EVENDALE, Ohio - GE Aircraft Engines has delivered to Lockheed Martin the first F110-GE-132 engine, the highest-thrust fighter engine ever developed for the F-16 aircraft. 



The F110-GE-132, which can produce up to 32,500 pounds of thrust (144 kN), is derived from GE's highly successful F110 engine family, which powers the majority of F-16C/Ds worldwide. The F110-GE-132 engine development was launched in 2000 with its selection for 80 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 60 aircraft by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Air Force and Air Defense. 



"We are thrilled and proud of completing this critical milestone for the Block 60 UAE Program," said Andy Solem, General Manager of GEAE's Evendale Turbofan and Turbojet Department. "The combination of the Block 60 F-16 and the F110-GE-132 creates a very powerful weapon system with great reliability and low cost of ownership." 



Lockheed Martin is scheduled in March 2003 to begin initial flight tests of the F110-GE-132 with a test bed F-16 aircraft at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Flight test of the F-16 Block 60 aircraft, powered by the F110-GE-132 is scheduled in November 2003 in Fort. Worth, Texas. The aircraft/engine combination is scheduled to be fully qualified in September 2003. 



The F110-GE-132 takes advantage of GE's extensive technology base, including: a long-chord-blisk fan derived from the F118 engine (for the U.S. Air Force B-2 Bomber) and F414 engine (U.S. Navy F/A-18E/F), a radial afterburner derived from the Joint Strike Fighter F136 engine and F414 engine, and a composite outer fan duct on the GE F404/F414 engines. 



Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. is a unit of Lockheed Martin Corp., headquartered in Bethesda, Md. Lockheed Martin is a global enterprise principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture and integration of advanced technology systems, products and services. Employing about 125,000 people worldwide, Lockheed Martin had 2001 sales of $24 billion. 



GE Aircraft Engines, a division of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), is the world's leading manufacturer of jet engines for military and civil aircraft, including engines produced by CFM International, a 50/50 joint company of Snecma Moteurs of France and GE. GEAE also manufactures gas turbines, derived from its highly successful jet engine programs, for marine and industrial applications. In addition, GEAE provides comprehensive maintenance support, through its GE Engine Services operation, for GE and non-GE jet engines in service throughout the world. Visit GEAE online at www.geae.com.