The investment is expected to accelerate deliveries of engines, ramp up production of parts that extend time-on-wing, and strengthen the U.S. defense production and supplier base.
CINCINNATI—GE Aerospace is a global aerospace propulsion, services, and systems company with an installed base of approximately 50,000 commercial and 30,000 military aircraft engines. The company announced in March that it plans to invest another $1 billion in its U.S. manufacturing sites and supplier base during 2026.
The investment will help accelerate engine deliveries and ramp production of durable parts that “safely extend time between maintenance shop visits.” It is also intended to help strengthen the U.S. defense production and supplier base to keep pace with military demand, according to a release from GE Aerospace.
The company said the 2026 investment—its second consecutive $1 billion U.S. investment—will benefit sites across more than 30 communities in 17 states. GE Aerospace also plans to hire 5,000 U.S. workers, including manufacturing and engineering roles, in addition to the 5,000 people it hired last year.
“Maintaining U.S. aerospace leadership requires sustained investment in our people, our facilities, and the technologies that will define the future of flight,” said H. Lawrence Culp, Jr., chairman and CEO of GE Aerospace, in a statement. “This investment is for our customers, our communities, and our country.”
The hiring news builds on GE Aerospace’s announcement last fall of a new, $30-million GE Aerospace Foundation program to train 10,000 workers by 2030 with the manufacturing skills to support the entire industry.
Since 2024, GE Aerospace has announced plans to invest more than $2.5 billion across its U.S. manufacturing sites and supplier base. This includes approximately $600 million in sites producing defense engines during the last three years.
“This manufacturing investment is in addition to the nearly $3 billion that GE Aerospace invests annually in research and development,” the company said in the release.
The investment expands capacity at sites producing and assembling commercial and defense engines. This includes $115 million in Cincinnati, Ohio—home to GE Aerospace’s headquarters— to modernize infrastructure, increase test cell capacity, and expand advanced 3D metal printing capabilities, according to GE Aerospace.
“More than $275 million of the $1 billion is planned to upgrade sites producing defense engines and components, helping to strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base to deliver at pace for the warfighter’s evolving needs,” the company stated.
The investment is reported to include more than $40 million for the company’s operations in Lynn, Massachusetts, to refresh machinery, expand test cell capacity and flexibility to meet delivery pace, and make building upgrades. It also includes $10 million for the GE Aerospace site in Madisonville, Kentucky, to invest in new machines to increase part production, as well as inspection equipment, tooling, and facility upgrades.
The company said it is expanding commercial engine production capacity, particularly for the CFM LEAP engine that powers the Boeing 737MAX and Airbus A320 aircraft families. The CFM LEAP engines are made by CFM International, a 50-50 joint company between GE Aerospace and Safran Aircraft Engines.
“These investments will increase part production for maintenance sites, helping reduce turnaround times,” the release stated.
Highlights of the investment include $200 million to expand manufacturing capacity for LEAP high-pressure turbine durability kits reported to improve time-on-wing for customers by more than two times in hot and harsh conditions. The investment also supports production of the reverse bleed system, which reduces the need for on-wing maintenance, the company said.
In addition, $20 million is targeted for the company’s Durham, North Carolina, facility, where it will be used for specialized tooling, engine line assembly systems, and building upgrades to support the increased assembly of narrowbody and widebody engines. The company said $7 million will go to its Lafayette, Indiana, operations for new tools, equipment, and facility upgrades that support engine assembly and increase capacity to meet 2026 narrowbody engine deliveries.
GE Aerospace is also investing more than $100 million, as part of the $1 billion, in its external supplier base. These funds will provide tooling and equipment to help stabilize production schedules, a critical factor in meeting delivery commitments. Deploying these investments alongside FLIGHT DECK, the company’s proprietary lean operating model, has reportedly already helped improve material input last year from priority suppliers by more than 40 percent over the previous year.
“This, in turn, drove commercial engine deliveries up 25 percent and defense engine deliveries up 30 percent in 2025 compared to the previous year,” the company said in the release.