 | |
| Formerly | Snecma |
|---|---|
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Aerospace Defence |
| Founded | 1945; 80 years ago (1945) |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Stéphane cueille (CEO) |
| Products | Aircraft engines Rocket engines |
| Revenue |  €11.88 billion (2023)[1] |
| €2.39 billion (2023)[1] | |
Number of employees | 15,700 (2016) |
| Parent | Safran |
| Website | safran-aircraft-engines |
Safran Aircraft Engines, previouslySnecma (Société nationale d'études et de construction de moteurs d'aviation) orSnecma Moteurs, is a French aerospace engine manufacturer headquartered inCourcouronnes and a subsidiary ofSafran. It designs, manufactures and maintainsengines for commercial and militaryaircraft as well asrocket engines forlaunch vehicles andsatellites.
Some of its notable developments, alone or in partnership, include theDassault Rafale'sM88 engine, theConcorde'sOlympus 593, theCFM56 andCFM-LEAP for single-aisle airliners, as well as theAriane 5'sVulcain engine.
The company employs around 15,700 people across 35 production sites, offices, andMRO facilities worldwide and files an average of nearly 500patents each year.
Safran Aircraft Engines also notably operates two joint ventures withGE Aerospace:CFM International, the world’s leading supplier of commercial aircraft engines,[2] and CFM Materials.
In terms of volume, the most impactful commercial aero engine produced by Safran Aircraft Engines is theCFM International CFM56turbofan powerplant. This engine is both developed and manufactured via a 50-50joint venture company,CFM International, which Safran jointly owns with the American industrial conglomerate General Electric (GE). Established during the 1970s, the CFM56 was not an early success; by April 1979, the joint venture had not received a single order in five years and was allegedly two weeks away from being dissolved.[5] The program was saved whenDelta Air Lines,United Airlines, andFlying Tigers chose the CFM56 to re-engine theirDC-8s; shortly thereafter, it was also selected to re-engine theKC-135 Stratotanker fleet of theUnited States Air Force, this operator being the engine's biggest customer.[5] Following this turn of fortune, tens of thousands of engines have since been produced over the decades. A total of 30,000 CFM56s have been completed by July 2016.[5]
Safran Aircraft Engines is also the main partner for several other engines coproduced with GE, including theCF6-80 andGE90.[6][7] Safran Aircraft Engines is also involved in theEngine Alliance, which manufactures theGP7000 high-thrust turbofan engine, one of the only two powerplants certified to power the twin-deckerAirbus A380.[8][9] During the 2010s, Safran started manufacturing its portion of theLEAP engine via the CFM International joint venture; Safran and GE each assemble half of the annual volume.[10] To cope with high demand for the LEAP engine, CFM has duplicated supply sources for 80% of parts and as well as subdivided assembly sites.[11]
Safran Aircraft Engines is also involved inPowerJet, a joint venture business with Russian aero engine specialistNPO Saturn; this company producesSaM146 turbofan engine, which is used to power theSukhoi Superjet 100regional jet.[12] During 2005, a new production plant was founded in Rybinsk,VolgAero, to manufacture components of the SaM146; additionally, parts and assemblies of other engines produced by PowerJet's two parent companies are also produced on this site.[13]
In terms of military engines, Safran Aircraft Engines produces theSnecma M88 turbofan. This engine was developed to power theDassault Rafale fighter aircraft.[14] It fulfills numerous stringent performance criteria, including a highthrust-to-weight ratio, low fuel consumption across all flight regimes, and a long engine life.[15] Additional considerations were afforded to both the M88's maintainability and upgrade potential (73 kN to 105 kN using the same core).[16][17][18] Qualification of the M88-2 engine was completed during 1996 while the first production engine was delivered by the end of that year. It is of amodular design for ease of construction and maintenance, as well as to enable older engines to be retrofitted with improved subsections upon availability, such as existing M88-2s being upgraded to M88-4E standard.[19] In May 2010, a Rafale flew for the first time with the M88-4E engine, an upgraded variant with greater thrust and lower maintenance requirements than the preceding M88-2.[20]
In 2002, theEuroprop International (EPI) consortium was set up by four aero engine manufacturers, Safran Aircraft Engines, Germany'sMTU Aero Engines, Britain'sRolls-Royce Holdings and Spain'sIndustria de Turbo Propulsores.[21][22][23] EPI GmbH is tasked with designing, developing, marketing, manufacturing and providing support for theTP400-D6turboprop engine to power theAirbus A400M Atlas, a military airlifter manufactured byAirbus Defence and Space.[24][25][23][26] The TP400 is the most powerful turboprop in the world currently in production.[27][28]
During 2008, theEuropean Commission launched anopen rotor demonstration led by Safran within theClean Sky program with 65 million euros funding over eight years: a demonstrator was assembled in 2015, and ground tested in May 2017 on its open-air test rig inIstres, aiming to reducefuel consumption and associated CO2 emissions by 30% compared with currentCFM56 turbofans.[29]With its 30:1bypass ratio, it should deliver a 15% improvement over theCFM International LEAP already at 11:1; butAirbus is more interested in the more conventional ultra high bypass ratio (UHBR) turbofan at 15:1, which could be introduced from 2025, offering 5% to 10% better efficiency than the LEAP and to be tested from 2020.[30] Built around the M88's core, the fan blades are slower than the 1980sGE36 due to the reduction gear, loweringnoise and the fan can be mounted at the engine front for under-wing configurations.[31] Thegearbox and the bladevariable-pitch technologies were validated in 100 cycles and 70 hours of tests, including 25% at takeoff thrusts of 21,000–25,000 lbf (93–111 kN),reverse thrust, and rotor imbalance with a blade weight. Afterwards, it was disassembled in April 2018 to examine each part and refine expectedwear predictions. GE Aviation was involved through its Italian subsidiaryAvio Aero, providing the gearbox and the low-pressure turbine.To be certified, a blade-out event has to be extremely improbable, less than once every billion flight hours as itsresin-transfer molding (RTM) carbon fiber fan blades will be supported by the in-service LEAP experience.[32]
During December 2019, Safran and MTU announced an agreement to found a 50/50 joint venture to manage the development, production, and after-sales support activities of the new military aero engine intended to power theFuture Combat Air System.[33]
In June 2021, Safran presented an updated architecture for its RISE open rotor concept, with a single to 144-156 in (365-396 cm) fan with variable pitch blades forward of a row of static guide vanes, to deliver 30,000lb of thrust (133 kN) with 20% better efficiency than the CFM LEAP.[34]
| Model name | Corporate | Share |
|---|---|---|
| CFM International CFM56 | CFM International | 50% |
| CFM International LEAP | CFM International | 50% |
| PowerJet SaM146 | PowerJet | 50% |
| General Electric GE90 | GE Aerospace | 23.5% |
| General Electric CF6 | GE Aerospace | 10–20% |
| Engine Alliance GP7000 | Engine Alliance | 10% |
| Safran Silvercrest | Safran | (canceled) |
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