Safran Helicopter Engines has formally launched a 2,500 to 3,000 shaft-horsepower (shp) civil turboshaft program and is planning on having an airworthy engine ready by year-end.
The Pau, France-based company (previously known as Turbomeca) did not previously have an engine in this power range, and hopes the new development will find applications in the heavy helicopter segment. The Airbus Helicopters X6 program, still under wraps and expected to enter into service in the next decade, is understood to be the main target. Safran said it is also talking to Bell Helicopter, Leonardo Helicopters and Sikorsky.
The new engine is being designed as a new-generation competitor of the well-established GE CT7, and will use technologies demonstrated on Safran’s Tech 3000 program. Therefore, compared to the CT7, it will be more compact, Safran promised. “We are talking about 20 to 25 percent more power, in the same volume,” Maxime Faribault, executive vice president for OEM sales, told Vertical. Fuel consumption will be lower than that of the CT7, by a percentage “close to two digits,” he added
The new turboshaft’s architecture will resemble that of the RTM 322. It will house 3D-printed fuel nozzles, which is expected to shorten the manufacturing cycle. Further details on the new engine will be unveiled next year.
Entry into service could take place by the end of the decade. The public introduction of a 2,500-shp version, late this year, will be followed by a more powerful one at the end of 2017.
Safran’s largest in-production engine is the Makila 2A1, which has a takeoff power of 2,100 shp and equips the Airbus H225.
