The General Electric J97 is a single-shaft

turbojet The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, an ...

engine designed and built by

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable en ...

as a compact high-performance engine for light attack fighters and eventually a number of drone projects.

Development and design

The J97 was based on GE's General Electric GE1/J1 series of turbojets and the engine development was financed by the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

. The original application was to be the Northrop P-530 (which later evolved into the

YF-17 The Northrop YF-17 (nicknamed "Cobra") is a prototype lightweight fighter aircraft designed by Northrop aviation for the United States Air Force's Lightweight Fighter (LWF) technology evaluation program. The LWF was initiated because many in t ...

), but it was ultimately only used in several small drone aircraft.

Variants

;J97-GE-100 *Standard Variant ;J97-GE-17 *Variant of the engine with of thrust proposed for use in the Super Dynamics O4-1B Robin

supersonic business jet A supersonic business jet (SSBJ) is a business jet travelling above the speed of sound: a supersonic aircraft. Some manufacturers are designing or have been designing SSBJs, but none are currently available. Usually intended to transport about t ...

Applications

Boeing YQM-94 B-Gull The Boeing YQM-94 B-Gull (also called Compass Cope B) was a developmental aerial reconnaissance drone developed by Boeing. It could take off and land from a runway like a manned aircraft, and operate at high altitudes for up to 24 hours to perfo ...

(Compass Cope B) * Ryan AQM-91 Firefly

Specifications (J97-GE-100)

References

{{USAF gas turbine engines 1960s turbojet engines J97 Abandoned military aircraft engine projects of the United States

Development and design

Variants

Applications

Specifications (J97-GE-100)

See also

References