The General Electric J79 is an axial-flow turbojet engine built for use in a variety of fighter and bomber aircraft and a supersonic cruise missile. The J79 was produced by General Electric Aircraft Engines in the United States, and under license by several other companies worldwide.
A commercial version, designated the CJ805, powered the Convair 880, while an aft-turbofan derivative, the CJ805-23, powered the Convair 990 airliners and a single Sud Aviation Caravelle intended to demonstrate to the U.S. market the benefits of a bypass engine over the existing Avon turbojet.
In 1959 the gas generator of the J79 was developed as a stationary 10MW-class (13,000Â bhp) free-turbine turboshaft engine for naval power, power generation, and industrial use, called the LM1500. Its first application was in the research hydrofoil USSÂ Plainview.
The J79 was developed in the 1950s for reliable Mach 2 performance. The U.S.A.F. had a requirement to power their next generation bomber which became the Convair B-58 and this application launched the J79.