A switched reluctance machine designed for high-speed high-power operation. The switched reluctance machine has a rotor having a plurality of radially extending rotor poles, an interpolar filler positioned between the rotor poles, a stator having a plurality of stator poles extending radially inwardly from the inner surface of a machine frame, a stator winding positioned about each stator pole, wherein the stator wire has a rectangular cross-sectional profile, an axial cooling system, an end turn cooling system, and a cooling jacket positioned radially about the machine frame, and a power source configured to selectively supply electrical power to the one or more stator windings to induce rotation of the rotor.