Engine Overview
The F101 engine was originally developed for the Advanced Manned Strategic Aircraft program, which became the B-1 bomber. Utilizing the same core design as the F101, the F110 and F118 derivative engines were created by developng new low pressure systems to tailor engine performance to the desired aircraft application.
In 1988, the U.S. Air Force unveiled the Northrop B-2 Stealth Bomber, powered by four non-augmented F118 engines. The Stealth aircraft was very similar to an experimental aircraft that was developed in the 1940s, the Northrop YB-49A, which had been powered by eight GE J35 engines.
Flight testing of the F118 began in mid-1989 and in 1991, the B-2 was awarded the Collier Trophy for the greatest achievement in aeronautics and astronautics.
Another application of the F118 engine is the U-2S. The U-2S is the result of re-engining a U-2R aircraft with a F118-GE-101.
This greatly increases the ceiling, range, ease of flight, and safety of this reconnaissance aircraft. The re-engining program also won the Collier Trophy in 1998, the second prestigious honor for the F118.
