Prioritize investment in propulsion technology

OPINION:

For more than half a century, American airpower has been unrivaled.

Our control of the skies has been so complete that air superiority has come to be treated as a natural condition of U.S. military operations rather than a hard-won advantage.

In fact, the last time American ground forces suffered casualties from enemy aircraft was April 15, 1953. That’s an extraordinary achievement and something of which we should be immensely proud. It’s also something we cannot afford to take for granted.

Our dominance has rested on two pillars: the skill and professionalism of America’s pilots, maintainers and technicians, and the unmatched technological superiority of U.S. aircraft. Both are essential, and both require sustained investment.

Yet decisions made by administrations and Congresses of both parties have increasingly put that advantage at risk. Rather than reducing the likelihood of conflict with a near-peer adversary or a well-equipped proxy, we are moving closer to a moment when U.S. forces may face opponents whose capabilities rival our own.

China provides the most sobering example. From 2010 to 2020, the People’s Liberation Army Air Force invested more than $42 billion in jet propulsion technology. For years, Beijing struggled to design reliable engines and relied heavily on Russian systems. Now, propulsion has become a national priority and China can field the J-20 fighter with a domestically produced engine.

More troubling, the Pentagon’s 2024 annual report on China’s military capabilities concludes that Chinese aircraft engine technology is rapidly narrowing the gap with the United States. When combined with other advances in Chinese military power, this trend suggests that Beijing could present a credible air challenge as early as 2027 — the same time frame many analysts cite for a potential move against Taiwan.

By contrast, the United States has drifted into complacency, assuming that technological superiority will sustain itself. The result has been years of underinvestment in jet engine research and development, leaving many programs stuck at little more than maintenance levels. To its credit, the U.S. Air Force has recognized this danger and has made meaningful investments in next-generation adaptive propulsion to power future fighter aircraft.

Even this effort is now in jeopardy. Despite rhetoric about rebuilding the military, the fiscal year 2026 budget proposal reduced next-generation adaptive propulsion funding by nearly 23%, cutting it to $330 million.

This is a strategic mistake. Funding, developing and fielding next-generation fighter aircraft and their propulsion systems is not optional if the U.S. intends to maintain air dominance in the decades ahead. Pausing or slowing engine research creates gaps that are exceptionally difficult to close.

The problem is not only the rapid pace of technological change, which can quickly render existing systems obsolete, but also the erosion of institutional knowledge. As specialized engineers and skilled workers retire, hard-won expertise disappears. Rebuilding that talent base after a lapse in investment is costly, time-consuming and often impossible.

Supply-chain vulnerabilities compound the challenge. The U.S.-European Union trade agreement reached over the summer, reducing most European tariffs to 15% and including a reciprocal duty-free carve-out for aerospace, will provide some relief.

Still, maintaining an edge in air dominance platforms will require funding levels commensurate with the strategic stakes.

The character of air warfare itself is evolving. Hypersonic weapons, artificial intelligence and unmanned aerial systems are becoming increasingly central to future conflicts, and these areas demand serious investment.

Yet advanced, next-generation manned fighter aircraft, powered by propulsion systems equal to their mission, will remain indispensable. Air superiority is what enables U.S. forces and our allies to operate, survive and prevail on near-peer battlefields.

American air dominance has never been inevitable. It has been earned through foresight, sustained investment and an understanding that technological leadership is a national security imperative.

Jet propulsion sits at the heart of that advantage. Treating it as anything less than a priority risks surrendering the skies we have controlled for more than 70 years.

• John L. Barry, a retired U.S. Air Force major general, dedicated over 30 years to service as a combat fighter pilot. He is a graduate of the elite “Top Gun” Fighter Weapons School and a former military assistant to the secretary of defense.