GE Aerospace has received an order for 210 T700 engines to power 96 Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian helicopters for the
Polish Armed Forces. Amy Gowder, president and CEO of Defense and Systems at GE Aerospace, said: “This T700 engine is the engine of choice for medium-size helicopters with its exceptional performance, reliability, and durability. This order strengthens our relationship with Poland and expands the Polish Armed Forces’ GE Aerospace-powered fleet, which includes F404-powered FA-50 fighter jets, T700-powered Sikorsky S-70i Black Hawks, and CT7-powered Leonardo AW149 and AW101 helicopters.”
The engine order follows a cooperative agreement signed in August 2024 between GE Aerospace and the Polish Ministry of National Defense. Under that agreement, Wojskowe Zakłady Lotnicze NR 1 S.A. (WZL-1) in Deblin will provide licensed MRO support for the T700 engines on the Apache as well as the Sikorsky S-70i Black Hawk, and CT7 engines on Leonardo AW149 and AW101 helicopters that are in the Polish Armed Forces aircraft fleet. Wojskowa Akademia Techniczna (WAT) in Warsaw will manage training, including T700/CT7 engine training, for Polish technicians, military personnel, and WZL-1 employees who will support the helicopter fleet as well as preparing future engineering staff for the Polish Armed Forces.
The cooperative agreement between GE Aerospace, WZL-1, and WAT will sustain high-value jobs in Poland and provide new areas of engine maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) technology, training, and technical assistance for the defence industrial base, enabling Polish industry to support the Polish Armed Forces in sustainment of the Apache fleet.
Supply securityWith these partnerships, the Polish Ministry of National Defense will have a full engine depot and engine training capabilities in country. These capabilities will ensure that Poland has supply security for all platforms powered by the T700/CT7 engine line. The agreement also paves the way for future partnerships in Poland on GE Aerospace’s combat engines like the F110, F414, and F404.
The T700/CT7 family of turboshaft and turboprop engines powers 15 types of military and civilian helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft with more than 130 customers in more than 50 countries. Over 25,000 T700/CT7 engines have been delivered to date and accumulated more than 130 million total flight hours. The engine design has proven itself in the harshest environments, logging millions of flight hours in hot-harsh combat zones like Iraq and Afghanistan. In Europe, more than 1,300 T700/CT7 engines have been delivered or are on order for 20 European military and paramilitary customers.
The T700/CT7s will be built and delivered under a contract with the US Army through the US government’s Foreign Military Sales process. In June 2024, the US Army awarded GE Aerospace an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract for the continued production of up to 950 T700 engines in support of Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and other government agency programme requirements until 2029.