GE Aerospace and Kratos have announced the development of a new engine, the GEK1500, designed to power lower-end Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) drone wingmen, marking an expansion of their partnership to create a family of cost-effective propulsion systems.
Delivering 1,500 pounds of thrust, the GEK1500 builds on the architecture of last year’s GEK800 engine, which produced 800 pounds of thrust and was unveiled at the Farnborough air show. A prototype of the GEK1500 is slated for demonstration in 2026, according to officials during a visit to GE’s Edison Works facilities.
Steve Russell, Vice President and General Manager at GE Aerospace Edison Works, explained that the GEK1500 targets the “lower end of the CCA market.” Unlike the expendable GEK800 engine used for platforms such as cruise missiles, the GEK1500 incorporates advanced materials, improved cooling, and other modifications to meet the Air Force’s requirements for limited lifespan and minimal maintenance in drone wingmen, said Craig Young, GE’s Executive Engineering Director for hypersonic propulsion and small UAV engines.
Young highlighted the key innovation: “Small engines have traditionally been cheap and straightforward turbojets, which don’t offer the fuel efficiency or range needed in modern combat.” The GE-Kratos partnership has instead engineered a turbofan within a turbojet-sized envelope, balancing affordability with superior performance.
The U.S. Air Force has expressed interest in engines ranging from 3,000 to 8,000 pounds of thrust for CCAs. However, a senior Air Force official recently suggested that many future drone wingmen will fall on the “low end” of this spectrum.
Mark Rettig, Vice President and General Manager of Advanced Programs at GE Edison Works, noted that the 1,500-pound thrust class could serve a wide variety of applications across the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and potentially international partners.
The GEK1500 builds upon Kratos’ earlier work on lower-thrust engines, initially funded by the Air Force. After partnering with GE in 2023 to scale up to 800 pounds of thrust, the companies formalized a framework last year to produce and expand the engine family beyond the GEK800.
Stacey Rock, President of Kratos’s Turbine Technologies Division, emphasized the technical challenge: “Scaling large engines down is difficult due to design and manufacturing tolerances, while turbojets fall short on performance. Our collaboration strikes a balance, even before factoring in affordability.”
At GE’s facilities, officials demonstrated a GEK800 engine prototype approximately three feet long and one foot in diameter. Testing of the first production engine is expected to begin by January, with unit costs estimated at several hundred thousand dollars.
This development positions GE and Kratos at the forefront of affordable, efficient propulsion solutions for next-generation unmanned combat aircraft.