Safran to provide engine support for US Army’s UH-72 Lakota fleet

2022-09-17 09:20:52 By : Mr. Allen Wu

Under the renewed agreement, the company will support nearly 900 Arriel 1E2 and Arriel 2E engines.

Safran Helicopter Engines, a subsidiary of Safran, has announced a renewed agreement with Airbus unit Airbus Helicopters to provide engine logistics support to the US Army’s UH-72 Lakota helicopters.  

The maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) and service agreement requires Safran to support nearly 900 Arriel 1E2 and Arriel 2E engines, which propel the UH-72A and UH-72B aircraft fleets.

The Arriel family of engines, with power outputs of over 650shp to 1,000shp, power nearly 40 different rotorcraft.

According to Safran, the ‘best-selling helicopter engine in its class’ has covered over 50 million flight hours.

An Arriel-powered copter takes off every 15 seconds, every day.

To date, nearly 3,000 Arriel engines are in service with the US Army and have flown more than 2.5 million engine flight hours.

Safran Helicopter Engines USA president and CEO Thierry Derrien said: “Safran Helicopter Engines is honoured to continue working alongside Airbus in providing the engine logistics support for the US Army fleet of UH-72 Lakotas.

“Our team remains ready to support Airbus and the US Army through proximity locations and continues to show the importance of our US presence.” 

Works under the contract will be taken up by Safran Helicopter Engines USA at its facility in Grand Prairie, Texas, while its office in Daleville, Alabama, will support the training fleet at Fort Rucker.

So far, Safran Helicopter Engines has produced over 75,000 helicopter engines. The company also offers a wide range of helicopter turboshafts and has customers across 155 countries.

In 2019, Safran Helicopter Engines signed an agreement to expand the scope of its helicopter engine support partnership with Thai Aviation Industries (TAI).

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