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Begin New Search Author Nicholas Velazquez

1. Managing Risk and Technology Insertion in Crewed Tactical Jet Engines

Author:
Alexander Holderness, Gregory Sanders, and Nicholas Velazquez
Publication Date:
04-2023
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Abstract:
China’s investments in its military turbofan industrial base may challenge U.S. dominance in fighter engine technology in the coming years. The question is whether the United States is making the necessary investments to ensure superiority, especially given its traditionally risk-cautious approach to military turbofan innovation and fielding. While the historic U.S. approach to innovation has been adequate to this point, policymakers may need to consider more assertive action to ensure that the capability gap between the United States and China is enduring. This brief examines four different case studies to understand the U.S. turbofan development history in the context of growing competition with China.
Topic:
Innovation, Defense Industry, and Military Technology
Political Geography:
China and Asia

2. Keeping the U.S. Military Engine Edge: Budget and Contract Trends

Author:
Gregory Sanders and Nicholas Velazquez
Publication Date:
10-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Abstract:
Military aircraft engine technology is a qualitative edge for the United States, one enabled by a world-leading industrial base. However, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) faces critical decisions regarding the future of engine investments and the industrial base of the F-35. This platform dominates present U.S. tactical aircraft purchases and faces a growing engine modernization imperative. The following questions help inform key debates: How does the DOD prioritize investments in engines compared to other systems? Where is investment targeted? And how can competition best be fostered? Recent years have shown a spike in the purchase of products for military engines amid a decline in research and development (R&D) spending relative to the early 2000s. Military engine R&D is now largely dependent on the Air Force, as the Navy has taken a step back to focus funding on other service priorities. Finally, competition for military engine contract spending has been on the decline as the F-35, with its single-engine option, dominates the procurement landscape. The future of the military engine industrial base will be shaped by the DOD’s choice between spending more up front to introduce competition into the fifth-generation fighter fleet or waiting until the end of this decade as the first sixth-generation fighter is expected to enter production.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, Science and Technology, and Military Strategy
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America