2nd engine for F-35 would improve quality: Levin

By Andrea Shalal-Esa

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the Senate Armed Services Committee said on Friday he would examine a Pentagon decision to again cancel funding for a second F-35 Joint Strike Fighter engine, but said he remained convinced an alternate engine would improve competition and quality in the long run.

President George W. Bush on Monday proposed for the third straight year to cancel a multibillion-dollar project to develop a second engine for Lockheed Martin Corp's (LMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) F-35 fighter jet, sparking yet another fight with Congress.

U.S. lawmakers have reversed the engine decision the past two years in defense spending law, and may well act again this year, according to congressional aides.

"If there's another engine that's waiting in the wings, you have a better chance at improving quality at your main contractor. It tends to drive both quality and improve price," Sen. Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat, told the Reuters Regulation Summit.

Levin added he would review the case for cancellation before making a final decision.

"Up to now I've supported having that second engine," he said. "I'd want to look at it each year."

The alternate, interchangeable engine, being developed by General Electric Co (GE.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) in partnership with Rolls-Royce Group Plc (RR.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) would vie for orders against one built by Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp (UTX.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), in a projected $100 billion market over coming decades.

The F-35 is a $299 billion program to build a family of warplanes for the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy, as well as for export. Current plans call for production of 2,458 aircraft in three versions over a 28-year delivery period.  Continued...