MTU Turbomeca Rolls-Royce GmbH (MTR) is a multinational engine manufacturer established to develop, manufacture, and service the MTR390

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

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 acce ...

by three European aero-engine manufacturers,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

's MTU Aero Engines,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

's Turbomeca and Britain's

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

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

History

MTU Turbomeca Rolls-Royce (MTR) was established in June 1989 as a part of the framework created on behalf of the French and West German governments to developed an advanced multirole battlefield helicopter, the Eurocopter Tiger. 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 astron ...

firm

Aérospatiale Aérospatiale () was a major French state-owned aerospace manufacturer, aerospace and arms industry, defence corporation. It was founded in 1970 as () through the merger of three established state-owned companies: Sud Aviation, Nord Aviation ...

and German company Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) was chosen as the principal contractors to develop the rotorcraft itself, a separate entity was established to develop the MTR390 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,

's MTU Aero Engines,

's Turbomeca and Britain's

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

-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
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References

Citations

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External links

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