In my opinion, every fighter plane ,like the F-35, needs a choice of 2
engines, to keep costs down and avoid any politics on it, it's a no-
brainer, the USA cannot end up depending on just one source, in this
case P&W, for such an important line of product, 2 sources will make
sure that later , when new ram/scramjet/etc. solutions come on line,
there are options and fair competition , and the one billion dollar
needed to deliver that second engine ( in this case a G.E. / RR ) can
easily come from the absurdly expensive and un-needed ( and never
asked for ) new subs, destroyers, FCS that so far is just a
contractor's kid wish list ( the trucks were bottom-flat , still !!! )
and other missile bunga-lungas that were designed so that the
Contractor's chairman and Board members could get a new 200 foot boat
with helicopter, what a criminal shame ! another massive corrupt
hole just discovered is that even when for the last 3 years, steel,
alloys and other key materials have come down in price, the Pentagon
never demanded from the contractors to adjust the price, they paid
always the same old top price !!!! who is in charge ? the
contractor's kid.

There are 50 billion dollars a year in the Pentagon budget that must
be taken out from the waste basket.