Cheltenham, UK–GE Aerospace has been awarded a three-year contract from Boeing Defence UK Ltd to extend support for the T700-GE-T701D engines powering the British Army’s Apache AH-64E fleet. Under the Performance Based Logistics (PBL) agreement, GE Aerospace will provide an on-site Field Service Representative (FSR) at Wattisham Flying Station in Suffolk, UK, and deliver logistics management, technical support, and material, as well as repair and maintenance of engines and line-replaceable units (LRUs) through StandardAero in Gosport, UK. With more than 25,000 engines produced and over 100 million flight hours accumulated over four decades, the T700 family powers platforms across 50 countries, serving more than 130 customers for transport, medical evacuation, air rescue, special operations, and maritime patrol missions.
“We are proud to continue our longstanding relationship with Boeing Defence and support the British Army,” said Paul Ferraro, vice president and general manager, Defense Engines & Services, GE Aerospace. “This agreement strengthens regional support and services for the UK Apache fleet, helping ensure readiness and availability.”
On 11 July 2016, the Ministry of Defence confirmed a U.S. Foreign Military Sale (FMS) worth $2.3 billion (~$2.94 billion in 2024) for 50 AH-64Es to be built in Mesa, Arizona. The deal included an initial support contract for maintenance, spare parts, and training simulators; components from the older WAH-64s “will be reused and incorporated into the new helicopters where possible.” The type entered service with the British Army in 2022. Approval for the re-manufacture of fifty of the UK’s WAH-64 Mk 1 fleet to AH-64E Apache Guardian standard was given by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency in August 2015.[203] They utilize the General Electric T700 engine rather than the Turbomeca RTM322 of the WAH-64; the first off-the-shelf purchase of a GE engine by the Ministry of Defence. The first two AH-64Es were delivered to the British Army on 26 November 2020. The older AH1 (WAH-64) were retired by 2024 in favour of the AH-64E models.
General Electric Company, doing business as GE Aerospace, is an American aircraft engine supplier that is headquartered in Evendale, Ohio, outside Cincinnati. It is the legal successor to the original General Electric Company founded in 1892. GE Aerospace is a global aerospace propulsion, services, and systems leader with an installed base of approximately 50,000 commercial and 30,000 military aircraft engines. With a global team of approximately 57,000 employees building on more than a century of innovation and learning, GE Aerospace is committed to inventing the future of flight, lifting people up, and bringing them home safely. GE Aerospace both manufactures engines under its name and partners with other manufacturers to produce engines. CFM International, the world’s leading supplier of aircraft engines and GE’s most successful partnership, is a 50/50 joint venture with the French company Safran Aircraft Engines.
