US Army Awards GE T700 Multi-year Production Contract

GE Aviation has been awarded a multi-year contract extension from the US Army that provides for the continued production of T700 turboshaft engines in support of both Army and Navy Black Hawk series helicopters through 2014.

Under this arrangement, GE will provide its T700 engine family supporting the upgrade of existing aircraft platforms and also ship engines for new installations.

If exercised completely, this contract allows for the potential for up to an additional 3,700 T700 engines (-701D/-701E/-401C variants). As a result of this signing, 293 engines ordered in September 2008 have now been defined (deliveries 4th quarter 2008 & 1Q 2009) and three new orders were awarded for 211 engines (deliveries 2009-2011).

"This is terrific news for GE and it serves as continued validation of the significance of the T700 aboard the Black Hawk and Seahawk," said Scott Reed, director of T700 US Military Programs for GE Aviation. "Our mission is to continually look to infuse technology and quality into our products and help enhance the capability of these aircraft to the military."

A portion of these engines will go on the new UH-60M upgrade Black Hawk helicopter, as well as serve as spares for aircraft currently operating in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The -701E is the latest derivative of the T700 engine family, and it completed its first flight on the UH-60M last August. It incorporates an on-engine-mounted full authority digital engine control (FADEC). The -701E, integrated with the UH-60M upgrade's new fly-by-wire flight control system, provides more precise handling as well as reduced pilot workload and maintenance requirements.

The original T700 multi-year production contract was awarded in 2004 and covered up to 1,200 powerplants. As a result of that and this extension, 1,704 T700s have now been ordered.

GE's successful T700/CT7 family of turboprop and turboshaft engines currently powers 25 types of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft in service with more than 130 customers in more than 50 countries. This engine family has accumulated over 50 million engine flight hours of experience.