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
Courcouronnes () is a former commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Évry-Courcouronnes. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the "new town" of Évry Ville Nouvelle, crea ...
and a subsidiary of
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 a ...
. It designs, manufactures and maintains
engines for commercial and military
aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or by using the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in ...
as well as
rocket engines for
launch vehicle
A launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket designed to carry a payload ( spacecraft or satellites) from the Earth's surface to outer space. Most launch vehicles operate from a launch pads, supported by a launch control center and sys ...
s and
satellites
A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotop ...
.
Some of its notable developments, alone or in partnership, include the
Dassault Rafale's
M88 engine, the
Concorde
The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde () is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC).
Studies started in 1954, and France an ...
's
Olympus 593
The Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593 was an Anglo-French turbojet with reheat (afterburners), which powered the supersonic airliner Concorde. It was initially a joint project between Bristol Siddeley Engines Limited (BSEL) and Snecma, derived ...
, the
CFM56/
CFM-LEAP for single-aisle airliners, and the
Ariane 5
Ariane 5 is a European heavy-lift space launch vehicle developed and operated by Arianespace for the European Space Agency (ESA). It is launched from the Centre Spatial Guyanais (CSG) in French Guiana. It has been used to deliver payloads in ...
's
Vulcain engine.
The company employs around 15,700 people across 35 production sites, offices, and
MRO facilities worldwide and files an average of nearly 500
patent
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...
s each year.
Safran Aircraft Engines also notably operates two joint ventures with
GE Aviation
GE Aviation, a subsidiary of General Electric, is headquartered in Evendale, Ohio, outside Cincinnati. GE Aviation is among the top aircraft engine suppliers, and offers engines for the majority of commercial aircraft. GE Aviation is part of t ...
:
CFM International
CFM International is a 50/50 Franco-American joint venture between GE Aviation and Safran Aircraft Engines (formerly known as Snecma). It was formed to build and support the CFM56 series of turbofan engines. The company is the world’s lead ...
, the world’s leading supplier of commercial aircraft engines, and CFM Materials.
Timeline
* 1945: Snecma was formed when the French aircraft engine manufacturer
Gnome & Rhône
A gnome is a mythological creature and diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, first introduced by Paracelsus in the 16th century and later adopted by more recent authors including those of modern fantasy literature. Its characte ...
was nationalised. The name 'Snecma' was an
acronym
An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...
for ''Société nationale d'études et de construction de moteurs d'aviation'' (in English: 'National Company for the Research and Construction of Aviation Engines').
1946: Initial employees were German engineers, primarily from BMW, located in Decize, France. Group was known as Groupe "O" until 1950. First design product was the ATAR engine.
* 1946 or 1947, the nationalized
Établissments Regnier Motor Company was absorbed into Snecma and continued to produce the
SNECMA Régnier 4L
The SNECMA-Régnier 4L is a French four cylinder air-cooled inverted inline piston engine, introduced shortly after the end of World War II.
Design and development
Régnier Motor Company's introduction to aircraft engine production came after ...
.
* 1961: Snecma and
Bristol Siddeley
Bristol Siddeley Engines Ltd (BSEL) was a British aero engine manufacturer. The company was formed in 1959 by a merger of Bristol Aero-Engines Limited and Armstrong Siddeley Motors Limited. In 1961 the company was expanded by the purchase of t ...
formed a joint venture to produce a high-performance jet engine for the
Concorde
The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde () is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC).
Studies started in 1954, and France an ...
. The main body of the engine came from the
Bristol Olympus, which was further improved with several refinements including the addition of the variable intakes necessary for supersonic flight.
* 1968: Snecma acquired
Hispano-Suiza
Hispano-Suiza () is a Spanish automotive–engineering company. It was founded in 1904 by Marc Birkigt and Damian Mateu as an automobile manufacturer and eventually had several factories in Spain and France that produced luxury cars, aircraft en ...
,
Socata
SOCATA (later EADS Socata and DAHER-SOCATA) was a French producer of general aviation aircraft propelled by piston engines and turboprops, including business planes, small personal or training aircraft, as well as the production of aircraft stru ...
and
Bugatti
Automobiles Ettore Bugatti was a German then French manufacturer of high-performance automobiles. The company was founded in 1909 in the then-German city of Molsheim, Alsace, by the Italian-born industrial designer Ettore Bugatti. The cars ...
.
* 1970:
Messier and Snecma agreed to merge their
landing gear
Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Mart ...
business. The following year, Messier-Hispano was formed, which was fully acquired by Snecma in 1973. Snecma's landing gear business was further consolidated by the creation of Messier-Hispano-Bugatti (later renamed
Messier-Bugatti
Safran Landing Systems, formerly Messier-Bugatti-Dowty, is a French company involved in the design, development, manufacture and customer support of all types of aircraft landing gear, wheels and brakes and a wholly owned subsidiary of Safran S ...
) in 1977.
* 1974: Snecma and
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable ene ...
(GE) created a joint venture named
CFM International
CFM International is a 50/50 Franco-American joint venture between GE Aviation and Safran Aircraft Engines (formerly known as Snecma). It was formed to build and support the CFM56 series of turbofan engines. The company is the world’s lead ...
, beginning a long term cooperation to produce the
CFM56 series of
turbofan engines.
* 1990: Snecma announced its partnership with
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable ene ...
to build and produce the
General Electric GE90 engine.
* 1994:
Messier-Dowty was formed following the merger of the landing gear businesses of Snecma (Messier) and the British
TI Group
TI Group plc (formerly "Tube Investments") was a holding company for specialised engineering companies. It was based in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. It was registered as ''Tube Investments'' in 1919, combining the seamless steel tube businesses of T ...
(Dowty).
* 1997: Snecma fully acquired the
Société européenne de propulsion.
* 1998: Snecma took full control of Messier-Dowty.
* 1999: Snecma Services was created to consolidate all maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) operations (including Sochata-Snecma).
* 2000: Snecma acquired
Labinal
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 ...
, along with its
Turbomeca and Microturbo subsidiaries.
* 2001: Hurel-Hispano (now renamed and known as Safran Nacelles) was created to consolidate the group's 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 attache ...
and thrust reverser business.
* 2005: Snecma merged with Sagem to form
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 a ...
. Snecma was divided into two divisions of the new group (
propulsion
Propulsion is the generation of force by any combination of pushing or pulling to modify the translational motion of an object, which is typically a rigid body (or an articulated rigid body) but may also concern a fluid. The term is derived f ...
and equipment).
* 2010: Snecma and
GE formed CFM Materials as a 50/50 joint venture.
* 2016: Snecma was renamed Safran Aircraft Engines as the main subsidiary of
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 a ...
.
Major programmes
In terms of volume, the most impactful commercial aero engine produced by Safran Aircraft Engines is the
CFM International 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 Saf ...
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 ...
powerplant. This engine is both developed and manufactured via a 50-50
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...
company,
CFM International
CFM International is a 50/50 Franco-American joint venture between GE Aviation and Safran Aircraft Engines (formerly known as Snecma). It was formed to build and support the CFM56 series of turbofan engines. The company is the world’s lead ...
, which Safran jointly owns with the American industrial conglomerate
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable ene ...
(GE). Established during the 1970s, the CFM56 was not an early success; by April 1979, the joint venture had not received a single order in five years and was allegedly two weeks away from being dissolved.
[ The program was saved when ]Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline, along ...
, United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois. , and Flying Tigers
The First American Volunteer Group (AVG) of the Republic of China Air Force, nicknamed the Flying Tigers, was formed to help oppose the Japanese invasion of China. Operating in 1941–1942, it was composed of pilots from the United States ...
chose the CFM56 to re-engine their DC-8s; shortly thereafter, it was also selected to re-engine the KC-135 Stratotanker
The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It is the predominant variant of the C-135 Stratolifter family of trans ...
fleet of the United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...
, this operator being the engine's biggest customer.[ Following this turn of fortune, tens of thousands of engines have since been produced over the decades. A total of 30,000 CFM56s have been completed by July 2016.]
Safran Aircraft Engines is also the main partner for several other engines coproduced with GE, including the CF6-80 and GE90. Safran Aircraft Engines is also involved in the Engine Alliance, which manufactures the GP7000
The Engine Alliance GP7000 is a turbofan jet engine manufactured by Engine Alliance, a joint venture between General Electric and Pratt & Whitney. It is one of the powerplant options available for the Airbus A380, along with the Rolls-Royce Tren ...
high-thrust turbofan engine, one of the only two powerplants certified to power the twin-decker Airbus A380
The Airbus A380 is a large wide-body airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and only full-length double-deck jet airliner.
Airbus studies started in 1988, and the project was annou ...
.[About Us , Engine Alliance](_blank)
During the 2010s, Safran started manufacturing its portion of the LEAP engine via the CFM International joint venture; Safran and GE each assemble half of the annual volume. To cope with high demand for the LEAP engine, CFM has duplicated supply sources for 80% of parts and as well as subdivided assembly sites.
Safran Aircraft Engines is also involved in PowerJet
PowerJet is a Franco-Russian 50-50 joint venture created in 2004 by aeronautical engine manufacturers Snecma (Safran) and NPO Saturn. The company is in charge of the SaM146 program – the sole powerplant for the Sukhoi Superjet 100 airliner – ...
, a joint venture business with Russian aero engine specialist 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 ...
; this company produces SaM146 turbofan engine, which is used to power the Sukhoi Superjet 100 regional jet. During 2005, a new production plant was founded in Rybinsk, ''VolgAero'', to manufacture components of the SaM146; additionally, parts and assemblies of other engines produced by PowerJet's two parent companies are also produced on this site.
In terms of military engines, Safran Aircraft Engines produces the Snecma M88 turbofan. This engine was developed to power the Dassault Rafale fighter aircraft. It fulfills numerous stringent performance criteria, including a high thrust-to-weight ratio, low fuel consumption across all flight regimes, and a long engine life. Additional considerations were afforded to both the M88's maintainability and upgrade potential (73 kN to 105 kN using the same core).[Norris and Sedbon 1991, p. 35.] Qualification of the M88-2 engine was completed during 1996 while the first production engine was delivered by the end of that year. It is of a modular
Broadly speaking, modularity is the degree to which a system's components may be separated and recombined, often with the benefit of flexibility and variety in use. The concept of modularity is used primarily to reduce complexity by breaking a s ...
design for ease of construction and maintenance, as well as to enable older engines to be retrofitted with improved subsections upon availability, such as existing M88-2s being upgraded to M88-4E standard. In May 2010, a Rafale flew for the first time with the M88-4E engine, an upgraded variant with greater thrust and lower maintenance requirements than the preceding M88-2.
In 2002, the Europrop International
Europrop International (EPI) GmbH is a consortium set up in 2002 in the form of a company governed by German law, by the four main European aircraft engine manufacturers, MTU Aero Engines, Safran Aircraft Engines, Rolls-Royce and ITP Aero.
EPI ...
(EPI) consortium was set up by four aero engine manufacturers, Safran Aircraft Engines, Germany's MTU Aero Engines, Britain's Rolls-Royce Holdings
Rolls-Royce Holdings plc is a British multinational aerospace and defence company incorporated in February 2011. The company owns Rolls-Royce, a business established in 1904 which today designs, manufactures and distributes power systems for ...
and Spain's Industria de Turbo Propulsores
ITP Aero (Industria de Turbo Propulsores) is a Spanish aero engine and gas turbine manufacturer.
It was established in 1989 as a joint venture between Spanish engineering conglomerate SENER and Rolls-Royce Plc. By 2015, it had grown to become ...
. EPI GmbH is tasked with designing, developing, marketing, manufacturing and providing support for the TP400-D6 turboprop
A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller.
A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. ...
engine to power the Airbus A400M Atlas, a military airlifter manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space
Airbus Defence and Space is the division of Airbus SE responsible for the development and manufacturing of the corporation's defence and space products, while also providing related services. The division was formed in January 2014 during the ...
. The TP400 is the most powerful turboprop in the world currently in production.
During 2008, the European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...
launched an open rotor demonstration led by Safran within the Clean Sky program with 65 million euros funding over eight years : a demonstrator was assembled in 2015, and ground tested in May 2017 on its open-air test rig in Istres, aiming to reduce fuel consumption
A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chemical energy but ...
and associated CO2 emissions by 30% compared with current CFM56 turbofans.
With its 30:1 bypass ratio
The bypass ratio (BPR) of a turbofan engine is the ratio between the mass flow rate of the bypass stream to the mass flow rate entering the core. A 10:1 bypass ratio, for example, means that 10 kg of air passes through the bypass duct for ev ...
, it should deliver a 15% improvement over the CFM International LEAP
The CFM International LEAP ("Leading Edge Aviation Propulsion") is a high-bypass turbofan engine produced by CFM International, a 50–50 joint venture between American GE Aviation and French Safran Aircraft Engines (formerly Snecma). It is the ...
already at 11:1; but Airbus
Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: '' ...
is more interested in the more conventional Ultra High Bypass Ratio (UHBR) turbofan at 15:1, which could be introduced from 2025, offering 5% to 10% better efficiency than the LEAP and to be tested from 2020. Built around the M88's core, the fan blades are slower than the 1980s GE36 due to the reduction gear, lowering noise
Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hearing. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The difference aris ...
and the fan can be mounted at the engine front for under-wing configurations. The gearbox
Propulsion transmission is the mode of transmitting and controlling propulsion power of a machine. The term ''transmission'' properly refers to the whole drivetrain, including clutch, gearbox, prop shaft (for rear-wheel drive vehicles), diff ...
and the blade variable-pitch technologies were validated in 100 cycles and 70 hours of tests, including 25% at takeoff thrusts of , reverse thrust, and rotor imbalance with a blade weight. Afterwards, it was disassembled in April 2018 to examine each part and refine expected wear
Wear is the damaging, gradual removal or deformation of material at solid surfaces. Causes of wear can be mechanical (e.g., erosion) or chemical (e.g., corrosion). The study of wear and related processes is referred to as tribology.
Wear in ...
predictions. GE Aviation was involved through its Italian subsidiary Avio Aero, providing the gearbox and the low-pressure turbine. To be certified, a blade-out event have to be extremely improbable, less than once every billion flight hours as its RTM carbon fiber fan blades will be supported by the in-service LEAP experience.
During December 2019, Safran and MTU announced an agreement to found a 50/50 joint venture to manage the development, production, and after-sales support activities of the new military aero engine intended to power the Future Combat Air System.
In June 2021, Safran presented an updated architecture for its RISE open rotor concept, with a single to 144-156 in (365-396 cm) fan with variable pitch blades forward of a row of static guide vanes, to deliver 30,000lb of thrust (133 kN) with 20% better efficiency than the CFM LEAP.
Products
Aircraft
* SNECMA Coleoptere
Commercial engines
* CFM International 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 Saf ...
(50%)
* CFM International LEAP
The CFM International LEAP ("Leading Edge Aviation Propulsion") is a high-bypass turbofan engine produced by CFM International, a 50–50 joint venture between American GE Aviation and French Safran Aircraft Engines (formerly Snecma). It is the ...
(50%)
* PowerJet 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 ...
(50%)
* General Electric GE90 (23.5%)
* General Electric CF6
The General Electric CF6, US military designations F103 and F138, is a family of high-bypass turbofan engines produced by GE Aviation. Based on the TF39, the first high-power high-bypass jet engine, the CF6 powers a wide variety of civilian ...
(10–20% share of production, depending on engine model)
* Engine Alliance GP7000 (10%)
* Safran Silvercrest
The Safran Silvercrest is a French turbofan under development by Safran Aircraft Engines.
Development
The engine was announced at the 2006 National Business Aviation Association convention.
Certification was originally slated for the end of 2 ...
(under development)
* 5,000 shp turboprop
A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller.
A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. ...
(under study) for 70–90 seater regional airliner
A regional airliner or a feederliner is a small airliner that is designed to fly up to 100 passengers on short-haul flights, usually feeding larger carriers' airline hubs from small markets. This class of airliners is typically flown by the r ...
s
Military engines
* SNECMA Atar
* SNECMA M53
* SNECMA M88
* EuroProp TP400-D6 (28%)
* SNECMA Turbomeca Larzac
The SNECMA Turbomeca Larzac is a military turbofan manufactured by GRTS (Groupement Turbomeca-SNECMA),Gunston 1989, p.172. a consortium between the two French companies, SNECMA and Turbomeca. Its main application was on the Dassault/Dornier Alpha ...
Space engines
* Viking
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
* HM7B
* PPS-1350
* PPS-5000
* Vinci (under development)
* Vulcain
Sites
* Courcouronnes
Courcouronnes () is a former commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Évry-Courcouronnes. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the "new town" of Évry Ville Nouvelle, crea ...
: Headquarters
* Évry- Corbeil
* Gennevilliers
* Istres
* Guiana Space Centre
* Le Creusot
* Vernon
* Melun Villaroche Aerodrome
* Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines
* Châtellerault
Châtellerault (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Châteulrô/Chateleràud''; oc, Chastelairaud) is a commune in the Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in France. It is located in the northeast of the former province Poitou, and the re ...
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Safran Aircraft Engines - Official website
Safran Aircraft Engines - Official YouTube channel
{{Authority control
Companies based in Île-de-France
Rocket engine manufacturers of France
Gas turbine manufacturers
Manufacturing companies established in 1945
Aircraft engine manufacturers of France
Technology companies established in 1945
French companies established in 1945
Safran Group