Safran Helicopter Engines and MTU Aero Engines have created a 50/50 joint venture to develop a new heavy helicopter engine focused on the European Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies (ENGRT) project.
Known as EURA (from European Military Rotorcraft Engine Alliance), the entity will be based at Safran Helicopter Engines’ headquarters in Bordes, France, but the CEO will be selected from within MTU.
The creation of the joint venture follows the signing of an MoU between Safran and MTU at the Paris Air Show last year, in which the two parties called the need for an entirely European engine for ENGRT “a matter of sovereignty.”
An initial technology development phase from 2025 to 2029 will be followed by the engine’s development from 2030, with entry-into-service by 2040.
“EURA is a guarantee of sovereignty for the future military helicopters that Europe and European nations will need,” said Safran Helicopter Engines CEO Cédric Goubet, in a press release announcing the move. “This joint venture will enable us to start developing new technologies such as hybrid-electric propulsion and high-temperature materials, to meet the specifications of future helicopter projects.”
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.
Safran and MTU are targeting an engine that will provide increased efficiency and reduced operating and maintenance costs, while enabling aircraft to fly further, faster, and with better maneuverability and availability.
“This future-oriented program for a new 100% European engine marks another milestone in the continent’s defense history. It is key to further reinforcing European sovereignty and strengthening the European high-tech supply chain,” said Michael Schreyögg, chief program officer of MTU Aero Engines.
“Developing this next-generation engine demands efficient project management and quick and flexible decision-making — which we are now establishing with EURA.”
A signing ceremony to establish EURA took place at the French Embassy in Berlin in the presence of François Delattre, France’s Ambassador to Germany, and Thomas Hitschler, Parliamentary State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry of Defense.
