OPINION:
A centuries-old proverb reminds us that one lost nail can cripple a horse, causing the rider to fall and the battle to be lost.
This proverb holds even more true today in the critical Indo-Pacific region, where the U.S. risks losing a “nail” and putting its interests in the area in jeopardy. The nail is the Next Generation Adaptive Propulsion program, which will help America produce advanced engines, the most critical components of our most sophisticated fighter aircraft of today and tomorrow.
Congress should accelerate funding for the NGAP program at this vital time. Drawing on its massive military force, industrial base and world-class capability in advanced technology, China is approaching the time when it can achieve its stated goal to be ready to seize Taiwan by 2027. In response, the U.S. is shifting its strategic orientation more toward the Indo-Pacific region, strengthening relations with partner nations throughout the area. The purpose is simple: to deter Chinese action before it occurs, buying time for peaceful resolution of a long-simmering conflict.
The sheer geographical challenge of conducting military operations in the Indo-Pacific is immense. The area is unimaginably vast, comprising about 100 million square miles — more than 50% of the entire surface of the globe. Most of those 100 million square miles are water, limiting our means of maneuver to ships and aircraft.
Not surprisingly, distances between key points in the Indo-Pacific are correspondingly long. Guam, home of Andersen Air Force Base, is more than 1,700 air miles from Taiwan. Kyushu, the Japanese island closest to Taiwan, is more than 1,300 air miles away. The distance between Taiwan and our ally Australia is roughly 3,500 air miles.
The region’s geography underscores the vital role our fifth-generation F-35 and sixth-generation fighter aircraft must play in bolstering deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region. These advanced aircraft combine stealth, maneuverability, speed and a large weapons capacity with a superbly trained force of pilots, aerial refuelers, ground crews, support personnel and infrastructure that collectively generate air power. However, given the challenges of the Indo-Pacific, where distance equals time and time equals fuel, new adaptive propulsion aircraft engines are required.
Adaptive propulsion engines are remarkable. An adaptive propulsion engine does not face trade-offs between speed and distance that mark other aircraft engines. This developing technology could force a higher proportion of air flowing through the turbofan engine into the combustion chamber, where it is ignited to increase the thrust; or, some of the airflow can bypass the combustion chamber to reduce overall thrust but obtain greater fuel efficiency. The engine adapts to the mission’s demands, whether it is speed or distance.
As simple as this sounds, the technology is incredibly sophisticated and important to mission effectiveness. The benefits of this technology, particularly in the Indo-Pacific, are clear.
In a long-distance flight to a designated area, fuel consumption can be reduced, extending range, allowing greater loiter time in an assigned area, and reducing requirements for heat management throughout the airframe.
When thrust needs to be increased, for instance, in combat maneuvering, the adaptive propulsion system responds instantaneously.
Although the U.S. has an edge in developing the technology, many other countries are working to create their own versions of adaptive propulsion engines. China is hard at work on what it calls its Adaptive Cycle Engine, destined for its newest generation of aircraft. Japan, Italy and Britain have formed a consortium to develop the Global Combat Air Program, consisting of a new airframe and new propulsion technology.
Working with the Air Force, Congress can restore the money NGAP needs and even consider accelerating the original schedule. There is no free lunch, of course, but two measures can reduce the unit cost of the NGAP engine to make the technology even more cost-effective.
We should first seek cooperative development agreements and co-production of the NGAP with our closest allies. For instance, it may be possible to design the European Global Combat Air Program aircraft with our NGAP engine in mind. As demonstrated by the F-16 program many years ago, this will strengthen our collective security and drive down costs.
China’s 2027 goal should not be taken lightly. The NGAP engine is an important component of U.S. air superiority and supports a credible deterrent to Chinese aggression. Congress should not let funding cuts be the “lost nail” that inhibits the U.S. from maintaining peace and protecting its interests in this vital region.
• Stephen E. Ockenden, a Vietnam War veteran, received his Ph.D. in international politics and national security policy from the University of Minnesota. Now retired, he was a senior staff member of the U.S. Senate for eight years and subsequently worked in the spacecraft industry, international logistics and cooperative threat reduction projects.
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