Defense Secretary Robert Gates today continued to defend his assessment that the Joint Strike Fighter second engine program is not a worthwhile investment. Following a tour of F-35 Lightning II prime contractor Lockheed Martin's Fort Worth, TX, facilities, Gates added that he believes the General Electric-Rolls-Royce F136 power plant -- the alternate engine -- would most likely experience the same development problems the Pratt & Whitney F135 propulsion system has encountered in recent years. "There's no reason to believe that...
