PowerJet is a Franco-Russian 50-50 joint venture created in 2004 by aeronautical engine manufacturers

Snecma Safran Aircraft Engines, previously Snecma (''Société nationale d'études et de construction de moteurs d'aviation'') or Snecma Moteurs, is a French aerospace engine manufacturer headquartered in Courcouronnes and a subsidiary of Safran. It ...

(

Safran Safran S.A. is a French multinational company that designs, develops and manufactures aircraft engines, rocket engines as well as various aerospace and defense-related equipment or their components. It was formed by a merger between SNECMA and ...

) and

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 Ea ...

. The company is in charge of the

SaM146 The PowerJet SaM146 is a turbofan engine produced by the PowerJet joint venture between Snecma (Safran) of France and NPO Saturn of Russia. Developing of thrust, the SaM146 is used on the Sukhoi Superjet 100. Snecma is in charge of the core en ...

program – the sole powerplant for the

Sukhoi Superjet 100 The Sukhoi Superjet 100 () or SSJ100 is a regional jet designed by Russian aircraft company Sukhoi Civil Aircraft, a division of the United Aircraft Corporation (now: Regional Aircraft – Branch of the Irkut Corporation). With development starti ...

airliner – including design, production, marketing and after-sales support. It delivers a complete propulsion system, comprising engine,

nacelle A nacelle ( ) is a "streamlined body, sized according to what it contains", such as an engine, fuel, or equipment on an aircraft. When attached by a pylon entirely outside the airframe, it is sometimes called a pod, in which case it is attached ...

and equipment. PowerJet has two production sites: one in Villaroche (France) and the other in

Rybinsk Rybinsk ( rus, Рыбинск, p=ˈrɨbʲɪnsk), the second largest city of Yaroslavl Oblast in Russia, lies at the confluence of the Volga and Sheksna Rivers, 267 kilometers north-north-east of Moscow. Population: It was previously known as ...

(Russia).

History

Snecma and NPO Saturn began cooperating in 1998, when Snecma subcontracted the production of

CFM56 The CFM International CFM56 (U.S. military designation F108) series is a Franco-American family of high-bypass turbofan aircraft engines made by CFM International (CFMI), with a thrust range of . CFMI is a 50–50 joint-owned company of Safran ...

engine parts to NPO Saturn. In 2004, the creation of the PowerJet joint venture took the collaboration a step further. In 2005, the production plant VolgAero was founded in Rybinsk, in order to make parts for the SaM146, as well as parts and assemblies for other engines produced by the two parent companies. In 2007, Snecma and NPO Saturn built an open-air test cell in Poluevo, near Rybinsk, to handle certification tests for the SaM146. It is the only open-air test facility for this type of engine in Europe and it also provides test services for other engines. On 23 June 2010, it was announced that EASA certified PowerJet for its SaM146 engine.David Kaminski-Morrow, “EASA certifies PowerJet SaM146 for Superjet”, Flight Global, Jun 23, 2010
/ref> It gained Russian certification in August 2010 and the following year the Superjet 100 entered service.

References

{{Reflist Multinational aircraft engine manufacturers Aircraft engine manufacturers of Russia Joint ventures Safran Group