Press Release
The U.S. Air Force is implementing the NDAA program to evaluate existing commercial and military wide-body aircraft to augment its current cargo fleet and expand its airlift capabilities. The aircraft's primary mission would be to carry bulk and oversized equipment, medical supplies, and other materials to support U.S. military forces overseas. The Air Force is expected to make a decision by year's end. A C-5D contract would be for as many as 50 aircraft with deliveries beginning in 1999. If the C-5D Galaxy is selected, GE will provide the entire propulsion system for the aircraft, including the nacelle and the thrust reverser.
Another militarized verision of the CF6-80C2, rated at 60,800 pounds (270 kN) thrust, is the powerplant for four Boeing 767 Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft for the Japan Defense Agency (JDA). Flight tests on the 767 AWACS are scheduled to begin in mid-1996, and the first aircraft is scheduled for delivery to the JDA in 1998.
The CF6-80C2 is also being offered as a potential powerplant for the 767 tanker and JSTARS (Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System) aircraft, as well as VIP applications, including the U.S. Air Force VIP fleet. The engine, under the military designation F103-GE-102, powers Air Force One.
In commercial service, the CF6-80C2 has logged nearly 22 million flight hours since 1985 and has been selected to power more than 50 percent of the current-generation wide-body aircraft either in service or on order. The CF6-80C2's in-flight shutdown (IFSD) rate is .003, or one engine-caused IFSD per 333,333 flight hours. The engine's dispatch reliability rate of 99.9 percent translates to less than one departure per 1,000 being delayed or canceled for engine-caused reasons.
* General Electric Company of the United States is not connected with the English company of a similar name. In order to avoid confusion, we would be grateful if you would refer to the company as indicated in this press release.
