The F-35 Lightning II, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, can reach supersonic speeds and may be the world’s stealthiest fighter plane. For pilots, its advanced electronic systems are what really set it apart. Designed to replace most of the United States’ aging fighter fleet, the F-35 comes equipped with a constellation of sensors and avionics that assemble a remarkably detailed picture of conditions in and around the aircraft. GE Aerospace supplies eight of those systems, including electrical power management, aircraft memory, remote interface units for the fuselage and missiles, and engine-monitoring technology. This spring, GE Aerospace signed a four-year performance-based logistics (PBL) contract with Lockheed Martin to maintain and repair this equipment on F-35 aircraft around the world.

Demonstrated commercial success has engineers and program leaders bullish about CMCs and their impact on a new engine in GE’s military business: the XA100 Adaptive Cycle Engine.

Ashley Havera, global field services and product support team director for Military Systems Operation (MSO), recently got an up close and personal view of GE military engines in action aboard the U.S.Navy's USS Abraham Lincoln.

Full-scale prototype engine testing in the AETP program is the capstone of a multi-year technology maturation and risk reduction effort to bring an adaptive cycle engine to full maturity in close partnership with the U.S. Air Force. GE’s first XA100 engine tests began in December 2020, marking the world’s first ever run of a flight-weight three-stream adaptive cycle engine. Tests successfully validated the engine’s ability to deliver transformational propulsion capability to current and future fighter aircraft. Engine prototypes assembled as part of AETP are designed to fit and integrate directly into the F-35.

A transformational GE military engine program and a unique GE leadership program are bringing home some hardware as 2021 recipients of Aviation Week Network’s Laureates awards.