MTU Turbomeca Rolls-Royce GmbH (MTR) is a multinational engine manufacturer established to develop, manufacture, and service the

MTR390 The MTU Turbomeca Rolls-Royce MTR390 is a turboshaft developed for light helicopter applications by MTU Turbomeca Rolls-Royce (MTR). The engine is designed to power helicopters in the weight range of 5-7 tonnes in both single and twin engine confi ...

turboshaft A turboshaft engine is a form of gas turbine that is optimized to produce shaftpower rather than jet thrust. In concept, turboshaft engines are very similar to turbojets, with additional turbine expansion to extract heat energy from the exhaust ...

engine. It is a

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 ...

between three European aero-engine manufacturers,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

MTU Aero Engines MTU Aero Engines AG is a German aircraft engine manufacturer. MTU develops, manufactures and provides service support for military and civil aircraft engines. MTU Aero Engines was formerly known as MTU München. History While the Munich-based en ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

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 ...

and

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

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 ...

. To date, the company's only product has been the MTR390, which was specifically developed for helicopter applications. It powers the

Eurocopter Tiger The Eurocopter Tiger is a four-blade, twin-engine attack helicopter which first entered service in 2003. It is manufactured by Airbus Helicopters (formerly Eurocopter), which arose from the merger of Aérospatiale's and DASA's respective he ...

attack helicopter An attack helicopter is an armed helicopter with the primary role of an attack aircraft, with the offensive capability of engaging ground targets such as enemy infantry, military vehicles and fortifications. Due to their heavy armament they ...

History

MTU Turbomeca Rolls-Royce (MTR) was established during June 1989 as a part of the framework created on behalf of the French and

West German West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

governments to developed an advanced multirole battlefield helicopter, the

. While a

between the French

aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astrona ...

firm

Aérospatiale Aérospatiale (), sometimes styled Aerospatiale, was a French state-owned aerospace manufacturer that built both civilian and military aircraft, rockets and satellites. It was originally known as Société nationale industrielle aérospatiale ( ...

and German company

Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) was a West German aerospace manufacturer. It was formed during the late 1960s as the result of efforts to consolidate the West German aerospace industry; aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt AG merged with the civi ...

(MBB) was chosen as the principal contractors to develop the rotorcraft itself, a separate entity was established to develop the

powerplant to power it.Krotz 2001, pp. 130-131. Specifically, MTR was designated as the programme management company responsible for the engine, and was jointly staffed by the partner companies,

and

. Operationally, MTR manages the direction and coordination of all development, production and support activities associated with the MTR390 engine; it is also responsible for marketing and sales of the engine for other military and civil applications. The company is recognised as the responsible contractual party accountable to the government agencies of the customer nations. Work is divided into functional groups formed by members of each partner company. The engine is constructed from

module Module, modular and modularity may refer to the concept of modularity. They may also refer to: Computing and engineering * Modular design, the engineering discipline of designing complex devices using separately designed sub-components * Mo ...

s that are separately manufactured at the facilities of the MTR partner companies. The initial workshare was as follows: Turbomeca produced the compressor,

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), differe ...

, accessories and control system, Rolls-Royce manufactured the power turbine stage, while MTU was responsible for the combustor, high-pressure turbine, along with the final assembly of the entire first batch of engines. During 1997, the engine programme advanced to the production investment phase; that same year, it was granted civil registration, while military qualification would follow during 1999. On 18 June 1999, Germany and France publicly placed orders for an initial batch of 160 Tiger helicopters, 80 for each nation, valued at €3.3 billion. Accordingly, during early 2000, an initial production contract was signed by the German Federal Office of Defence Technology and Procurement (BWB) and MTR; valued at DM430 million and comprising 320 engines plus spares, the contract represented the MTU390's clearance for production. On 22 March 2002, the first production Tiger was rolled out in a large ceremony held at Eurocopter's

Donauwörth Donauwörth () is a town and the capital of the Donau-Ries district in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is said to have been founded by two fishermen where the rivers Danube (Donau) and Wörnitz meet. The city is part of the scenic route called "Roman ...

factory; although production models began initial acceptance trials in 2003, the first official delivery to the French Army took place on 18 March 2005; the first official Tiger delivery to Germany followed on 6 April 2005.Krotz 2011, p. 154. The MTU390 itself is a

FADEC A full authority digital engine (or electronics) control (FADEC) is a system consisting of a digital computer, called an "electronic engine controller" (EEC) or "engine control unit" (ECU), and its related accessories that control all aspects of ai ...

-controlled

engine; each Tiger helicopter is powered by a pair of these engines."Tiger - Technology."
Eurocopter, Retrieved: 17 February 2013. At one point, it was projected that roughly 1,000 engines would be produced in-line with a production run of 427 Tigers. Later-built models of the Tiger are furnished with more powerful models of the MTU390 engine than had been installed upon the initial examples.Airbus Tiger Brochure Presentation
/ref>

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

Official company page
Multinational aircraft engine manufacturers Gas turbine manufacturers Companies based in Upper Bavaria {{aero-company-stub