The Rolls-Royce Turbomeca Adour is a two-shaft low bypass

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 ...

aircraft engine An aircraft engine, often referred to as an aero engine, is the power component of an aircraft propulsion system. Most aircraft engines are either piston engines or gas turbines, although a few have been rocket powered and in recent years many ...

developed by

Rolls-Royce Turbomeca Limited Rolls-Royce Turbomeca Limited (RRTM) is a joint venture between United Kingdom, British aero-engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce plc (UK) and France, French helicopter engine specialist Safran Helicopter Engines (formerly known as Turbomeca). It man ...

, a joint venture between

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

(UK) and

Turbomeca Safran Helicopter Engines, previously known as Turbomeca, is a French manufacturer of low- and medium-power gas turbine turboshaft engines for helicopters. The company also produces gas turbine engines for aircraft and missiles, as well as turbin ...

(France). The engine is named after the

Adour The Adour (; eu, Aturri; oc, Ador) is a river in southwestern France. It rises in High-Bigorre (Pyrenees), in the commune of Aspin-Aure, and flows into the Atlantic Ocean (Bay of Biscay) near Bayonne. It is long, of which the uppermost ca. i ...

, a river in south western France.

History

The Adour is a turbofan engine developed primarily to power the Anglo-French

SEPECAT Jaguar The SEPECAT Jaguar is an Anglo-French jet attack aircraft originally used by the British Royal Air Force and the French Air Force in the close air support and nuclear strike role. It is still in service with the Indian Air Force. Originall ...

fighter-bomber, achieving its first successful test run in 1968. It is produced in versions with or without

reheat An afterburner (or reheat in British English) is an additional combustion component used on some jet engines, mostly those on military supersonic aircraft. Its purpose is to increase thrust, usually for supersonic flight, takeoff, and combat ...

. As of July 2009 more than 2,800 Adours have been produced, for over 20 different armed forces with total flying hours reaching 8 million in December 2009. The U.S. military designation for this engine is the F405-RR-401 (a derivative of the Adour Mk 871), which is currently used to power the fleet of

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...

BAE Systems BAE Systems plc (BAE) is a British multinational arms, security, and aerospace company based in London, England. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe, and ranked the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenues. ...

T-45 Goshawk The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) T-45 Goshawk is a highly modified version of the British BAE Systems Hawk land-based training jet aircraft. Manufactured by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) and British Aerospace (now BAE Systems), the T-45 i ...

trainer jets of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Variants

; Bench engines : Ten prototype engines were built for testing by both Rolls-Royce and Turbomeca. ; Flight development engines : Development engines for the Jaguar prototypes, 25 built.

Reheated (
afterburning An afterburner (or reheat in British English) is an additional combustion component used on some jet engines, mostly those on military supersonic aircraft. Its purpose is to increase thrust, usually for supersonic flight, takeoff, and combat ...
)

* Adour Mk 101 - First production variant for the Jaguar, 40 built. * Adour Mk 102 - Second production variant with the addition of part-throttle reheat. * Adour Mk 104 - Much more powerful version available in early '80s, with higher operating temperature (700° vs 640), capable of about 5,500 lb. dry and 8,000 lb. with max A/B (static). While it was only marginally better in military thrust at take off, this engine improved the Jaguar’s low power-to weight ratio and enabled much better performance, with 10% more thrust at take off (with after burner engaged), and up to 27% more thrust in high subsonic cruise, helping the Jaguar in its typical flight envelope (low level, high speed attack). * Adour Mk 106 - Replacement for the Jaguar's Mk104 engine (developed from the Adour 871) with a reheat section. The

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

refitted its fleet with this engine as part of the GR3 upgrade. In May 2007, following the retirement of the last 16 Jaguars from

No. 6 Squadron RAF Number 6 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR.4 at RAF Lossiemouth. It was previously equipped with the SEPECAT Jaguar, SEPECAT Jaguar GR.3 in the close air support and tactical reconnaissance roles, and was post ...

, based at

RAF Coningsby Royal Air Force Coningsby or RAF Coningsby , is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located south-west of Horncastle, and north-west of Boston, in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is a Main Operating Base of the RAF and hom ...

, the Adour 106 has been phased out of RAF service. * Adour Mk 801 - For

Mitsubishi F-1 The Mitsubishi F-1 is a Japanese swept-wing, single-seat, twin-engine supersonic strike aircraft that was in service with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) from 1978 to 2006. It was Japan's first domestically designed and built supersoni ...

& T-2 (

JASDF The , , also informally referred to as the Japanese Air Force, is the air and space branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, responsible for the defense of Japanese airspace, other air and space operations, cyberwarfare and electronic warfare. ...

) * TF40-IHI-801A - Licence-built version of Mk 801 by

Ishikawajima-Harima , formerly known as , is a Japanese engineering corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan that produces and offers ships, space launch vehicles, aircraft engines, marine diesel engines, gas turbines, gas engines, railway systems, turbocharg ...

for Mitsubishi F-1 & T-2 (JASDF) * Adour Mk 804 - Licence-built by HAL for Indian Air Force phase 2 Jaguars * Adour Mk 811 - Licence-built by HAL for Indian Air Force phase 3 to 6 Jaguars; rated at 8400 lbs of maximum thrus

BAe-built Jaguars were initially powered with two Adour 804E turbofans. * Adour Mk 821 - Engine upgrade of Mk804 and Mk811 engines, was under development for the Indian Air Force Jaguar aircraft.

Dry (non-afterburning)

* Adour Mk 151-01 Used by the Royal Air Force training aircraft fleet * Adour Mk 151-02 - Used by the

Red Arrows The Red Arrows, officially known as the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, is the aerobatics display team of the Royal Air Force based at RAF Waddington. The team was formed in late 1964 as an all-RAF team, replacing a number of unofficial teams ...

* Adour Mk 851 * Adour Mk 861 * Adour Mk 871 - Used by Hawk 200 * F405-RR-401 - Similar configuration to Mk 871, for US Navy T-45 Goshawk. * Adour Mk 951 - Designed for the latest versions of the

BAE Hawk The BAE Systems Hawk is a British single-engine, jet-powered advanced trainer aircraft. It was first flown at Dunsfold, Surrey, in 1974 as the Hawker Siddeley Hawk, and subsequently produced by its successor companies, British Aerospace and B ...

and powering the

BAE Taranis The BAE Systems Taranis is a British demonstrator programme for unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) technology, under development primarily by the defence contractor BAE Systems Military Air & Information. The aircraft, which is named after ...

and Dassault nEUROn

UCAV An unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), also known as a combat drone, colloquially shortened as drone or battlefield UAV, is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that is used for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance ...

technology demonstrators. The Adour Mk 951 is a more fundamental redesign than the Adour Mk 106, with improved performance (rated at thrust) and up to twice the service life of the 871. It features an all-new fan and combustor, revised HP and LP turbines, and introduces Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC). The Mk 951 was certified in 2005. * F405-RR-402 - Upgrade of F405-RR-401, incorporating Mk 951 technology, certified 2008. Did not enter into service due to funding issues.

Higher bypass

* A high-bypass engine built around the core of the Adour and intended as a Spey replacement was developed by Rolls-Royce in 1967 as the

Rolls-Royce RB.203 Trent The Rolls-Royce RB.203 Trent was a British medium-bypass turbofan engine of around 10,000lb thrust designed for production in the late 1960s, bearing no relation to the earlier Rolls-Royce RB.50 Trent turboprop or the later high-bypass Rolls-R ...

Applications

Aermacchi MB-338 The Aermacchi MB-339 is a military jet trainer and light attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Italian aviation company Aermacchi. The MB-339 was developed during the 1970s in response to an Italian Air Force requirement that sought a rep ...

(not-built) *

(UCAV development aircraft) * Dassault nEUROn (UCAV development aircraft) *

McDonnell Douglas T-45 Goshawk The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) T-45 Goshawk is a highly modified version of the British BAE Systems Hawk land-based training jet aircraft. Manufactured by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) and British Aerospace (now BAE Systems), the T-45 is u ...

Licence-built

;

TF40-IHI-801A *

Mitsubishi T-2 The Mitsubishi T-2 was a supersonic jet trainer aircraft used by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. Introduced in 1975, it was the first Japanese-designed aircraft to break the sound barrier. It was the basis of the Mitsubishi F-1 military aircra ...

Specifications (Adour Mk 106)

References

;Notes ;Bibliography *

External links

RAF Jaguar Specs

{{USAF gas turbine engines Low-bypass turbofan engines

1960s turbofan engines France–United Kingdom military relations