GE Lands USD$325 Million VAATE Phase III & Beyond Contract with USAF

Headquartered in Evendale, Ohio, GE Aviation (a subsidiary of General Electric) is one of the leading aircraft engine suppliers. In 2011, Fortune ranked GE as the 6^th-largest firm in the U.S., the 14^th-most profitable, and for 2012, GE’s brand was valued at an estimated USD$28.8 billion.

In mid-January 2015, GE landed a USD$325 million contract with the United States Air Force for the Versatile Affordable Advanced Turbine Engines (VAATE) III and Beyond program. The goal of the program is to develop more affordable and higher quality aircraft engines with the funds that will be distributed over the next eight years. By 2017, GE hopes to have improved turboprop affordable capability by tenfold, compared to engines that were built back in 2000.

The news of the contract was met with much excitement by the 16,000 GE employees currently working at the Ohio facilities. Dayton is home to the GE Aviation EPISCenter research facility on the University of Dayton campus. The city also employs a high number of GE employees between three different local GE Aviation plants. If the Versatile Affordable Advanced Turbine Engines III and Beyond program is a success, it could mean good economic news in the long-haul for the Dayton region.

The United States Air Force and General Electric are no strangers to working together. Back in 2004, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration certified GE's CF6-80C2 engine for the U.S. Air Force C-5 Galaxy modernization program. The certification followed nearly a year of ground-testing of the engine to validate engine-aircraft integration and the new FADEC III control system. The FADEC III control system has been certified on both the GE90-115B and CFM56-7 engines. If the system development and demonstration phase is successful, the production phase could call for more than 500 CF6-80C2 propulsion systems, in addition to service support—totaling up to a USD$2.6 billion profit for GE over the life of the multi-year program.

With more than 100 million flight-hours logged on 10 different commercial applications, GE's CF6-80C2 turbofan is the best-selling commercial engine in its class. There is no doubt that GE has created a name for itself in the world of military aviation.

ASAP Semiconductor is a leading distributor of General Electric parts. We are ISO 9001-2008 certified, ASA 100 accredited, and a member of the Aviation Suppliers Association. Prospective customers can browse our inclusive catalogue of both obsolete and in-production GE parts ranging from circuit card assemblies to electromagnetic relays and more at www.asap-aerospace.com. If you are interested in a part, please feel free to contact our knowledgeable sales staff at sales@asap-aerospace.com or 714-705-4780 for a quote.

1. jacob luiz
2. Posted on February 2, 2015
aerospace parts