GE Military Systems history

In 1903 GE scientist Doctor Sanford Moss developed America's first gas-powered turbine, regarded by some as the ancestor of the jet engine.

In 1909, Leo Baekland synthesized carbonic acid and formaldehyde to create a hard, transparent resin.

In 1919, drawing on its experience with turbine compression systems, GE developed a supercharger, which took energy from the rotation of a piston engine's crank shaft and used it to compress the air in the engine's cylinders.

George Hughes, an entrepreneur, invented the first electric stove. It was not until 1922, when Gerard Swope became president of G.E., that the company began to extensively manufacture electric-powered home appliances.

In 1939 British inventor Frank Whittle successfully tested a revolutionary new type of gas turbine.

GE created a separate engine division within its supercharger group in October 1941, and shortly thereafter it won a contract to develop the Whittle engine.

The engine was matched to the Bell Aircraft XP-59A, which made its first flight in October 1942.

By 1946 the axial flow design had been incorporated into a new engine, the J35.

The J33 powered the United States Army Air Corps' first operational jet fighter, the P-80 Shooting Star, to a world's speed record of 620 miles per hour in 1947.

GE selected a federally owned plant near Cincinnati, Ohio, where Wright Aeronautical piston engines had been produced during World War II. GE formally opened the plant on February 28, 1949, with the second J47 production line, to complement the original line at Lynn.

In 1951, GE announced that the Evendale plant would be one of the world's truly great jet engine centers in peace and war.

GE introduced a new high-performance J79 engine in 1953.

GE hoped to build a commercial derivative of its J79 but was unable to offer the engine in time for Boeing, whose 707 was introduced in 1954 with Pratt & Whitney JT3 engines.

In 1959, GE introduced the LM1500, a derivative of the very successful J79.

When the Air Force put out specifications for a new triple-sonic high-altitude bomber in 1963, GE was chosen to develop the engines.

GE introduced the T64 free-turbine turboshaft/turboprop engine in 1964, featuring technical innovations such as corrosion resistant and high-temperature coatings that contributed to the development of very heavy lift helicopters.

Among the most important contracts awarded GE during this time involved developing the engines for Lockheed's enormous C-5 Galaxy cargo transport in 1965.

The engine division would again be reorganized in 1968, becoming an autonomous business with Neumann as its chief executive officer.

In 1971, Safran Aircraft Engines (formerly Snecma) of France selected GE as a partner to develop a new turbofan engine in the 20,000 pound thrust class.

Having laid the foundation for GE's ascension in the aircraft engine market, Gerhard Neumann retired in 1977.

In a landmark 1981 decision, Boeing selected the CFM56-3 turbofan to power the popular Boeing 737-300/400/500 “Classic” series aircraft.

In 1983, G.E. developed its own system of producing images of soft tissues.

The first of 100 B-1s became operational in 1985.

In 1986 GE overtook Pratt & Whitney in sales, and despite Pratt & Whitney's concerted efforts to win back the customers it had lost, it was unable to wrest its former position back from GE.

In 1987 the company formed a second partnership with Garrett called the CFE Company, which developed the CFE738 turbofan for the medium jet market.

Launched in 1990, the GE90 engine is GE Aviation’s first engine in the 100,000 pound thrust class and became the most technologically advanced commercial turbofan engine in 25 years.

In 1992, the CF34-3 was introduced on the highly successful Bombardier 50-passenger CRJ100 and CRJ200 regional airliners.

However, with the slowdown in military and commercial sales, the division cut its employment to 30,000 in 1993.

In 1995, the company made history when the first engine equipped with a double annular combustor (DAC), the CFM56-5B, entered commercial service with Swissair.

The Engine Alliance, a 50/50 joint venture between GE and Pratt & Whitney, was formed in August 1996 to produce a new high-thrust turbofan for long-range aircraft.

The TECH56 technology program, launched in 1998, advanced propulsion for upgrades to existing engines and served as baseline technology for the next-generation CFM turbofan, ultimately called the LEAP.

With the 2004 selection of GE to power Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner, the company launched the GEnx to produce 55,000 to 70,000 pounds of thrust.

The GE Honda HF120 engine was launched in 2006 and selected to power Honda Aircraft Company's advanced light HondaJet.

November 2008 marked the beginning of the flight test program for the GE-powered ARJ21 aircraft and thus the maiden flight of China’s first domestically developed regional jet aircraft.

The first flight of both the 787 and 747-8 aircraft occurred in 2010.

By 2011, the LEAP engine was successfully launched on the Airbus A320 neo, the Boeing 737 MAX, and the COMAC C919.

GE’s aggressive move into digital products was sparked largely by the 2012 acquisition of the small Austin Digital in Austin, Texas, which revealed to GE new ways to use flight data analysis to optimize customer flight operations.

Building on the strength of its design capabilities for high performance combat aircraft engines, GE successfully completed testing the world’s first adaptive, three-stream engine in 2014 through the Adaptive Versatile Engine Technology (ADVENT) program with the United States Air Force Research Lab.

In 2015, GE won the contract for the Boeing 777X’s electrical loan management system, backup generator, and the backup converter.

Also in 2016, GE Aviation consolidated its growing digital services under a single business called GE Aviation, Digital Solutions.

In 2019, GE announced that the GE9X became the most powerful commercial jet engine after reaching 134,300 pounds of thrust during ground testing at Peebles, Ohio.