Full Description
CSIS's The Future of Military Engines looks at the state of the U.S. military engine industrial base and the choices confronting policymakers at the Department of Defense (DoD). The military engine industrial base is closely tied to the industrial base for commercial engines. U.S. engine providers use many of the same facilities and largely the same supply chain for military and commercial engines. The ability to leverage commercial supply chains is critical because supply chain quality underlies the performance advantage of U.S. military engines, both for individual aircraft and military aircraft fleets. International competitors such as Russia and China are seeking to overtake the U.S. in engines. However, the current U.S. advantage is sustainable if it is treated as a national priority. Many military aircraft, especially fighters, require engines with important differences from commercial aircraft. They fly different flight profiles and perform different jobs. These differences mean that while DoD can leverage the commercial engine industrial base, it must also make investments to sustain the industrial base's unique military components. In the next few years, DoD investment in military engines is projected to decrease significantly, particularly for R&D. This presents a challenge as military-unique engineering skills are highly perishable. Four major policy choices confront DoD as it formulates its investment approach to military engines going forward: 1) Priority, 2) Resources, 3) Business Model, and 4) Competition. The DoD is at an inflection point for engine investment, and the time for choosing on these four key policy questions will come in the next few years.
Contents
Chapter 1 | Introduction 1
Chapter 2 | The Four Key Policy Choices for Military Engines 4
Priority 4
Allocation of Resources 5
Business Model 6
Competition 7
Informing the Critical Policy Choices 8
Chapter 3 | The U.S. Engine Industrial Base 9
Relationship between Commercial and Military Engines 9
Differences between Commercial and Military Engines 9
Benefits and Challenges of a Common Engine Industrial Base 13
The Criticality of the Engine Supply Chain 14
Understanding the Military Aircraft Engine Market 17
Major Military Engine Competitors 23
Chapter 4| Military Aircraft and Engine Trends 27
Aircraft Trends 27
Fighter/Attack Aircraft Trends 35
Chapter 5 | Defense Investment in Military Engines 44
Engine-Related Acquisition Trends 44
Engine-Related Research and Development in the Future Years Defense Program 51
Recent Engine-Related Research and Development Programs 55
Business Model for Engine Development 59
Competition in the U.S. Fighter Engine Market 62
Chapter 6 | Conclusion 66
Appendix | Methodology 67
Inventory 67
Contracts 70
Budget 72
About the Authors 76
