There was misinformation in George McLaren’s letter (June 19) about the Joint Strike Fighter engine program and the facts need to be communicated.

The claim of $20 billion in savings is false. The only portion of the JSF engine program available for competition is the approximately $21 billion (GAO number) for new production and initial spare engines. If savings of 12 percent were possible (GAO number), payback to the government is only $2.5 billion.

Ashton Carter, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, recently reiterated the Pentagon’s long-standing opposition to the extra engine program. In a June 13 letter, Secretary Carter wrote that the self-funding scenario “is simply not realistic” and could be used as “a means to re-establish government funding for development of the F136 at a later date.”

Pratt & Whitney has completed engine development, and is delivering production engines to the customer, 24 to date. Pratt & Whitney’s F135 continues to perform well and is the only engine to power the F-35 with nearly 1,000 flight tests while maintaining a mission readiness level of 98 percent.

These results stand in stark contrast to the defunded extra engine, which the Pentagon doesn’t want and the taxpayers can’t afford.

Stephanie Duvall, East Hartford, Conn.

Communications manager, military engines, Pratt & Whitney