How The World’s Most Powerful Jet Engine Handles 2,400-Degree Temperatures

When Boeing launched the 777X program in November 2013, the aircraft was intended to become the most efficient twin-engine widebody ever built. Powered exclusively by the GE9X, the jet promised a 10% reduction in fuel burn compared to the Boeing 777-300ER while carrying up to 426 passengers in a two-class layout and flying more than 7,200 nautical miles (13,334 km). But more than a decade later, the aircraft remains uncertified, making the 777X one of the longest-delayed commercial aviation programs in Boeing’s modern history. Behind the aircraft is one of its most technologically ambitious components: an engine designed to operate under extraordinary temperatures and pressures.