Piaggio Aerospace and Safran Helicopter Engines have signed a letter of intent to cooperate on the production of the Ardiden 3 aeroengine family. The agreement covers the manufacture of critical parts for the variants of the engine for both turbopropulsor and helicopter applications.

The Ardiden 3 is a core engine in the 1,700 to 2,000 shaft horsepower range. With two EASA-certified models it features compact modular architecture, a high power to weight ratio and a low cost of ownership.

The turbopropulsor version, the Ardiden 3TP, is developed through the Tech TP technological demonstrator of the Clean Sky 2 research and innovation programme. It offers a 15% lower fuel consumption over current turboprop engines.

The agreement strengthens the European team built around the Ardiden 3TP for general, regional and military turboprop applications, which already includes Safran Helicopter Engines, ZF Aviation Technology and ITP Aero.

Piaggio Aerospace and Safran Helicopter Engines already collaborate on the RTM322 and Aneto engine families, for the production of hot section parts of the engines.

Florent Chauvancy, Safran Helicopter Engines EVP OEM sales says: “We are proud to enlarge the collaboration with Piaggio Aerospace as a partner for our Ardiden 3 engine. Particularly with the Ardiden 3TP, we are committed to deliver a 100% European engine featuring high levels of design maturity and competitive operating and maintenance costs. It will be designed, built and supported by highly-experienced teams using state-of-the-art industrial capabilities in Italy, Germany, Spain and France.”