http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/usn-study-revives-ge39s-hopes-for-major-f414-upgrade-398210/ http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/usn-study-reviv

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/usn-study-revives-ge39s-hopes-for-major-f414-upgrade-398210/ http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/usn-study-revives-... "The trade-off with upgrading the engine to produce 26,400lb-thrust is a considerable hike in maintenance costs. Running the F414 EDE at the higher thrust setting reduces turbine life to 2,000h, Caplan says. This is just one-third of the current 6,000h interval." "GE also has the option of switching to a more heat-resistant material to make the blades. The company is considering designing the first-stage turbine blades of the GE9X with silicon carbide-based ceramic matrix composites (CMC), which are lighter and more heat-resistant than metal. Indeed, the company tested CMCs in the low-pressure turbine of the F414-GE-400 for a 2011 demonstration." Turbines designed for rocket assist need to live <100hrs to service 200 launches. GE has basically already said they can push the engine to > 11:1 T:W, not including the advantages of ceramics or LNG combustors, which they also know how to make plenty of for utility gas turbines.