GE Aviation hosted the U.S. Army for the successful Preliminary
Design Review (PDR) of the T901-GE-900 engine in early March. The
T901 is GE Aviation’s engine for the Improved Turbine Engine
Program (ITEP), the U.S. Army’s undertaking to re-engine its Boeing
AH-64 Apaches and Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawks. The PDR is a major
milestone within the Technology Maturation and Risk Reduction
(TMRR) contract, a $102 million, 24-month contract the Army awarded
GE in September 2016.
The Army is in the process of down selecting to one engine
manufacturer for the Engineering and Manufacturing Development
(EMD) phase by the end of 2018. The U.S. Army Contracting Command
(ACC), based at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Ala., released its
request for proposals for the EMD last November. GE Aviation
submitted the first phase of the proposal in February and is
currently preparing the second and final phase of its proposal
based on the engine configuration reviewed at the PDR.
GE Aviation successfully completed a fit test with the Army this
past December using a full-scale engine mockup. It demonstrated
that the T901 engine seamlessly integrates with the Apache and
Black Hawk airframes. GE’s experience in powering these aircraft
missions with the T700 engine over the past four decades has
informed its development of the T901; it positions the Army and GE
to make a smooth transition from the T700 to the T901.
GE has invested more than $9 billion in maturing commercial
technologies applicable to the T901 and more than $300 million to
develop and test turboshaft-specific technologies ahead of the PDR.
GE funded and successfully completed testing a T901 prototype
engine, as well as component tests. These company-funded
investments demonstrate GE’s commitment to providing only the most
advanced technologies available to the Warfighter and the
Department of Defense.
“The simple, proven, single-spool design of the T901, coupled
with GE’s advanced commercial and military technologies, allow it
to exceed the Army’s requirements,” said Ron Hutter, executive
director of the T901 program. “The T901 is lighter, less complex
and more maintainable for the Warfighter, which leads to improved
readiness and reduced life-cycle costs.” Learn more about the
T901’s proven, single-spool design here.
The T901 incorporates many proven technologies that will advance
Army Aviation into the future of vertical lift, including additive
manufacturing, 3D aerodynamic design tools, ceramic matrix
composites (CMCs), advanced cooling technologies and sand
tolerant technologies. GE has spent decades developing and maturing
these technologies in its commercial and military engines
businesses.
The incorporation of additive (3-D printed) parts in the T901
leverages investments in new production plants, equipment and
designs utilized for GE’s commercially-funded programs such as GE’s
Catalyst™ advanced turboprop engine for the Cessna Denali. The
Catalyst engine is the world’s first turboprop engine with 3-D
printed parts. Additive manufacturing allows GE to create
advanced, cost effective parts at an accelerated rate that reduce
fuel burn, decrease weight and increase durability. For example,
the T901 includes an additive part that reduces an assembly of more
than 50 subcomponents into one part. GE is an industry leader in
the additive manufacturing space, having created a separate
business, GE Additive, with an elite network of manufacturing and
design experts who are advancing additive manufacturing technology
every day. Learn more about additive manufacturing here, and
about its impact on the aerospace industry here.
In just 10 years, GE Aviation has spent more than $1.5 billion
to bring advanced CMC technology to market. To meet the projected
future demand for CMCs, GE invested $200 million to build America’s
first center for mass-producing raw materials used to manufacture
ceramic matrix composites (CMCs). It is in Huntsville, Ala., and
will host its ribbon cutting May 9, 2018.
Additive manufactured components and CMC parts currently fly on
CFM International’s best-selling LEAP engine
and GE’s newest widebody engine in development, the
GE9X engine. CFM International is a 50/50 joint company
between GE and Safran Aircraft Engines. The LEAP achieved the one
million engine flight hour milestone and was recognized by the
world’s top senior business executives, academics and innovation
professionals at the 2018 Edison Awards with a Silver award. The
GE9X, the world’s largest jet engine, recently completed its first
flight March 14 aboard GE’s flying testbed. Additive and CMC
parts—which dramatically reduce fuel consumption, lower aircraft
operating weight and increase durability—will have millions of
hours of operating experience by the time the T901 enters
production, enabling the engine to exceed the Army's aggressive
performance targets with field-proven, low-cost technologies.
Additionally, these proven technologies offer exceptional growth
capability. Just as GE has doubled the power of the T700 over its
lifetime within the same installation envelope, GE will continue to
develop innovative, low-cost ways to incorporate advanced
technologies to meet the Army’s future growth requirements.
For more information about the T901, visit
www.geaviation.com/T901, which includes a T901 video and the T901
white paper. Access this release on GE Aviation’s web site
here.
GE’s T901 turboshaft design, manufacturing, assembly and testing
will be supported by the following site locations: Lynn, Mass.;
Huntsville, Ala.; Newark, Del.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Loves Park,
Ill.; Madisonville, Ky.; Muskegon, Mich.; Hookset, N.H.; Asheville,
N.C.; West Chester and Evendale, Ohio; and Rutland, Vt.
Regional impacts:
For Massachusetts: The ITEP PDR contract supports more than 100
equivalent fulltime engineers, predominantly located at the GE
Aviation facility in Lynn, Mass. Designing, manufacturing and
supporting T700 engines for the Army’s Apache and Black Hawk
helicopters has been a significant part of GE Lynn’s business for
decades. GE is aggressively competing for this next generation
engine to ensure it can deliver improved capability to the U.S.
Army.
For Northern Alabama: During the ITEP PDR contract, GE Aviation
is proving the benefit of incorporating advanced hot section
materials such as Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMCs) in the T901
engine. GE will be opening two CMC material production facilities
in Huntsville, Ala., to ensure there is sufficient production
capability for future engines like the T901. GE invested $200
million in the facilities, which will employ up to 300 new
workers.
For Southern Alabama: During the ITEP PDR contract GE Aviation
is proving the benefits of incorporating advanced manufacturing
methods such as additive manufacturing in the T901 engine. GE is
expanding its additive manufacturing production capability at its
Auburn, Ala., facility. In 2014, GE announced it would invest $50
million in the existing 300,000-square-foot Auburn facility to
prepare for the additional additive work. Upon completion, GE’s
investments in Auburn will total more than $125 million since 2011,
creating more than 300 new jobs.
ABOUT GE AVIATION
GE Aviation, an operating unit of GE (NYSE: GE), is a
world-leading provider of jet and turboprop engines, components,
integrated digital, avionics, electrical power and mechanical
systems for commercial, military, business and general aviation
aircraft. GE Aviation has a global service network to support these
offerings and is part of the world's Digital Industrial Company
with software-defined machines and solutions that are connected,
responsive and predictive. For more information, visit us
at http://www.ge.com/aviation. Follow GE Aviation on Twitter
at http://twitter.com/GEAviation and YouTube
at http://www.youtube.com/user/GEAviation.
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GE AviationDave Wilson206-660-4462DavidJon.Wilson@ge.com
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