Safran Helicopter Engines and MTU Aero Engines have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to create a 50/50 joint venture to develop an engine for the European Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies (ENGRT) project — calling the need for a European solution “a matter of sovereignty.”
ENGRT is a research and technology project funded by the European Defence Fund, designed to pave the way to the next generation of military rotorcraft in Europe. In June 2022, Airbus Helicopters was named coordinator of the project, which is slated to lead to a military helicopter entering service by 2040.
“We are convinced that the European armed forces need a 100-percent genuine new European helicopter engine,” said Cedric Goubet, CEO of Safran Helicopter Engines, as the two companies announced their partnership during the Paris Air Show. “It’s a matter of sovereignty, [and] it’s a matter of strategic autonomy — and you know how key that is in today’s world, with all the geopolitical evolution ongoing.”
The new engine will be “perfectly adaptable” to future helicopter requirements, while incorporating “breakthrough technologies” such as hybrid-electric propulsion, the companies said in a joint press release. Goubet added that it will be “very advanced” and offer low operating and maintenance costs.
“It will be one of the most important collaborative programs in the history of European defense,” said Goubet.
An initial technology development phase from 2025 to 2029 will be followed be the engine’s development from 2030, with entry-into-service by 2040.
The partnership follows a similar agreement between the companies, announced in 2021, to jointly develop an engine to power the Next-Generation Fighter as part of the Future Combat Air System program.
“[The ENGRT partnership] is another milestone in Europe’s defense history,” said Michael Schreyögg, chief program officer of MTU Aero Engines. “We are not waiting for the customers to tell us what to do, or the airplane makers to tell us what to do. . . . We are the first movers in this project here. And I can tell you this is based on a lot of mutual trust, on friendships also, and on partnerships.”
The two companies took the opportunity of the MoU announcement to encourage other European industry members to join them in the collaboration. They said more than 25 representatives of industry and academia from 14 different countries attended an initial information meeting, and hope the partnership will see a pan-European team working on the project.
“Yes, we are the leaders in this coalition . . . but we are open to all the European engine makers to join us in this project — and even urge the European engine makers to join us,” said Schreyögg. “Because only if we are united and we are joined together can we build the best product at affordable prices for our armed forces.”
