Sikorsky receives the first two GE Aerospace T901 engines at its West Palm Beach, Florida facility for integration on a UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter. (Photo: Sikorsky)
EVENDALE, Ohio—GE Aerospace has said the fate of the new T901 helicopter engine developed for the Army is likely dependent on how fiscal year 2026 funding shapes out, while noting the company has discussed plans with the service for speeding up the program if it moves forward.
Amy Gowder, president and CEO of GE Aerospace Defense & Systems, said the firm has proposed streamlining testing requirements to deliver the new engine faster and there are no plans for further upgrades to the current T700 engine, while acknowledging the Army is “reconsidering” the T901 capability as part of its new transformation plan.
“As we’re working with the Army, we’re actually looking at can we go faster, can we be part of the Army Transformation Initiative. The secretary is very clear. He wants to cut through the bureaucracy and he wants to get products in the hands of warfighters faster. We actually see opportunities on the T901 to do that. So we’re actively collaborating and we’ll see where the budget lands for FY ‘26,” Gowder told reporters at a briefing here on June 2 at the company’s headquarters.
“[Army Secretary Dan Driscoll] was very open with [T901 and said] if you can go faster and you can [do it with] less money and you can provide affordability to service, they’ll still consider it. So that’s why it’s being debated within the budget process,” Gowder added.
The Army has been rolling out a new transformation plan which has included cutting “obsolete” programs such as the AH-64D Apache, Gray Eagle drones, Joint Light Tactical Vehicles, Humvees and the M10 Booker combat vehicle and potentially ending development of the Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) and the Robotic Combat Vehicle.
Two senior defense officials previously confirmed to Defense Daily that the service also planned to cease development of the T901 engine as part of the Army Transformation Initiative.
Maj. Gen. Clair Gill, the Army aviation branch chief, last month described the T901 decision as “pending,” and Gen. James Mingus, the Army vice chief of staff, also said the future of the program is “largely going to depend” on how fiscal year 2026 funding shapes out.
Gowder said, as part of the ATI, Driscoll is working with “the budget realities” the Army faces and assessing what capabilities “are relevant for the future fight.”
“The Army is definitely going to be the bill payer in the next budget cycle,” Gowder said.
Darin DiTommaso, GE Aerospace Defense & Systems’ vice president of engineering, also said it’s a “fair statement” that the future of the T901 engine is dependent on whether funding is secured in the FY ‘26 budget.
“I think it’s fair to say the FY ‘26 [budget] is going to dictate the long-term program outcomes [about] when you get to a full qualification of the engine in the aircraft,” DiTommaso said.
GE Aerospace was awarded a $517 million contract in February 2019 to develop the T901 engine for ITEP, with an aim for it to eventually power the Army’s AH-64 Apache and Black Hawk helicopters and the since-canceled Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA).
Along with canceling FARA a year ago, the Army noted at the time it would also delay moving into production of the T901 engine and invest in further research and development efforts.
Gowder said the Army has not sent the company any new contractual direction related to the T901 and DiTommaso noted that FY ‘25 funding restored ITEP “back to what [GE] had originally anticipated” with the program.
“Right now, we’re on a path to continue working on the program at pace in ‘25. And we’re certainly working with the Army and certainly working with the airframers to understand how the program looks in ‘26 and what the pace of play might be there,” DiTommaso said. “Our intent is really to try to be as efficient as we possibly can, both in terms of time and cost. So [we’re] trying to bring cost advantages in terms of how we execute the qualification program and certainly trying to bring schedule advantages as well.”
DiTommaso added that no “significant changes” have been made yet to the intended flight test program with Sikorsky to work on integration of the T901 engine on the Black Hawk.
“Now, again, this is a fluid situation and so things could change over the course of weeks or months. But right now, we are on a path to continue the flight test program as well as some of the engine tests that we’ve laid out for 2025. That’s the path we’re on; it could change,” DiTommaso said.
Brig. Gen. David Phillips, program executive officer for aviation, confirmed to reporters last month that a Black Hawk helicopter integrated with the new T901 engine had lifted off the ground for the first time in a hover test.
“We’re very proud of that accomplishment because it proved that the technology is working as predicted and really no issues with that,” Gowder told reporters.
On plans for a next T901 engine flight test with a Black Hawk, DiTommaso said he “wouldn’t want to get ahead of the Army or Sikorsky on that.”
GE Aerospace over the last 18 months has been assessing plans to potentially accelerate the T901 development timeline, according to Gowder, who said the engine has already gone through a series of tests that are “frankly, either duplicative to other tests or we wouldn’t do them in a normal course of a commercial certification program.”
“The Army, at the very senior level and on, is very open to challenging the testing requirements. And they said, ‘Bring [us] a credible plan and we’ll definitely consider it,’” Gowder said. “We believe it’s the responsible thing to do to get through all the requirements that are related to performance and operational capability. If you want to test the limits of a design for your own learning, great. But let’s do it after we get to a Milestone C.”
Gowder and DiTommaso added that the “technology leap” offered with T901, which includes providing 50 percent more power and 25 percent improved fuel efficiency, could not be met with upgrades to the current T700 engine.
“We’re not looking at modernizing the T700. You can’t get anywhere close to what the T901 brings,” DiTommaso said. “We’re constantly looking at ways to support the customer on T700 [with] cost reduction, but nothing in terms of upgrades beyond things we’ve already done.”
Gowder noted that the T901 has seen “strong support” Congress as well as potential interest from international partners.
“This engine obviously goes on Black Hawks and Apaches; it’s what it was designed for. But it also could go on many other platforms. And there’s many in Europe that are asking about the T901 for the next-generation helicopters,” Gowder said. “I could also see [an option] when the Army finishes the qualification testing, takes us up on our offer to go fast and cut [the timeline] by two years, then someone else is the first production lot buyer and maybe they pay the higher price part of the engine as we’re coming down the learning curve. I could certainly see that being [an option], and then maybe Black Hawk and Apache come in at Lot Three or Four [of a contract]. So I think we’re looking at all those opportunities.”
A version of this story originally appeared in affiliate publication Defense Daily.