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Piaggio Aerospace partners with Safran Helicopter Engines on its Ardiden 3 engine family
Business
Bordes, Villanova d’Albenga, 28 September 2021
The Italian aircraft and engine-parts manufacturer Piaggio Aerospace and the French company Safran Helicopter Engines have announced today that they signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) to cooperate on the production of the Ardiden 3 aeroengine family. The agreement covers the manufacture of critical parts for the variants of the Ardiden 3 family, both for turbopropulsor (Ardiden 3TP) and helicopter applications.
Piaggio Aerospace and Safran Helicopter Engines already collaborate on the RTM322 and Aneto engine families for production of hot section parts of the engines.
The Ardiden 3 is a new-generation core engine in the 1,700 to 2,000 shaft horsepower range. With two EASA-certified models, the Ardiden 3 features a remarkably compact modular architecture, a best-in-class power-to-weight ratio and a low cost-of-ownership.
The turbopropulsor version, Ardiden 3TP, is developed through the Tech TP technological demonstrator of Clean Sky 2 research and innovation programme. The Ardiden 3TP offers 15% lower fuel consumption over current turboprops engines. The agreement strengthens the European team built around the Ardiden 3TP for general, regional and military turboprop applications, which already includes Safran Helicopter Engines, ZF Aviation Technology (ZF Luftfahrttechnik - Germany) and ITP Aero (Spain).
Commented Florent Chauvancy, Safran Helicopter Engines EVP OEM Sales, “We are proud to enlarge the collaboration with Piaggio Aerospace as a partner for our Ardiden 3 engine. Particularly with the Ardiden 3TP, we are committed to deliver a 100% European engine featuring high levels of design maturity and competitive operating and maintenance costs. It will be designed, built and supported by highly-experienced teams using state-of-the-art industrial capabilities in Italy, Germany, Spain and France.”
Commented Vincenzo Nicastro, Extraordinary Commissioner of Piaggio Aerospace: “Our Engines business unit, with its highly qualified personnel and vast client portfolio, represents an excellence of the aerospace industry, both in the civil and defence sectors. Joining the Ardiden3 program and the Ardiden3TP European team is of strategic value for Piaggio Aerospace: I am sure the company will be able to bring its expertise on this new engine and to all its future applications ”.
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Safran is an international high-technology group, operating in the aviation (propulsion, equipment and interiors), defense and space markets. Its core purpose is to contribute to a safer, more sustainable world, where air transport is more environmentally friendly, comfortable and accessible. Safran has a global presence, with 76,000 employees and sales of 16.5 billion euros in 2020 and holds, alone or in partnership, world or regional leadership positions in its core markets. Safran undertakes research and development programs to maintain the environmental priorities of its R&T and Innovation roadmap.
Safran is listed on the Euronext Paris stock exchange and is part of the CAC 40 and Euro Stoxx 50 indices.
Safran Helicopter Engines is the world’s leading manufacturer of helicopter engines, with more than 75,000 produced since being founded. It offers the widest range of helicopter turboshafts in the world and has more than 2,500 customers in 155 countries.
Piaggio Aerospace designs, develops, manufactures and maintains aircraft, aircraft engines and structural components. Its history of innovation and progress started in 1884 in Genoa, Italy. A continuous commitment to research and development, combined with innovative design and style, leads the development of Piaggio Aerospace, one of the main players for executive turboprops, Unmanned Aerial Systems and Special Mission aircraft in the global market. The company operates from its aerospace center of excellence in Villanova d’Albenga, Italy, while its Customer Service Department is based in Genoa. In December 2018, the company entered the Extraordinary Administration procedure with the appointment of Vincenzo Nicastro as Extraordinary Commissioner. The same applied later to its subsidiary Piaggio Aviation.
For more information : www.piaggioaerospace.it / Follow @PiaggioA on Twitter
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