The General Electric T901 (GE3000) is a

turboshaft A turboshaft engine is a form of gas turbine that is optimized to produce shaftpower rather than jet thrust. In concept, turboshaft engines are very similar to turbojets, with additional turbine expansion to extract heat energy from the exhaust ...

engine in the class currently under development for the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

Improved Turbine Engine Program The Improved Turbine Engine Program (ITEP), formerly the Advanced Affordable Turbine Engine (AATE) program, is a United States Army project to develop a General Electric T700 replacement for the UH-60 Black Hawk and AH-64 Apache, improving fuel ...

(ITEP). The ITEP plans after 2025 to re-engine over 1,300

Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift Utility helicopter, utility military helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky submitted the S-70 design for the United States Army's Utility Tactical Transpo ...

and more than 600

Boeing AH-64 Apache The Boeing AH-64 Apache () is an American twin-turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement and a tandem cockpit for a crew of two. It features a nose-mounted sensor suite for target acquisition and night visi ...

, and power the

Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft The Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program was initiated by the United States Army in 2018 to develop a successor to the Bell OH-58 Kiowa scout helicopter as part of the Future Vertical Lift program. The OH-58 was retired in 2014; ...

Development

Since 2010, General Electric has spent more than $300 million to develop and test T901-specific technologies. In 2016, the Army awarded GE Aviation a $102-million, 24-month contract for the T901

preliminary design review In the United States military integrated acquisition lifecycle the Technical section has multiple acquisition "Technical Reviews". Technical reviews and audits assist the acquisition and the number and types are tailored to the acquisition. Over ...

for which a team of more than 100 engineers was assembled. The GE-funded prototype six month testing was completed in October 2017, meeting or exceededing the ITEP performance and growth requirements. On 1 February 2019, the US Army selected the GE T901 as the winner of the ITEP program. Engineering completion and manufacturing development are contracted for $517 million, for August 2024 before low-rate production. By March 2022, the first turboshaft had begun bench tests at GE’s

Lynn, Massachusetts Lynn is the eighth-largest municipality in Massachusetts and the largest city in Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Boston city line at Suffolk Downs, Lynn is part of Greater Boston's urban inner core. Settled by E ...

facility.

Design

GE has maintained the T700 single spool architecture for modularity and reliability with

additive manufacturing 3D printing or additive manufacturing is the construction of a three-dimensional object from a CAD model or a digital 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is deposited, joined or solidified under computer co ...

and

ceramic matrix composites In materials science, ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) are a subgroup of composite materials and a subgroup of ceramics. They consist of ceramic fibers embedded in a ceramic matrix. The fibers and the matrix both can consist of any ceramic mat ...

(CMCs) from the

CFM LEAP The CFM International LEAP ("Leading Edge Aviation Propulsion") is a high-bypass turbofan engine produced by CFM International, a 50–50 joint venture between American GE Aviation and French Safran Aircraft Engines (formerly Snecma). It is th ...

GE9X The General Electric GE9X is a high-bypass turbofan developed by GE Aviation exclusively for the Boeing 777X. It first ran on the ground in April 2016 and first flew on March 13, 2018; it powered the 777-9's maiden flight in early 2020. It rec ...

or GE ATP. Additive manufactured components lower weight by minimizing attaching features in assemblies and allows more advanced aerodynamic shapes for better engine performance, reliability and durability. More durable and higher temperature CMCs replace metal alloys, needing less cooling and improving engine efficiency.

Applications

Bell 360 Invictus The Bell 360 Invictus is a proposed helicopter design intended to meet the United States Army requirement for a Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA). It is based on technology from the Bell 525 Relentless.Sikorsky Raider X The Sikorsky Raider X (stylized in all-caps as RAIDER X) is a compound helicopter concept with two coaxial rotors and a single pusher propeller, designed by the Sikorsky Aircraft division of Lockheed Martin for the United States Army Future At ...

Specifications

References

External links