Safran unveils the Aneto family
New range of turboshafts for super-medium and heavy helicopters
Safran Helicopter Engines unveiled its brand new Aneto family of high power turbine engines at Helitech International in London in October 2017. Designed for the growing super-medium and heavy helicopter market, it incorporates ground-breaking technologies, developed as part of the Safran Helicopter Engines R&D roadmap. The Aneto family will feature several models covering a power range from 2500 shp to over 3000 shp.
As Bruno Even, Safran Helicopter Engines President said, “Launching the Aneto engine family in Helitech marks a major milestone for Safran Helicopter Engines. It is the result of a long and sustained strategy of technology acquisition and maturation. Today, we are in position to bring to the market a new generation and competitive engine solution for the super-medium and heavy helicopter market, ready to enter service in the fourth quarter of 2018. We are convinced that Aneto will offer a new level of performance coupled with reduced operating costs.”
The 2,500 shp model, named Aneto-1K, has been selected by Leonardo (formerly AgustaWestland) to power its twin-engine AW189K. First flight of the Aneto-1K fitted to this helicopter has taken place on March 2017 and entry into service is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2018. Aneto-1K EASA certification is on track to meet that timetable.
Gian Piero Cutillo, Managing Director Leonardo Helicopters, stated, “We are pleased that the AW189K will be the first helicopter to feature an Aneto engine. This new turboshaft engine will offer our customers a high level of performance and further extend the capabilities and versatility of our super medium platform, particularly in hot and high conditions. Operators will also benefit from Safran’s longstanding experience in the helicopter market as well as from its strong worldwide support network.”
Safran believe that the Aneto engine family brings significant benefits to customers: “owing to an exceptional powerto-volume ratio, it offers 25 % greater power (when compared to existing engines of same volume), contributing to increased mission capabilities especially during demanding missions requiring more power such as offshore, search and rescue, fire-fighting or military transport, as well as better performance in ‘hot and high’ conditions.”
The Tech 3000 technological demonstrator is a key building block of the Aneto family. It enables Safran Helicopter Engines to validate designs and technologies capable of delivering up to 15 % better fuel economy over today’s high power engine models. These new technologies will be gradually incorporated in the Aneto models, depending on the power requirements and entry-into-service timeframe, resulting in improved range and payload and reduced environmental footprint.
Aneto features higher reliability and safety. Its maintainability has been optimised with fewer scheduled maintenance tasks and longer maintenance intervals, and this new range will have connected features like health monitoring (predictive maintenance) and will be fully compatible with BOOST, Safran’s online engine maintenance management service.
Although designed for next generation rotorcraft, Safran feel that “Aneto is also a perfect drop-in engine solution for existing models.”
Safran Helicopter Engines has traditionally named its engines after features in the Pyrenees Mountains that overlook the firm’s Bordes headquarters. Arriel is a famous peak near the FrenchSpanish border, Arrius is the name of a high-altitude lake, and Makila refers to a traditional Basque hiking stick. Following this convention, Aneto is the name of the tallest mountain in the Pyrenees, at a height of 3,404 metres, which the company says reflects “a commitment to push the limits higher both in terms of technical and in service performance. It also symbolises new levels of power and performance we are now able to reach.”