Lockheed-Martin F-35 Fighter Program Loses $2.16 Billion Under Budget Deal

The budget compromise up for consideration by Congress cuts $2.16 billion from Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program and doesn’t include money for the jet’s alternative engine being developed by General Electric Co. (GE) and Rolls Royce Group Plc.

The White House and congressional leaders agreed to a $670.8 billion Defense Department appropriations bill for 2011 that is $18.1 billion below the Pentagon’s original request for the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30.

The base budget proposed for the Pentagon is $513 billion while funds for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan remain at $157.8 billion, the amount requested by the Obama administration, according to budget details released by the Senate.

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