As Defense Budgets Tighten, A New Engine Is Critical To Us Army Aviation’s Future (From DefenseNews)

The U.S. Army needs to plan for flat or even declining defense budgets. One area that would be particularly hard-hit if budgets tighten is Army aviation. The Army currently operates some 2,000 Black Hawk and Apache helicopters, both which are in the midst of major upgrade programs. A new improved turbine engine is the most important of these. The Army will have to choose between a traditional, single-spool design offered by General Electric and an innovative, dual-spool engine built by the Advanced Turbine Engine Company, a partnership between Pratt & Whitney and Honeywell. The dual-spool approach provides both near- and far-term advantages, particular in a difficult budgetary environment. I have written more about this here.