Multiple sources indicate that President Donald Trump’s plan to develop a twin-engine version of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fighter jet remains unrealistic. The insiders claim that the proposed F-55 variant with two engines and significant upgrades would require extensive engineering efforts and significant financial investment.
The F-35 development team at Lockheed Martin has not presented Trump with a twin-engine design but instead proposed incremental enhancements to the existing F-35 including an advanced engine system and new sensors and an updated forward fuselage. The proposed enhancements would be costly yet achievable since they represent a simpler approach than starting from scratch.
The announcement Trump made about the twin-engine “F-55” design during his visit to Doha caught Lockheed officials by surprise. The development of a twin-engine variant would require extensive time and would likely generate expenses exceeding billions of dollars which would make the procurement process more complicated.
The development of twin-engine jets occurs as China and Russia continue to advance their stealth fighter aircraft programs in an increasingly competitive global fighter aircraft market. The industry experts predict that while small improvements are possible the development of a new design from scratch remains unlikely.
The administration works with Lockheed on air dominance initiatives but Trump’s proposed twin-engine jet remains a distant goal.
