GE’s F138-GE-100 Propulsion Systems are being used to re-engine aircraft for the US Air Force’s C-5M Super Galaxy aircraft modernization program, a multi-year retrofit program for select C-5 aircraft being performed by Lockheed Martin. In comparison with the pre-retrofit model, the new engines offer improved efficiency, reliability and increased thrust. The additional thrust dramatically improves the C-5M Super Galaxy’s airlift capabilities, allowing delivery of heavy payloads over greater distances with higher mission efficiency. These enhancements enable the Air Force to improve its productivity and lower its cost of ownership, while also reducing noise, emissions and fuel consumption.
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Environmental Benefits
GE's F138-GE-100 Propulsion Systems used on the C-5M Super Galaxy enable the aircraft to achieve better fuel efficiency than the pre-retrofit model, delivering a projected 8% to 20% reduction in fuel consumption per mission. For the US Air Force's planned fleet of 52 C-5M aircraft, this reduction would avoid over 880,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions over 20 years, equivalent to the annual CO2 emissions of approximately 170,000 cars on U.S. roads.
Operating Benefits
The F138-GE-100 Propulsion Systems used on the C-5M Super Galaxy transport aircraft provide higher levels of thrust than the engines they replace, enabling the aircraft to achieve significantly improved takeoff and climb performance versus the pre-retrofit model. This enables enhanced mission capability, allowing regular operation up to maximum takeoff weight, providing greater unrefueled range with high payloads, shorter takeoff field length, faster climb, and higher cruise altitude capability. With such new capabilities, the aircraft is expected to provide an 8% to 20% reduction in total fuel consumption during typical usage, which the customer estimates could save over 92 million gallons of fuel over 20 years with the planned fleet of 52 C-5M airplanes. This is equivalent to over $230 million assuming a jet fuel price of $2.50 per gallon. During operational test and evaluation activities on a specific surge deployment, the customer achieved a 33% reduction in fuel consumption per payload delivered by eliminating and/or reducing fuel stops, in-air refueling, and route circuity.
