Sump It Up: GE Teams Up With US Air Force To 3D-Print Parts For Fighter Planes - GE Reports

In the 1980s, when the U.S. Air Force opened up what is now known as the Great Engine War for propulsion systems to power its F-16 and F-15 fleets, GE saw its chance to again become a major supplier of power plants for fighter aircraft. Its engineers had developed the engine for the B-1 supersonic bomber, and they used its powerful and efficient beating heart — called the core — to design a new jet engine, the F110. The move was a resounding success. “Today, the vast majority of frontline F-16 fighters are powered by our F110 engine,” said GE Aviation historian Rick Kennedy. “The F110 is one of the great stories of GE — of coming back into an industry. Back in 1970, GE was shut out of the competition to power F-16s and F-15s. Now here we are all these decades later.”