GE Aerospace has revealed another major investment project, saying it intends to spend $1 billion this year on efforts to support suppliers and to ramp production of commercial and military aircraft engines and their parts .
The move includes plans by GE to ramp up production of kits intended to improve the durability of CFM International’s fast-selling Leap turbofans, which power Boeing 737 Max jets and Airbus A320neo-family aircraft, GE said on 9 March.
GE and Safran Aircraft Engines jointly own CFM.
The investments come as GE and competitors face pressure to overcome supply chain troubles that have limited commercial engine output, and as geopolitical tensions drive demand for defence products.
The $1 billion will “help accelerate engine deliveries, ramp production of parts that safely extend time between maintenance shop visits, and strengthen defence production to keep pace with military demand”, GE says.
The company, based near Cincinnati, will divide the funding among facilities in 30 communities and in 17 US states.
Of the $1 billion, it plans to spend $200 million “to expand manufacturing capacity for Leap high-pressure turbine durability kits that will improve time-on-wing for customers by more than two times in hot and harsh conditions”. That money will also fund a project to increase production of parts for engine maintenance shops, GE says.
GE rolled out the durability hits several years ago to address problems involving some Leaps needing maintenance much sooner than anticipated. Those issues have largely affected engines operated by airlines in sandy and dusty regions.
GE’s planned commercial aerospace investments also include $20 million earmarked for tooling, engine assembly and other projects at its site in Durham, North Carolina, and $7 million spent on “tools, equipment and facility upgrades” in Lafayette, Indiana.
It will spend $115 million on Cincinnati-area projects, including those aimed at modernising infrastructure, increasing “test-cell capacity” and expanding capabilities related to 3D printing (also known as additive manufacturing) of metallic engine parts, the company says.
Additionally, GE intends to invest more than $100 million to support suppliers, saying, “These funds will provide tooling and equipment to help stabilise production schedules – critical to meeting delivery commitments”.
On the defence side, GE will invest more than $275 million “to upgrade sites producing defence engines and components, helping to strengthen the US defence industrial base”, it says.
Of that, GE will spend more than $40 million to update equipment and expand test-cell capacity at its site in Lynn, Massachusetts, which is near Boston. GE also plans to invest $10 million to purchase new machines and tooling, and to complete facilities upgrades, in Madisonville, Kentucky.
The funding comes as GE plans to hire another 5,000 workers in the US, including engineers and manufacturing employees, it adds.
GE since 2024 has disclosed plans to invest more than $2.5 billion in manufacturing and suppliers.
Other engine manufacturers are also investing in projects aimed at boosting capacity. In February, Pratt & Whitney (P&W) – CFM’s prime competitor – said it will spend $200 million this year to open another engine-manufacturing forging press in Georgia.
That effort comes as P&W continues working through shortages of engine components that have limited its production of PW1000G geared turbofans, which are the competing engine on A320neo-family jets.
