LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS - The U.S. Navy has awarded to GE Aircraft Engines (GEAE) a $418 million contract for 86 F414-GE-400 engines to power F/A-18E/F Super Hornet aircraft.The contract, expected to be completed by 2003, also covers inlet devices, spare parts, and logistics support.This represents the most recent contract in the Navy's long-range procurement plan to purchase a total of 1,096 F414-GE-400 engines, plus spares, for 548 F/A-18E/F aircraft.Of the 213 F414 engines purchased through earlier contracts, 116 are in operational service supporting 47 F/A-18E/F aircraft at Naval Air Stations Lemoore and China Lake in California. The engine's outstanding performance in powering the F/A-18E/F led to the highest grade the aircraft could receive during Operational Evaluation (OPEVAL) in 2000.The F414 engines will be produced at the GEAE plant in Lynn, Massachusetts, from components manufactured at Lynn and at GEAE plants in Ohio, Vermont, New Hampshire, Kentucky, North Carolina, and New Mexico, as well as by outside suppliers.The engine is currently rated at 22,000 pounds (98 kN) thrust. However, GEAE has defined a growth development roadmap that will increase thrust by as much as 25 percent. Component technology development work is already under way for the F414 Enhanced Durability Engine (EDE), a program which will bring greater durability and performance and reduced life-cycle costs to the F414.The EDE program leverages U.S. government- and GE-funded science and technology development activities to enhance the F414 compressor, combustor, and high-pressure turbine. GE seeks to make these enhancements available for future production F414 engines, as well as for retrofit into the existing F414 fleet, beginning in the 2007/2008 timeframe.