The NPO Saturn AL-55 is a high performance

turbofan The turbofan or fanjet is a type of airbreathing jet engine that is widely used in aircraft engine, aircraft propulsion. The word "turbofan" is a portmanteau of "turbine" and "fan": the ''turbo'' portion refers to a gas turbine engine which ac ...

engine manufactured by

NPO Saturn UEC NPO Saturn, PJSC (russian: ОДК-Сатурн НПО) is a Russian aircraft engine manufacturer, formed from the mergers of Rybinsk Motors and Lyul'ka-Saturn (after Arkhip Mikhailovich Lyulka) in 2001. Saturn's engines power many former Eas ...

Russia, for powering advanced trainers,

unmanned aerial vehicle An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...

s (UAV) and light attack aircraft. A variant of the AL-55I powers the

HAL HJT-36 Sitara The HAL HJT-36 ''Sitara'' ( Sitārā: "''star''") is a subsonic intermediate jet trainer aircraft designed and developed by Aircraft Research and Design Centre (ARDC) and built by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force and ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n jet trainer.

Design

The design comprises five main features. It has a three-stage low pressure compressor, five stage high pressure chamber, an annular combustion chamber and a single stage high and low pressure turbines. In August 2005, the Russian export organization known as

Rosoboronexport JSC Rosoboronexport (russian: AO Рособоронэкспорт, ''Rosoboroneksport'') is the sole state intermediary agency for Russia's exports/imports of defense-related and dual use products, technologies and services. The Rosoboronexport F ...

and India's

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is an Indian state-owned aerospace and defence (military), defence company, headquartered in Bangalore, India. Established on 23 December 1940, HAL is one of the oldest and largest aerospace and defence manuf ...

(HAL) signed an agreement for the licensed production of up to 1,000 AL-55I engines. The agreement includes a firm order for 250 engines to be manufactured at HAL facilities in India, to power both

HAL HJT-36 The HAL HJT-36 ''Sitara'' ( Sitārā: "''star''") is a subsonic intermediate jet trainer aircraft designed and developed by Aircraft Research and Design Centre (ARDC) and built by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force and ...

trainer and

HAL HJT 39 The HAL HJT 39, aka CAT (Combat Air Trainer), was an Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT) project proposal by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force. HAL HJT 39 CAT Programme was Announced at Aero India, February 2005, with mockup ...

combat trainer aircraft.

Variants

;AL-55: :AL-55/I: A variant designed for licensed production in

Applications

Mikoyan MiG-AT The Mikoyan MiG-AT (russian: МиГ-АТ) is a Russian advanced trainer and light attack aircraft that was intended to replace the Aero L-29 and L-39 of the Russian Air Force. Designed by the Mikoyan Design Bureau and built by the Moscow Aircr ...

MiG-AT aircraft
*

KB SAT SR-10 The KB SAT SR-10 is a prototype Russian single-engine jet trainer aircraft, fitted with forward-swept wings. It first flew in 2015 and is being offered to the Russian Air Force and for export. Design and development The Russian design bureau ...

Specifications

References

{{Lyulka aeroengines 2010s turbofan engines AL-55 India–Russia relations

Design

Variants

Applications

Specifications

See also

References