LE BOURGET - Already a part of military propulsion history, GE Aircraft Engines' best-selling F404 and F110 fighter engine families are expanding their global presence and are being evaluated for new aircraft applications.
The F404 and F110 engines, with more than 5,000 in service worldwide, are positioned for production into the 21st century with recent purchases of F/A-18 and F-16C/D aircraft. In addition, GE is supporting sales campaigns for Lockheed-Martin's F-16C/D with the F110 and McDonnell Douglas' F/A-18 and the Saab/BAe JAS 39 Gripen with the F404 and F404/RM12 engines, respectively, in Central Europe, the Middle East, South America, and the Pacific Rim. New aircraft applications for the F110 and F404 are also being pursued.
The F110-GE-129 engine has begun a U.S. Air Force Field Service Evaluation (FSE) program for the F-15E aircraft. (Although the F110 is not currently deployed on the twin-engine F-15, the F110 powers the majority of the single-engine F-16C/Ds in service worldwide.) The FSE program is scheduled for approximately 18 months to two years in duration and will involve more than 1,000 F110 engine flight hours on two F-15E aircraft from the USAF Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron based at Nellis Air Force Base, near Las Vegas, Nevada.
Since April, the USAF has completed more than 30 F110-powered F-15E flights. Later this year, a second F-15E will join the FSE flight test program. The FSE follows the successful completion of the F110/F-15E qualification flight test program in 1996.
The F110 engine family, which powers F-16C/Ds for the USAF and for Bahrain, Egypt, Greece, Israel, and Turkey, is also powering four of Japan's Mitsubishi F-2 aircraft currently in flight test. Selected by Japan for the F-2, the F110-GE-129 to date has accumulated more than 600 engine flight hours on the test aircraft.
In 1998, GE will deliver to Japan the first F110-GE-129 production engine kits as the F-2 transitions into a production program. Final assembly of the engines will be handled by Japan's Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries.
A new F110 derivative, the F110-GE-129EFE, is successfully continuing development. The engine features a long-chord-blisk (blades integral with the disk) fan and an improved augmentor with a radial design adapted from the F414 engine. Both components have completed substantial factory testing, including simulated flight conditions throughout the envelope.
The F404 was ordered in 1996 by the government of Thailand in its purchase of eight F/A-18s -- another example of the F404's dramatically increased international presence in recent years. Entering service with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marines in 1981, the F404-powered F/A-18 is now in operational service with the governments of Australia, Canada, Kuwait, Spain, Switzerland, Finland, and Malaysia.
In addition to the F/A-18, the F404 also powers the USAF F-117A Stealth Fighter, the Singapore Aerospace A-4S Super Skyhawk, and the JAS 39 Gripen aircraft in service with the Swedish Air Force. A variant of the F404/RM12 will also power the India Light Combat Aircraft technology demonstrators scheduled to fly later this year.
Having accumulated more than six million flight hours on multiple aircraft with world-class reliability and single-engine experience, the F404 is being evaluated as an engine for Korea's KTX-2, an indigenous advanced trainer aircraft.
The F404 benefits from continuous technology upgrades. The F/A-18's latest model, the F404-GE-402, incorporates several technologies developed in conjunction with GE's new F414 fighter engine in development for the U.S. Navy's F/A-18E/F program, including a more durable, lightweight composite outer duct and monocrystal turbine blades. Technology advances are also planned for the F404/RM12 engine (for the JAS 39), including a new Full Authority Digital Electronic Control system, new radial flameholder, and an improved turbine section with third-generation monocrystal turbine blades. This engine is being considered for a late Lot II JAS 39 introduction as well as for a fleet retrofit.