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GE-Powered Unit Certified Combat-Ready

December 23, 1998

FORT HOOD, Texas - In ceremonies at its Fort Hood home station, the 1st Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Division, has become the first unit certified as combat-ready in the AH-64D Apache Longbow twin-engine attack helicopter powered by General Electric T700-GE-701 and -701C turboshaft engines.

Certification followed eight months of intensive company- and battalion-level training and evaluation, including comprehensive classroom, flight, and field exercises.

The Apache Longbow, the world's only operational fourth-generation helicopter, is produced by The Boeing Company at Mesa, Arizona. T700-GE-701 and -701C engines are the sole powerplants qualified for Apache helicopters, including the 751 AH-64A models of the U.S. Army and the 140 of Greece, Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates.

Combat-proven during Desert Storm, the T700-GE-701 and -701C engines have accumulated 2 million flight hours on Apache helicopters. In all, a total of 30 million flight hours has been compiled by the T700/CT7 turboshaft/turboprop engine family powering military and civil helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.