Hopes To Deliver First Engines For Testing A Year Ahead Of Schedule

The head of the U.S. Army's Improved Turbine Engine Program (ITEP) says that several ways have been identified that could allow the project to proceed ahead of its original schedule.

Speaking to Shephard Media, Rich Kretzschmar, ITEP project manager, admitted that the program is being "constrained by available resources and processes," several ways to accelerate the program in the engineering and manufacturing phase have been identified.

He said that the project is currently in the preliminary design review (PDR) phase, and that he hopes to be able to provide design specs to GE Aviation and ATEC ... the two companies awarded contracts for ITEP engine design ... a year ahead of the current schedule.

Following the PDR phase of the project, one of those two companies will be selected to proceed with development. That selection is planned for sometime in 2018.

Currently, the timeline for entry into service for the new engine is somewhere around 2026. The U.S. Army anticipates acquiring as many as 6,125 engines for various aircraft.

FMI: www.army.mil