GE Aerospace received an order for 210 T700 engines to power the 96 Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian helicopters for the Polish Armed Forces.
“This T700 engine is the engine of choice for medium-sized helicopters with its exceptional performance, reliability, and durability,” said Amy Gowder, President and CEO of Defense & Systems at GE Aerospace. “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, Military Aviation Works in Deblin (Wojskowe Zaklady Lotnicze NR 1 S.A. or WZL-1) 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. Military University of Technology in Warsaw (Wojskowa Akademia Techniczna or WAT) 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 defense industrial base, enabling Polish industry to support the Polish Armed Forces in sustainment of the Apache fleet. With 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 the Polish Ministry of National Defense 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. More than 25,000 T700/CT7 engines have been delivered and accumulated more than 130 million total flight hours. The T700/CT7 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 para-military customers.
The engines will be built and delivered under a contract with the U.S. Army through the U.S. government’s Foreign Military Sales process. In June 2024, the U.S. 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 program requirements through 2029.
