General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), has completed its final qualification test for its new 200-horsepower heavy fuel engine at its El Mirage, California, flight facility.
The Heavy Fuel Engine (HFE) 2.0 is a highly reliable low-maintenance engine with a 40 percent increase in service life providing longer maintenance-free operational periods. The engine will provide the horsepower and electrical power required to meet the demanding performance needs of the new Gray Eagle 25M for Multi-Domain Operations (MDO).
The three-week qualification test of the HFE 2.0 engine is aligned with the Federal Aviation Administration’s endurance test requirements (FAA 14 CFR 33.49) as the FAA’s primary performance standard for engines to be used in commercial aviation. Over the last 18 months, HFE 2.0 excelled in strenuous durability testing that included 2,450 full power cycles simulating high stress conditions during three extensive test profiles of 200, 400, and 651 hours. Additionally, the engine completed 50 hours of flight testing across the flight envelope.
“This test is the culmination of the extensive durability and flight test program for the HFE 2.0 engine,” said GA-ASI President David R. Alexander. “It’s been great to see the outstanding test results that have validated the design and development of the HFE 2.0 engine we have worked on so passionately for the past seven years and to bring this world-class engine to the Gray Eagle fleet.”
After completion of the FAA engine endurance test, next steps call for the U.S. Army certification process to allow authorization of the HFE 2.0 for use on the existing fleet of GA-ASI’s Gray Eagle Extended Range (GE ER) Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) as a replacement for the 180-horsepower engine that is reaching its end of life. HFE 2.0 is also the cornerstone of the modernized Gray Eagle 25M (GE 25M) UAS currently being produced under a U.S. Army-funded program to support future MDO UAS missions.
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