Department of the Navy awards US$140m production contract to GE Aviation for T408 engines

U.S. Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) awarded GE Aviation a US$143,481,258 Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) contract to build 22 T408-GE-400 engines that will power the U.S. Marine Corps’ CH-53K King Stallion helicopters. This contract follows the April 4, 2017 Milestone C decision by the Defense Acquisition Board (DAB) approving LRIP production. After completing a series of rigorous tests during the CH-53K Engineering Manufacturing and Development (EMD) phase, GE received formal approval from the Navy for completion of the LRIP qualification of the T408 in February 2016. The T408 LRIP contract supports a 2019 initial operating capability (IOC) program milestone, and includes logistics support, technical publications and organic support development.