AE 3007 Is Uncommonly Common

It powers business jets and spyplanes too, and even the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor. It's the Rolls-Royce AE 3007 core, of which more than 1,000 have been built at the old Allison engine facility in Indianapolis.

"This is the first and only time in our history that one power core has been the source of turbofan, turboprop and turboshaft derivatives," says a Rolls-Royce spokesman. It has 13 different applications.

As a turbofan the AE 3007 powers the speedy Cessna Citation X, billed as the briskest in the business, and the new Embraer Legacy, a derivative of the Brazilian's ERJ 135 (it powers the 135, and the 140 and 145 from Embraer too). The versatile engine is also on the SIVAM military early warning aircraft derived from the Embraer regional jets.

As a turboprop-in its AE2100 configuration-the core powers the Saab 2000, the Indonesian N-250, and the and the Shinmaywa US 1A flying boat. It's on the last version of the Hercules military transport, the C-130J, as well as the C-27J Spartan.

And as a turboshaft the engine drives the rotors and cross-coupling shafts of the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor.

In a completely different operating environment, the AE3007 core has shown its adaptability in powering Northrop Grumman's developmental Global Hawk, an unmanned spy craft that recently completed a 30-plus hour continuous trip from California to South America and back, notching world records for distance and altitude. The engine has been adapted to run at altitudes up to 60,000 feet, and in the very cold temperatures associated with high altitude flight.

No fewer than three AE 3007-powered aircraft have won the coveted Collier Trophy: the Citation X, the Osprey, and most recently the Global Hawk.

An AE3007 engine can be seen here at EBACE in Booth 7657.