LYNN — General Electric in the city began tests on the first T901-GE-900 engine, the company’s next-generation rotorcraft engine, which will power the US Army’s UH-60 Black Hawk, AH-64 Apache and the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA).
General Electric (GE) upgraded three test cells in Lynn to efficiently test this comprehensive engine, adding systems to absorb the increased power and allow no-load operation of the engine; improved instrumentation capability; and upgraded test controls.
“We’re excited to get testing started on this engine. It’s the biggest milestone to date in the ITE (Improved Turbine Engine) program and the result of the strong collaboration between GE and U.S. Army teams,” said GE T901 Program Director Tom Champion. “The early testing data we’ve gathered indicates the engine is performing in line with our expectations and Army requirements.”
In 2019, the Army chose GE’s T901 engine for the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase of the ITE program, which replaces the engines of its Apache and Black Hawk fleets. The Army also chose the 3,000-shaft horsepower T901 for the FARA program.
Compared to the previous engine, the GE T700, the T901’s 50-percent power increase restores aircraft performance, while its 25-percent better specific fuel consumption reduces fuel usage and carbon emissions and its increased component durability will lower life-cycle costs.
GE uses 3D-printed manufactured parts and ceramic matrix composites of advanced materials, which GE said are key technologies enabling the T901’s performance.
The T901 also maintains the same aircraft mounting and installation envelope as the T700.
Testing of the first engine is the start of a multi-year test campaign to reach full Army qualification.
During the remainder of testing for the first engine, the test team will perform a number of simulated flight conditions to collect performance data of the highly-instrumented test engine.
