Beehive completes initial testing on Frenzy 6 100lbf turbojet engine
The low-cost powerplant is Beehive’s second design, following the larger 200lbf Frenzy 8.
US propulsion start-up Beehive Industries has completed initial testing on its second low-cost jet engine.
The Colorado-based manufacturer said on 29 October it began test-firing the 100lbf (0.44kN) Frenzy 6 turbojet in September, with the prototype design successfully completing initial test objectives for starting reliability, engine performance, and operability.
A video released by the company shows the Frenzy 6 lighting off on a test stand.
Beehive notes that it achieved the early test milestones only four months after finalising requirements for the new engine with the US Air Force (USAF). The Frenzy 6 is Beehive’s second powerplant in the Frenzy line, which is being positioned as a low-cost propulsion solution for the new generation of affordable, high-volume missiles, drones and uncrewed aircraft.
The lead offering in the Frenzy family is the larger, 200lbf Frenzy 8, which began active testing earlier this year under a $30 million USAF development contract via the service’s Small Expendable Turbine programme. That contract also supported prototype fabrication on the Frenzy 6.
“Frenzy 6 takes all the great things about Frenzy 8 and packages them into a smaller form factor to help address the needs of smaller munitions, drones, and unmanned aerial vehicles,” says Gordie Follin, chief product officer at Beehive. “We are focused on helping to enable affordable mass for US defence, and this is the latest example of our commitment to do that across all relevant platforms.”
Affordable mass
Jet engines are among the most complex and expensive components featured in modern military aircraft and missile systems. They have emerged as a main driver of cost and a bottleneck to increasing production rates, both of which are priority objectives for the Pentagon.
Finding low-cost, high-volume engines will be a key factor in achieving those goals.
As such, a whole generation of new propulsion solutions are coming on to the market, both from new entrants like Beehive and established suppliers including GE Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney (P&W) and Honeywell Aerospace.
One such design, the 800lbf GEK800 produced by a joint venture between GE and defence manufacturer Kratos, has already received a USAF production contract and an official type designation as the F143.
Beehive and others have turned to additive manufacturing — more commonly known as 3D printing — to achieve cost and production rate goals. P&W redesigned the TJ150 turbojet to cut the number of parts in the engine core from 50 to just five — with that handful able to be produced via 3D printing.
For the Frenzy 6, Beehive says it will continue testing ahead of vehicle integration and a planned flight demonstration in 2027.
The company is also working to expand its manufacturing capacity to hit an output target of 8,000 jet engines annually.
The post Beehive completes initial testing on Frenzy 6 100lbf turbojet engine first appeared on FlightGlobal.
Source: www.flightglobal.com — article syndicated from the publisher’s feed; all rights remain with the original publisher.