GE Aerospace has completed the next series of testing on its XA100 adaptive cycle engine, gathering additional data to advance the technology for future combat aircraft.
Adaptive cycle engines are critical to ensure U.S. combat aircraft maintain their edge, by providing 30 percent greater range and significantly more thermal management compared to other advanced combat engines.
The engine testing provides further understanding into which critical components can be used to improve design and manufacturing approaches for the future production of adaptive cycle engines. Data from this new round of testing, coupled with data from prior rounds, will directly inform and benefit the Next Generational Adaptive Propulsion (NGAP) effort underway by the U.S. Air Force.
As part of NGAP, GE Aerospace also has a second adaptive engine in development, the XA102, which completed a major design review in December 2023. The XA102 will now continue toward a prototype engine test. The combination of digital design and learnings from GE Aerospace’s first adaptive cycle engine will allow XA102 to deliver the required propulsion performance to enable future air dominance capabilities.
GE Aerospace state that it has logged hundreds of hours of rigorous, system-level performance and operability testing, far exceeding the required baseline testing. GE Aerospace has the empirical knowledge of adaptive cycle engine architectures and the transformational capabilities they offer.
The company add that continued bipartisan support from both houses of Congress for the development and testing of adaptive cycle engines will ensure the military’s sixth generation fighter engine programs remain on schedule, delivering the performance needed to maintain U.S. air superiority. The testing builds on over a decade of work by hundreds of engineers, in partnership with the U.S. Air Force, to maximize Congress’ investment in these capabilities.
GE Aerospace Defense and Systems President and CEO, Amy Gowder, commented; “With the information gathered through our fourth round of testing, the future of military aviation is no longer theoretical – it is a reality. Every additional terabyte of data we gather off this real-world engine puts GE Aerospace and our military in a better position to deliver cutting-edge aviation capabilities to the warfighter.”
