Butler County’s CFM wins big with Navy contract modification

From left, U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Tyler Gearhart, a 117th Maintenance Squadron crew chief, and U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. David Kennedy, 117 MXS aerospace propulsion flight chief, inspect the inside portion of a KC-135R Stratotanker CFM56 engine on Sept. 8, 2023, at Sumpter Smith Joint National Guard Base, Alabama. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Shelby Thurman)

From left, U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Tyler Gearhart, a 117th Maintenance Squadron crew chief, and U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. David Kennedy, 117 MXS aerospace propulsion flight chief, inspect the inside portion of a KC-135R Stratotanker CFM56 engine on Sept. 8, 2023, at Sumpter Smith Joint National Guard Base, Alabama. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Shelby Thurman)

A jet engine maker based in Butler County is winning big with a modification to a U.S. Navy contract.

CFM International, based in West Chester Twp., was awarded a $47,775,000 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract, the Department of Defense said this week.

This modification exercises options to procure three CFM56-7B27AE spare engines, two for the Navy and one for the government of Germany, in support of the P-8A Poseidon aircraft, the Pentagon said.

Work will be performed in Villaroche, France (53% of the work); Durham, N.C. (43%); and Peebles, Ohio (4%), and is expected to be completed next month.

Final assembly of the CFM56-5B jet engine produced by GE Aviation joint venture CFM International. FILE

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Fiscal 2024 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $31.8 million; and foreign military sales customer funds in the amount of $15.9 million will be obligated at the time of award, the department said.

The contract came from the Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, Md.

CFM International’s 50/50 parent companies are Evendale-based GE Aviation and France’s Safran Aircraft Engines.

Another regional company, Crown Equipment Corp., of New Bremen, was added as an awardee to a multiple award contract for material handling equipment, awarded July 22, 2022, the department also said.

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