GE Aviation has been awarded an indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contract — worth more than $1 billion — by the United States Army for the production of T700 turboshaft engines.
The contract, which will last through 2024, will cover as many as 1,700 engines, if completely exercised, GE Aviation states. The engines will be manufactured from GE Aviation’s Lynn, Massachusetts, facility in the US.
The engines will also support programme requirements from other branches of the US military, including the Navy, Air Force, as well as Marines. The first T700 engine entered service with the US military in 1978, on the Black Hawk.
The T700 turboshaft engines can be found on 15 different types of rotorcraft and fixed-wing aircraft, including the Sikorsky Black Hawk, the Boeing AH-64 Apache, as well as the Bell UH-1Y Huey.
Harry Nahatis, vice president and general manager of GE Aviation’s rotorcraft and turboprop engines division says: “This new contract will extend T700 production to 46 years. The T700 has remained the pre-eminent medium-lift helicopter engine through continuous infusion of military and commercial technology.”
