American Financial Services. He is a former deputy director of coalitions for the Republican National Committee (2009-11), former president and CEO of Caribbean Central American Action (2007-09), and former associate administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (2001-07).