A new version of the CT7-8 engine family -- designated the YT706-700 -- completed first flight Sunday, April 29, on the U.S. Army's Special Operations Forces MH-60M helicopter.

The YT706 is based on the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certified CT7-8A turboshaft engine. Compared with the T700 currently used on all current H-60 Helicopters, the YT706 has a larger compressor, hot section improvements, a full authority digital engine control, and includes "fail-fixed" control design which retains fixed engine power in the event that both channels of the control should fail. The YT706 provides up to 30% more power than the current T700-701C and will increase the hot and high mission capability of the MH-60M.

First flight follows an extensive engine Pre-Flight Readiness effort that included both engine and component testing to validate the design meets U.S. Army requirements.

The YT706-GE-700 (formerly designated the CT7-8B5/SOF) was selected in July of 2005 to power the MH-60M Black Hawk aircraft purchased by the U.S. Army for its Special Operations applications. The initial contract includes engine development and aircraft integration activities, and flight test engines and support. Production deliveries are scheduled to start in 2008.