LYNN, Mass. -- A new U.S. Army contract ensures the continuation of a fleet-wide T700 helicopter engine upgrade program that could ultimately involve more than 5,000 engines.
An Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) agreement, valued at $180 million to GE Aviation for 2007, involves upgrading Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk and Boeing AH-64 Apache T700 engines to the more-advanced T700-701D configuration. The work is being performed at Corpus Christi Army Depot (CCAD).
The Army announced in 2004 plans to convert its entire Apache and Black Hawk helicopter fleet to the T700-GE-701D. The potential long-term value of the program to GE is valued at more than $1.5 billion.
The -701D features improved hot-section components that provide twice the hot section durability, lower life-cycle costs, and 5% more power than the current T700-701C engine. Rated at 2000 shaft horsepower, the -701D was awarded U.S. Army qualification in 2004.
"We are committed to supporting our US military customer's fleet transformation with timely and quality deliveries," said Scott Reed, GE's director of T700 US Military Programs. "This initiative both upgrades the engines and also narrows down the number of configurations the Army needs to support."
Based on estimated workload at CCAD, that includes 450 engines converted in '06, retrofitting all remaining Apache and Black Hawk engines could be accomplished over the next five years.
This contract is the latest in a series and follows a five-year, $668-million CCAD contract that was initiated in 2000. During that time frame, overhaul turntimes have been reduced by 80%, while production capacity has tripled from 500 units per year to 1,600.
The GE-CCAD teaming arrangement has been instrumental in eliminating all engine backlogs during the Iraq conflict, while sustaining a 3X-operating tempo during follow-up missions. Based on this success, GE received the Army's 2004 Material Readiness Contributions Award for a Major Contractor.
T700-701D upgrade opportunities for GE also exist in the foreign military sales world, covering 2,000-plus engines for both current AH-64 operators and those on contract for UH-60M deliveries later this decade.
The T700 engine and its civil counterpart, the CT7, have amassed more than 50 million flight-hours powering 21 different aircraft models in service throughout the world. T700-powered aircraft accounted for nearly 70 percent of the U.S. Army's flight-hours in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
GE Aviation, an operating unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), is one of the world's leading manufacturers of jet engines for civil and military aircraft. GE also is a global provider of maintenance and support services for operators of GE jet engines.