GE Aviation’s future fighter engine TECHNOLOGY XA100

IIRC, even largest variable cycle engines considered for ESAV or LRSA (200 klbs+ TOGW) were smaller than F135.

Part of the appeal of say a tailless aircraft is a reduction in the thrust requirement from the engine(s).

IIRC, even largest variable cycle engines considered for ESAV or LRSA (200 klbs+ TOGW) were smaller than F135.

Part of the appeal of say a tailless aircraft is a reduction in the thrust requirement from the engine(s).

This would require a bigger engine than the F-35:

Also, the language used in the article isn't clear as to whether the variant for the F-35 would have a 3rd stream. Regardless, this (and other) articles are pretty clear - the follow on variants will be larger and more powerful than those for the F-35.

Russian Defense Executive Arrested on Charges of Stealing U.S. Trade Secrets

(Source: Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty; issued Sept 05, 2019)

WASHINGTON --- A Russian defense industry executive has been arrested in Italy at the request of the United States on charges of attempting to steal trade secrets from a unit of General Electric based in Ohio.

Aleksndr Korshunov, 57, an employee of the Russian state-owned United Engine Corp and a former Foreign Ministry official, was detained at an airport in Naples on August 30, the U.S. Justice Department said in a statement on September 5.

Korshunov and Maurizio Bianchi, the former director of an Italian division of GE Aviation, are accused of hiring former GE employees to prepare a technical report on jet-engine accessories using the U.S. company’s intellectual property, according to the criminal complaint that was unsealed on September 5.

GE Aviation is one of the world’s largest suppliers of civilian and military aircraft engines. It completed the acquisition of an Italian manufacturer of aviation components in 2013. ...

... Russian President Vladimir Putin called the arrest "unfair competition," local media reported.

... Any patents or intellectual property produced during the course of their consulting work were to belong to Russia, the Justice Department said, citing the employees. "Throughout the consulting, employees allegedly used trade secrets owned by GE Aviation to create the technical report," the statement said. ...

The company is owned by state defense holding Rostec. United Engine and Rostec are both on the U.S. sanctions list. ... The Justice Department is seeking Korshunov’s extradition to the United States for trial.

https://www.globalsecurity.org/intell/l ... ferl01.htm

LOL...Good one Vlad... If they photocopied GE's IP for their consulting report then they are the owners of the photocopies.

Related news:
"Lawmakers push USAF for adaptive engine transition plan, propose $270M cut"
https://insidedefense.com/daily-news/la ... e-270m-cut

The Senate Appropriations Committee is proposing a $270 million cut to the Air Force's Adaptive Engine Transition Program and are calling on the service to deliver details on plans to transition the new engine technology into major programs like the F-35. The committee approved its version of fiscal year 2020 defense spending legislation this week. In a report accompanying the bill, lawmakers noted concern that no programs have formally mapped a plan to incorporate adaptive engine technology -- a major...

U.S. Air Force Faces Next-Generation Engine Funding Crisis

https://aviationweek.com/defense/us-air ... ing-crisis

"...Senate appropriators have threatened to reduce the fiscal 2020 budget for the Adaptive Engine Transition Program (AETP) by nearly one-third. The $270 million cut would be “pretty devastating,” says David Tweedie, general manager of GE’s advanced combat engine program. The Air Force’s requested $878 million budget for AETP calls for running the ground-test rigs next year for the rival engine prototypes: GE’s XA100 and Pratt & Whitney’s XA101. ... "



"... The Air Force’s ability to respond in public to the Senate’s concerns are limited by the secrecy restriction on NGAD concepts, says Gen. David Goldfein, the Air Force chief of staff. But he suggests more testing for the adaptive engine is required beyond the ground-rig tests funded by the AETP program. ..."



"... GE’s Tweedie describes the XA100 as an easy reengine candidate for the F-35. “That is absolutely the most near-term opportunity to transition to a platform,” he says. “There’s a little bit of transition from a prototype to a true product.”

Pratt is developing the XA101 for the same purpose but offers a more pessimistic perspective on the possible complications arising from an F-35 reengining program.

Matthew Bromberg, president of Pratt & Whitney Military Engines, says the XA101 is only designed for insertion in the F-35A. It would take more airframe development work to adapt the engine for the carrier-based F-35C, and it is impossible to integrate with the rotating nozzle of the short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing F-35B, he says. These factors raise many questions. ... "

I thought this was a given.

So..... does this mean new, more powerful engines will likely NOT come to pass? I hope not. We're way ahead in engine tech, and to see that lead erode too would be god awful.

Matthew Bromberg, president of Pratt & Whitney Military Engines, says the XA101 is only designed for insertion in the F-35A. It would take more airframe development work to adapt the engine for the carrier-based F-35C, and it is impossible to integrate with the rotating nozzle of the short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing F-35B, he says. These factors raise many questions. ... "

Raise questions about what? Seems like a boner hat way to interfere with progress for political means.

Matthew Bromberg, president of Pratt & Whitney Military Engines, says the XA101 is only designed for insertion in the F-35A. It would take more airframe development work to adapt the engine for the carrier-based F-35C, and it is impossible to integrate with the rotating nozzle of the short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing F-35B, he says. These factors raise many questions. ... "

Raise questions about what? Seems like a boner hat way to interfere with progress for political means.

"... “Are you going to bifurcate the variants?” Bromberg asks. “Also, this is an Air Force technology. Are you going to sell it to partner countries? I don’t know the answer to that. And here we are marching down the cost-reduction curve on the Joint Strike Fighter. Are you going to take a pause in that cost reduction and look at maybe changing the production lots? ..."

Matthew Bromberg, president of Pratt & Whitney Military Engines, says the XA101 is only designed for insertion in the F-35A. It would take more airframe development work to adapt the engine for the carrier-based F-35C, and it is impossible to integrate with the rotating nozzle of the short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing F-35B, he says. These factors raise many questions. ... "

Hard to believe it would take anymore to adapt the XA-101 (or XA-100) to the F-35C than the F-35A.

Means nothing at this stage of development.....

The AETP assessment (possibly a real technological readiness assessment) goes through the end
of the 1st quarter of CY 2022.

It's at least a two year process (on average) from there to put together the CDD and get JROC to approve it so
you can release the RFP for EMD.

So realistically, I wouldn't expect to see much until FY25 i.e. outside of the FYDP.

Has anybody heard any recent news on the progress of the ACE Engines??? (XA100 and XA101)