GE Aviation, an operating unit of GE (NYSE: GE), is a world-leading provider of jet, turboshaft, turboprop and aeroderivative engines, as well as integrated systems for commercial, military, business and general aviation aircraft. GE Aviation has a global service network to support these offerings.
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GE’s T408 Turboshaft Engine
The T408 has a history with ILA Berlin—the 2018 show was the T408’s international public debut. Capable of producing more than 7,500 shaft horsepower, the T408 combines breakthrough technologies, innovative cooling schemes and modern-day durability to deliver numerous mission-critical advantages in the world’s harshest operating environments. It is rugged, simpler and more sand-tolerant than any engine in its class and offers dramatic gains in fuel efficiency and power. Most importantly, the engine was developed for the “maintainer,” and will offer significant maintenance savings.
In fall 2019, GE Aviation’s Lynn plant delivered the first production T408 engine for the Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion helicopter to the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR). MTU is a program participant on the T408, responsible for the development and manufacture of the power turbine.
Developed with platform diversity in mind, the new T408 is here for the "Long Haul" for today's heavy-lift applications.
At the 2018 ILA Berlin Air Show, not only did the CH-53K wow the crowd with its impressive “physique and roar,” but a Sikorsky pilot lauded the T408 engine’s available power as a top-3 platform enhancement (as compared to its predecessor).
GE’s F414 Turbofan Engine
When the U.S. Navy awarded GE Aviation a $754 million engineering and manufacturing development contract for the F414 engine in 1992, few could have predicted just how versatile the engine would become. Originally developed for the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, the F414 now has six applications, racking up close to 5 million flight hours and more than 1,750 engine deliveries to customers globally. And nearly three decades after it was first introduced, GE’s F414 production line in Lynn, MA, is still delivering new, high-performing engines that are delivering for pilots around the world.
Over the past 30 years, recent GE retiree Raj Das has developed sort of a personal affinity for the F414 engine – somewhat akin to that of a parent-child relationship. After all, he was involved in its “birth” (he was part of the First Engine to Test, or FETT, development team); he helped prepare it for the first time it “left the house” (he led Assembly & Test during the 1st lot of production engine shipments); and he was there to support it as it matured, overseeing manufacturing programs.
A testament to the F414’s versatility, GE Aviation officially shipped its first engine for NASA’s X-59 QueSST (short for Quiet SuperSonic Technology) in May 2020. The QueSST is an experimental piloted aircraft designed to fly faster than sound, cruise at 55,000 feet yet generate significantly less noise than previous supersonic aircraft such as the SST or Concorde.