General Electric Aerospace has once again postponed the delivery of an engine for a new generation helicopter. It was originally planned that it would be ready by the end of 2022.

What is known

The US Army wanted to receive the engine in 2022, but then the deadline shifted to the spring of 2023. Now, GE Aerospace says the new powerplant won’t be ready until 2024. This was recently stated by the head of the procurement department of the US Army Doug Bush (Dough Bush). According to him, the service will not be able to transfer the new engine to be installed on prototypes of the next generation helicopter “until the beginning of next year.”

The GE T901 power plant is designed to replace the T700 engine, which has been used since the 70s of the last century. The GE T901 will not only be used in the new generation helicopter that Lockheed Martin and Bell are working on under the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program. The new engine will power the UH-60 Black Hawk and AH-64 Apache helicopters.

Lockheed Martin and Bell said they have almost completed the creation of prototypes of the next generation of helicopters. They are called Raider X and Bell 360 Invictus, respectively. The companies planned to make the first flight at the end of 2023. The schedule has already been pushed back by about a year.

For its part, GE Aerospace said that the problem is not related to the development of the engine. Doug Bush described the delay as a production issue. A representative of GE Aerospace in an interview with Defense News noted that the company is experiencing problems with the supply of some components.

The GE T901 engine has already successfully passed several tests. The company plans to develop eight images for extensive testing. The first copy was able to accumulate 100 hours. The GE T901 will have to go through 1,500 hours of full-scale ground testing and 5,000 hours of qualification tests before mass production begins.

Since 2010, GE Aerospace has spent more than $300 million on engine development. In 2019, the company became the winner of the ITEP program. The new contract provides funding in the amount of $517 million until the end of the summer of 2024. The GE T901 delivers 50% more power, 25% more fuel efficiency, 20% more life and lower emissions.

Source: Defense News