The GE27 was developed in the early 1980s under the "Modern Technology Demonstrator Engines" (MTDE) program sponsored by the
United States Army Aviation Applied Technology Directorate. In the late 1980s, GE used the GE27 as the basis for the commercial development of
turboshafts,
turboprops,
turbofans, and
propfans under the GE38 name. GE formed a 50/50 venture with
Garrett (then a division of
AlliedSignal) to develop the turbofan variant called the
CFE (Commercial Fan Engines)
CFE738, which used the GE27's gas generator core. but the US Navy canceled Lockheed's P-7 contract on July 20, 1990. The commercial version of the T407 was the
GLC38 (General Electric/Lycoming Commercial 38), which was unsuccessfully offered for several turboprop airliners in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The GE38 completed its first round of ground testing in May 2010. Two test engines have completed over 1,000 hours of ground testing by November 2011. Five test engines will be used in the 5,000-hour test program. In September 2019, GE delivered the first production T408 engine to the U.S.
Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) for the CH-53K. Conclusion of the test trials was announced on May 12, 2021. ==Variants==