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The General Electric F110-GE-132 engine that will power the Block 60 F-16 for the United Arab Emirates was test flown for the first time on 25 April at the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, California. The F110-GE-132 engine, which can produce 32,500 pounds of thrust, is the highest-thrust fighter engine ever developed for the F-16. The first flight included slow and fast throttle transients from idle to maximum afterburning. On its sixth flight on 19 May, the engine was tested at Mach 1.63 at 30,000 feet. Following completion of the twenty-five flight test program, which is expected to come in July, the engine will be returned to Fort Worth, Texas, for reuse in the Block 60 flight test program scheduled to begin later this year. The first engine for the first Block 60 aircraft was delivered on 1 May. The F110-GE-132 is derived from the highly successful F110 engine family, which powers the majority of F-16Cs worldwide. Development of the F110-GE-132 engine began in 2000. |
