Both established and start-up engine suppliers are piling into the market for small low-cost turbofans.
Propulsion start-up Beehive Industries has unveiled a 1,000lb-thrust (4.4kN) turbofan targeting at a rapidly growing class of uncrewed fighter aircraft.
The Colorado-headquartered company says its new Rampart engine is designed specifically for Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), offering greater performance than Beehive’s smaller Frenzy family of engines.
“This high-endurance engine can go the distance, offering extreme reliability for diverse mission profiles,” Beehive says of Rampart.
The US Air Force (USAF), US Marine Corps and Royal Australian Air Force all have active CCA development efforts in flight testing, while other services including the US Navy, UK Royal Air Force and German air force are in earlier stages of programme development.
CCA’s are initially envisioned as providing weapons and sensor support to frontline tactical fighters like the Lockheed Martin F-35A and F-22, meaning they will need sufficient aerodynamic performance to keep pace with those fast-moving jets.
Affordability and high-rate production are key CCA requirements. The aircraft will need simpler, smaller and cheaper engines than those used on conventional fighters.
The USAF has issued initial development contracts to Honeywell and to a joint venture between GE Aerospace and Kratos to deliver CCA engines in the range of 800-1,600lb-thrust. Other suppliers, including Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce, are developing their own offerings for low-cost, lightweight propulsion.
Beehive initially focused on even-smaller engines with the Frenzy line, targeting the market for long-range missiles and one-way swarm drones.
The company is preparing to launch flight testing on its launch product, the 200lb-thrust Frenzy 6, after receiving a $30 million development contract from the US Air Force in April.
Those funds will also support initial prototyping of the smaller 100lb-thrust Frenzy 8.
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