GE Aviation, in coordination with the U.S. Army's Combat Capabilities Development Command (CCDC) – Aviation and Missile Center (AvMC), is nearing completion of the Future Affordable Turbine Engine (FATE) program, a multi-year initiative to develop a 5,000- to 10,000-shaft horsepower turboshaft engine.

The program is jointly funded by GE and the Army and was created to meet a series of aggressive weight, cost and performance goals. These include a 35 percent reduction in specific fuel consumption, an 80 percent improvement in power-to-weight ratio, a 20 percent improvement in design life and 45 percent reduction in production and maintenance costs relative to currently fielded legacy engines.

As part of the program requirements, GE has successfully tested two engines. GE has also completed several component tests, including the inlet particle separator, compressor, combustor and turbine. The full engine test program completed over 130 hours of testing and captured more than 2,200 steady-state data points.

"We're pleased with the results from engine and component testing, which completed all primary objectives," said Harry Nahatis, VP and General Manager of GE Aviation's Rotorcraft and Turboprops Programs. "Our FATE program has utilised GE's impressive stack of commercially-developed technologies and has enabled the most advanced turboshaft development engine in our history."

Technologies developed and demonstrated under the FATE agreement will serve as the technology pipeline to meet next generation turboshaft engine requirements. These technologies are being incorporated into new engines, including GE's T901 engine, which the U.S. Army selected to reengine its Black Hawk and Apache fleet through the Improved Turbine Engine (ITE) program.

FATE technologies are also applicable for existing products such as the T700 engine, which has powered Black Hawks and Apaches around the world for the past four decades, and the military-qualified T408 engine, which is a contender for the Army Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA).