I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6292 

To direct the Department of Defense to report to Congress on the potential 

integration of advanced propulsion systems into F–35 aircraft, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 14, 2021 

Mr. WENSTRUP (for himself and Mr. TURNER) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To direct the Department of Defense to report to Congress 

on the potential integration of advanced propulsion systems into F–35 aircraft, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) Fighter propulsion is one of the few areas 

6 in which the United States maintains a clear advan7 tage over near-peer adversaries, specifically China 

8 and its threat to the Indo-Pacific region. 


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1 (2) The F–35 will be one of the key elements 

2 of the frontline fighter forces of the military services 

3 and United States allies and partners for decades to 

4 come. 

5 (3) Failure to develop an adaptive cycle engine 

6 and make it available for production on the F–35 

7 would constitute a missed opportunity and open a 

8 door for United States adversaries to overtake field9 ed engine technology. 

10 (4) Maintaining a strong industrial base and 

11 competition is critical to supporting the National 

12 Defense Strategy. 

13 SEC. 2. ADAPTIVE ENGINE TRANSITION PROGRAM ACQUISI14 TION STRATEGY FOR THE F–35A AIRCRAFT. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

16 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the 

17 Air Force, in consultation with the Under Secretary of De18 fense for Acquisition and Sustainment, shall submit to the 

19 congressional defense committees a report on the integra20 tion of the Adaptive Engine Transition Program propul21 sion system into the F–35A aircraft. 

22 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required under sub23 section (a) shall include the following: 

24 (1) A competitive acquisition strategy, informed 

25 by fiscal considerations, to— 


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1 (A) integrate the Adaptive Engine Transi2 tion Program propulsion system into the F–35A 

3 aircraft; and 

4 (B) begin, in fiscal year 2027, activities to 

5 retrofit all F–35A aircraft with such propulsion 

6 system. 

7 (2) An implementation plan to implement such 

8 strategy. 

9 (3) A schedule annotating pertinent milestones 

10 and yearly fiscal resource requirements for the im11 plementation of such strategy. 

12 SEC. 3. ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEM ACQUISITION 

13 STRATEGY FOR THE F–35B AND F–35C AIR14 CRAFT. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

16 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the 

17 Navy, in consultation with the Under Secretary of Defense 

18 for Acquisition and Sustainment, shall submit to the con19 gressional defense committees a report on the integration 

20 of an advanced propulsion system into F–35B and F–35C 

21 aircraft. 

22 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required under sub23 section (a) shall include the following: 

24 (1) An analysis of the effects of an advanced 

25 propulsion system on the combat effectiveness and 


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1 sustainment costs of F–35B and F–35C aircraft, in2 cluding any effects resulting from— 

3 (A) increased thrust, fuel efficiency, ther4 mal capacity, and electrical generation; and 

5 (B) improvements in acceleration, speed, 

6 range, and overall mission effectiveness. 

7 (2) An assessment of how the integration of an 

8 advanced propulsion system may result in— 

9 (A) a reduction in dependency on support 

10 assets, including air refueling and replenish11 ment tankers; and 

12 (B) an overall cost benefit to the Depart13 ment from reduced acquisition and sustainment 

14 for such support assets. 

15 (3) A competitive acquisition strategy informed 

16 by fiscal considerations, the assessment of combat 

17 effectiveness under paragraph (1), and consideration 

18 of technical limitations— 

19 (A) to integrate an advanced propulsion 

20 system into F–35B aircraft and F–35C air21 craft; 

22 (B) to begin, not later than fiscal year 

23 2027, activities to produce all F–35B aircraft 

24 and all F–35C aircraft with such propulsion 

25 systems; and 


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1 (C) to begin, not later than fiscal year 

2 2027, activities to retrofit all F–35B aircraft 

3 and all F–35C aircraft with such propulsion 

4 systems. 

5 (c) ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEM DEFINED.—In 

6 this section, term ‘‘advanced propulsion system’’ means— 

7 (1) a derivative of the propulsion system devel8 oped for the F–35 aircraft under the Adaptive En9 gine Transition Program of the Air Force; or 

10 (2) a derivative of a propulsion system pre11 viously developed for the F–35 aircraft. 

Æ 


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