Contracts Let for Advanced Engine Work

The Air Force Research Lab awarded General Electric Aviation and Pratt & Whitney large-sum contracts to mature their respective next-generation military propulsion designs under the Adaptive Engine Technology Development program. These transactions appeared in the Pentagon’s list of major contracts for Oct. 19. GE Aviation received a $349.7 million task order for work through September 2016, according to the contract listing. This task order falls under the indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract mechanism that AFRL announced with the company in September. AFRL issued Pratt & Whitney a $335 million task order for its adaptive engine work through mid October 2016, states the listing. Under AETD, the Air Force is sponsoring the development of variable-cycle engines that can operate efficiently over a range of operating scenarios—such as during a fast cruise or while loitering at slower speeds—and are not limited, like conventional powerplants, to running optimally in just one scenario. (See also General Electric Commences ADVENT Engine Testing.) (For more on AETD, read Adaptive Engines from Air Force Magazine’s September issue.)