Safran Helicopter Engines has renewed a contract with Airbus Helicopters to support Arriel engines powering the U.S. Army’s UH-72 Lakota helicopter fleet. The maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) and service agreement covers over 900 Safran Arriel 1E2 and Arriel 2E engines in service on the Army’s UH-72A and UH-72B aircraft. According to the companies, the contract will be managed by Safran Helicopter Engines USA.
“Safran Helicopter Engines is honored to continue working alongside Airbus in providing the engine logistics support for the US Army fleet of UH-72 Lakotas,” said Safran Helicopter Engines USA President and CEO Thierry Derrien. “Our team remains ready to support Airbus and the U.S. Army through proximity locations and continues to show the importance of our U.S. presence.”
Safran noted that the U.S. Army’s Arriel engines have logged more than 2.5 million engine flight hours to date. The company reports that it has currently produced over 12,000 Arriel-family engines with worldwide fleet numbers coming in in excess of 50 million hours flown. The engine family provides from 650 to 1,000 shp and powers over 40 types of rotorcraft.
