TAE Aerospace will upgrade the test system for the F414 engines that power the Royal Australian Air Force’s Super Hornet and Growler aircrafts. The upgrade will replace control and data acquisition system (CDAS) software and hardware that is reaching the end of its supportable life. The project will upgrade the CDAS in both the primary F414 engine test cell at RAAF Base Amberley and the back-up test cell at RAAF Base Williamtown, thus maintaining redundancy in F414 engine test capability in Australia. TAE Aerospace was Australia’s first military turbine engine through-life-support provider.
Val Lawson, Director of Enabling Services for the Air Combat and Electronic Attack Systems Program Office, said:“ The system had served Defence well for more than a decade. TAE’s comprehensive system upgrades will now ensure that these critical engine test facilities remain reliable and sustainable to support our air combat capabilities well into the next decade,” Mrs Lawson said.
CEO of TAE, Andrew Sanderson, said: “TAE is extremely proud and excited to be engaged by Defence to deliver this test system upgrade project over the next two years, and in doing so will assure the future of the F414 engine testing capability in Australia.”
The F414 CDAS upgrade project follows a major modification to the RAAF Amberley engine test facility, which TAE completed in 2021. This has enabled F135 engines for the global F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program to also be tested in Australia. TAE will complete the upgrade project by mid-2025. Today TAE Aerospace deliver support for the GE F404 and F414 engines from facilities at Amberley, Queensland and Williamtown, New South Wales. As Australia’s leading military gas turbine engine MRO operation, the company have demonstrated success in managing military propulsion systems for many years.
TAE aerospace offers a comprehensive and integrated range of design, engineering, maintenance, condition monitoring, manufacture and repair solutions to the global aerospace industry. The company services portfolio covers: military gas turbine engines, turbo-prop engines, APUs, fuel control systems, avionics & electrical components and aircraft wheels & brakes. The company aerospace manufacturing capability focusses on the aluminium vacuum brazing process for aerospace solutions. As authorised service centres for aerospace manufacturers, like Honeywell, GE Aviation, Woodward and Pratt & Whitney Aeropower, TAE offers a complete service to customers throughout region, from first sale to last service.
