GE Aerospace, Kratos Team On New Engine For Uncrewed Systems

FARNBOROUGH—GE Aerospace and Kratos Defense have announced the joint development of a new scalable engine aimed at missiles, uncrewed aircraft systems and even potential Collaborative Combat Aircraft use, hinting at Kratos' plans for that program.

The new engine, named the GEK800, has been in the works for about a year as the two companies targeted a need in a class that is “right in the middle of the fairway” for drones and missiles, Eric DeMarco, the president and CEO of Kratos Defense, said in a press conference on the first day of the Farnborough Airshow.

Engine development is starting at 800 lb. thrust and will be scalable up to 3,000 lb. This would put it just short of the range the U.S. Air Force is targeting for its Collaborative Combat Aircraft. An October 2023 solicitation calls for engines with a thrust range of 3,000-8,000 lb. for CCA.

If scaled to almost 3,000-lb., the engine would produce more power than what is currently in the company's smaller XQ-58. Similar existing engines in the Air Force’s desired range include the Honeywell TFE731 and F124, the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW300 and PW500, the Rolls-Royce AE3007 and the Williams International FJ44.

Amy Gowder, the president and CEO of Defense & Systems at GE Aerospace, said the GEK800's planned range now is ideally suited for cruise missiles, drones and loitering munitions, with the design possible for CCA use. She would not comment directly on the Air Force’s requirements, but said as those firm up the companies can decide if they need to scale and how high.

“Our customers have been very clear—even more clear as of late—that they need low-cost and affordable mass, and they don’t require the same level of multiple cycles, the reliability, some of the durability, maintenance, repair and overhaul that many of the manned applications for engines have required to date,” Gowder said.

The Air Force plans to procure CCAs in multiple increments, and awarded the first round of contracts in February to Anduril and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. Kratos at the time said there were opportunities for teaming as a subcontractor.