GE Aerospace, Microsoft Deliver AI Wingmate to Employee Workforce

GE Aerospace provided its 52,000-employee workforce with a new software-based assistant—AI Wingmate. The company collaborated with Microsoft to use Azure AI, including Azure OpenAI Service, to bring enhanced security, compliance, and responsible AI inside GE Aerospace’s network. Employees can use AI Wingmate to collaborate on new ideas, new learnings, and new initiatives to improve air travel.

“The launch of AI Wingmate will transform employee productivity, allowing our people to spend more time solving our customers’ toughest problems,” said David Burns, Chief Information Officer, GE Aerospace. “Generative AI is changing the way we all work, enabling us to be more productive with our daily work tasks than ever before. Ultimately, this will strengthen our ability to help the aerospace industry meet our highest objectives of enhanced safety, sustainability, and reducing supply chain constraints.”

Since the tool’s launch in June 2024, the system received approximately 500,000 queries, searches, and other employee interactions, as well as more than 200,000 pages processed for varying AI chats. AI Wingmate offers GE Aerospace employees a secure, internal platform to engage and utilize generative AI capabilities and infuse new data and information over time, supporting the company’s business requirements.

“As our workforce continues to become familiar with AI Wingmate, it will become an increasingly more valuable partner over time for GE Aerospace employees,” said Burns. “We are particularly excited about plans to launch a new generative AI based module exclusively dedicated to FLIGHT DECK, our proprietary lean operating model that is the foundation of how we work. The generative AI platform will serve as a vehicle for employees to learn about FLIGHT DECK and its ten fundamentals.”

AI Wingmate enhances productivity and work experience through:

• Instant information access: Employees can quickly obtain task-relevant information, reducing time spent browsing documents or waiting for colleague feedback.
• Faster learning and discovery: AI Wingmate can perform advanced searches and queries to support project work.
• Advanced support tools: Employees can leverage the platform to draft tailored communications for specific audiences, quickly create documents, or ask questions to clarify complex problems.

GE Aerospace News

In August 2024, GE Aerospace and the Polish Ministry of National Defense agreed to support an upcoming acquisition of 96 Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian helicopters equipped with GE’s T700 engines. Per the agreement, Military Aviation Works will provide licensed maintenance, repair, and overhaul work for Apache T700/CT7 engines, in addition to the Sikorsky S-70i Black Hawk and Leonardo AW149 and AW101 helicopters in the Polish Armed Forces aircraft fleet.

The Military University of Technology in Warsaw will manage T700/CT7 training for polish technicians, military personnel, and WZL-1 employees supporting helicopter fleet operation. The Polish Ministry of National Defense will have a full engine depot and domestic engine training capabilities, ensuring supply security for platforms powered by T700/CT7 engines. Additionally, the agreement establishes future partnerships on GE Aerospace’s combat engines, including the F110, F414, and F404.

Also, in August, GE Aerospace was contracted by Turkish Naval Forces to supply LM2500 engines for four frigates, providing 23 MW of power to each vessel. This contract builds on last year’s agreement with TAIS OG-STM in which GE Aerospace delivered LM2500 marine gas turbines for three Istif-class frigates.