ÿ�մ���

Buoyed by strong demand, Safran Helicopter Engines is targeting the delivery of more than 800 helicopter engines this year as it strives to ramp up production. While up 300 from three years ago, it is still shy of where the engine maker believes its production needs to be.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the European Rotors conference that was held this week, Safran Helicopter Engines CEO Cédric Goubet said the company is enjoying “continued and significant growth across all market segments,” despite the geopolitical challenges and continued supply chain concerns.

“Our main challenge,” Goubet continued, is the ramp-up in production and capacity. He noted the company has put action plans in place, but “we still have some way to go to fix our capacity gap” to meet global demand.

The supply chain is still improving, and Safran continues to deploy support teams throughout its pipeline to address problems. “We see the number of missing parts, late parts, decreasing,” he said. At the same time, Safran is looking both internally and externally to build capacity, but this process is taking time.

“We have a very specific and precise play. But we still have half of the way to go to build all the capacity we need internally and especially externally.” This is taking more time than anticipated, but Goubet estimated that it may reach the necessary production levels by the end of 2027.

“One year ago, I would’ve said the end of 2026 or the beginning of 2027, but it’s going to take a bit more time, and probably one year more.” At the same time, though, he pointed to progress already made over the past few years. In 2022, Safran delivered 500 in 2022, more than 600 in 2023, and then about 730 last year. “Now we are on our way to north of 800,” he said, and while shy of what they had hoped, “It’s still representing a decent ramp-up rate.”

 On the repaired engine side, Safran is estimated to be around 1,300, he added, noting this is another area of increase.  The company, however, sees demand for 1,200 new engines per year and 1,500 repaired engines per year by 2027.

As it ramps up production, Safran has kept a busy product development pipeline, including the Arriel 2W for what will become Robinson Helicopter Company’s largest aircraft to date, the R88 turboshaft single. Plans call for delivery of the first 950-shp Arriel 2W to Robinson by mid-2026, and for the helicopter to be certified later this decade. This marks the first Robinson application for the Arriel family, joining some 40 models that sport the 600- to 1000-shp engine line. Safran has shipped more than 15,500 Arriel engines to date.

The announcement of the selection of the Arriel 2W for the R88 in March was one of two major program wins for Safran unveiled during the 2025 Verticon convention. Safran’s 700 shp Arrius 2E was selected to power the new Airbus Helicopters H140. Arrius 2E will mark an update, building off technologies for the Arriel 2E and Arrano 1A, respectively powering the Airbus H145 and H160. It sports a redesigned hot section that will improve power by 10% and incorporate the latest dual-channel fadec as well as additive-manufactured parts that will reduce weight. The light twin is anticipated to enter service in 2028.