GE Aerospace is using robotics, automation, and artificial intelligence as well as rare access to supercomputers throughout its global footprint, services, and in research and development as it strives for engine maturity, reliability, and creating new engines.
Shop visits, on-wing engine inspections, and repair technologies must be made more efficient, rapid, and cost-effective to serve the thousands of legacy CFM56s, GE90s, CF6s, and the growing number of CFM LEAP engines.
The CFM56 and LEAP engines power the Boeing 737. The CFM 56 and LEAP also power the Airbus A320neo family in competition with the previous generation International Aero Engine V2500 and the current generation Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbofan, respectively. The CF6 still powers older widebody airplanes, like the Boeing 767. The GE90 powers legacy Boeing 777s.
The forthcoming GE9X, the giant engine on Boeing’s 777X series, is also benefiting from efforts to mature the engine as much as possible before entry into service next year. This is a special case because of the six-year certification and delivery delays of the 777X brought by some initial technical issues of the GE9X discovered during flight testing and the negative halo effect of the certification crisis surrounding the 737 MAX, beginning in 2019.
The 777X was to be delivered in the first quarter of 2019; now, entry into service is expected next year.
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