GE Aerospace Powers Polish Armed Forces’ Helicopter Fleet with T700 Engine

The Polish Armed Forces ordered 210 T700 helicopter engines from GE Aerospace to power 96 Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardians. The turboshaft engines will be built and delivered under a contract with the U.S. Army through the government’s Foreign Military Sales process. In June 2024, the U.S. Army awarded GE Aerospace an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity contract for the continued production of up to 950 T700 engines to support Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Foreign Military Sales, and other government agency program requirements through 2029.

The T700/CT7 turboshaft and turboprop engines power 15 types of military and civilian helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, obtaining over 130 customers in upwards of 50 countries. In addition, more than 25,000 T700/CT7 engines have been delivered and accumulated over 130 million total flight hours.

“This T700 engine is the engine of choice for medium-sized helicopters with its performance, reliability, and durability,” said Amy Gowder, President and CEO of Defense & Systems at GE Aerospace. “This order strengthens our relationship with Poland and expands the Polish Armed Forces’ GE Aerospace-powered fleet, which includes F404-powered FA-50 fighter jets, T700-powered Sikorsky S-70i Black Hawks, and CT7-powered Leonardo AW149 and AW101 helicopters.”

Apache Guardian equipped with T700 engine; image credit: GE Vernova

The engine design has operated in numerous harsh environments, logging millions of flight hours in dangerous, mission-critical combat zones like Iraq and Afghanistan. In Europe, more than 1,300 T700/CT7 engines have been delivered or ordered for 20 military and para-military customers.

Cooperative Agreement

The engine order follows a cooperative agreement in 2024 between GE Aerospace and the Polish Ministry of National Defense: The Military Aviation Works in Deblin will provide licensed maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) support for T700 engines on the Apache and Sikorsky S-70i Black Hawk, as well as CT7 engines on Leonardo AW149 and AW101 helicopters. The Military University of Technology in Warsaw will manage T700/CT7 engine training for Polish technicians, military personnel, and WZL-1 employees. These trainees will support the helicopter fleet and prepare future engineering staff for the Polish Armed Forces.

GE Aerospace, WZL-1, and WAT will deliver Polish jobs and provide new areas of engine MRO technology, training, and technical assistance for the defense industrial base, allowing Poland to support its Armed Forces in sustaining the Apache fleet. The Polish Ministry of National Defense will have a full engine depot and engine training capabilities, offering security for all platforms powered by T700/CT7 engines. The agreement also establishes potential partnerships in Poland for GE Aerospace’s combat engines, such as the F110, F414, and F404.

GE Aerospace News

In November 2024, GE Aerospace, Boeing, NASA, and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory will develop an Open Fan engine design model. Engineers will simulate flight conditions to study the aerodynamics of a wing-mounted Open Fan engine. Simulation enables the design to achieve more efficiency, increased performance benefits, and lower noise levels.

Open Fan designs lack the traditional jet engine casing, permitting a larger fan size with reduced drag and improved fuel efficiency. Previously, GE Aerospace modeled the performance and noise levels of Open Fan engine parts with exascale computing. Increased computational power allows the replication of a full-size integrated engine and aircraft in the design phase.