The US Air Force is funding development of adaptive-cycle turbofans under the Next Generation Adaptive Propulsion programme.
GE Aerospace and Pratt & Whitney (P&W) have advanced their designs for adaptive-cycle turbofans for sixth-generation fighters under the US Air Force’s Next Generation Adaptive Propulsion (NGAP) programme.
That effort is meant to deliver engines to power the developmental Boeing F-47 air dominance fighter or other advanced combat aircraft.
GE confirmed on 11 May it completed an assembly readiness review of its XA102 NGAP design. That evaluation is meant to assess not just the readiness of the engine itself but also progress building out a manufacturing process and supporting supply chain.
GE says it expects the US Air Force to award funding for the next phase of NGAP development later this year.
“With the completion of the Assembly Readiness Review, we are demonstrating the maturity of our XA102 engine design and the strength of our digital-first approach to developing next-generation propulsion systems,” says Steve Russell, general manager of GE’s Edison Works advanced projects unit.
“Our use of a fully integrated digital engine model, which spans design, manufacturing and inspection, positions us to deliver advanced capability faster and with greater precision,” he adds.
Key goals of the NGAP programme include maturing technologies that will increase the range of next-generation fighters, reduce the jet’s thermal signature and boost onboard electricity generation — critical for powering new weapons and sensors.
Less than a week earlier, on 8 May, rival engine maker P&W revealed it also completed a technical assessment of its XA103 design using a fully digital model. The RTX subsidiary says the assembly readiness review is a key step in transitioning from digital design to producing a physical prototype.
“As we move forward with assembling our engine for testing, our NGAP team is simultaneously developing novel digital validation tools,” says Jill Albertelli, president of military engines for P&W.
“The performance we expect this engine to deliver exceeds anything available today, reinforcing the critical importance of continuous improvement and stable investment in maintaining propulsion as a strategic competitive advantage,” she adds.
P&W says it expects to finish assembling an XA103 prototype sometime in the “late 2020s”, with ground testing shortly to follow.
That means the initial batch of Boeing F-47 fighters will not fly with an NGAP engine. The Pentagon says it expects to begin aerial testing the F-47 as soon as 2028, well before one of the experimental adaptive turbofans is certified for actual flights.
Neither the USAF nor Boeing has disclosed what engine will initially power the F-47.
P&W and GE Aerospace previously built and delivered prototype adaptive engines to the US Air Force under a research and development programme called the Adaptive Engine Transition Program (AETP).
That effort was meant to produce a more-powerful successor to the P&W F135 that powers the USAF’s fifth-generation Lockheed Martin F-35A stealth fighters. Though both companies delivered working prototypes for ground testing, the AETP effort was ultimately scrapped in favour of a core upgrade to the existing F135 – owing to cost concerns and lack of support from the US Navy and Marine Corps, which operate the B- and C-variant F-35s.
Both propulsion manufacturers say their work on the AETP demonstrators, which were designated the GE XA100 and P&W XA101, has carried over into the NGAP designs.
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