GE Aerospace [GE] has finished a fourth round of testing on the XA100 adaptive cycle engine “to gather additional data and advance this next-generation technology for future combat aircraft.” the company said on May 8.
Last November, GE said that it had performed third phase testing
of the second XA100 at its Evendale, Ohio plant outside of Cincinnati over the summer (Defense Daily, Nov. 14, 2023).
The following month, GE “completed a major design review” of the second engine, the XA102, which “will now continue toward a prototype engine test” as part of the U.S. Air Force’s Next Generation Adaptive Propulsion program (NGAP), the company said on May 8.
“The combination of digital design and learnings from GE Aerospace’s first adaptive cycle engine will allow XA102 to deliver the required propulsion performance key to enabling future air dominance capabilities,” GE said.
NGAP engine prototyping with GE and RTX‘s [RTX] Pratt & Whitney is a change from the previous strategy, which envisioned just one engine provider in the prototyping phase. That change came because of increased NGAP funding, the Air Force has said.
NGAP is to outfit the Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance manned fighter.
“Adaptive cycle engines are critical to ensure U.S. combat aircraft maintain their superiority by providing 30 percent greater range and significantly more thermal management compared to today’s most advanced combat engine,” GE said on May 8.