Safran's Arrius family of helicopter engines, which span the 450-shp to 750-shp range, has logged 10 million flight hours since its introduction in 1996, with more than 3,800 units delivered to 430 customers in 60 countries, the company announced this morning. First installed in the Airbus Helicopters EC135, the latest Arrius 2B2Plus variant entered service on the Airbus H135 in 2014.

In 2016, the Arrius 2R became operational on the single-engine Bell 505. That engine features dual-channel Fadec and is assembled at Safran’s Grand Prairie Plant in Texas. More than 200 of those units are now in service. Another variant, the Arrius 2G1, powers the Russian Helicopters Ka-226T. 

“Featuring a simple and robust design, the Arrius has a reputation for low operating costs and simple maintenance. For operators conducting demanding missions like EMS, search and rescue, or military training, or flying in challenging environments like mountains or ‘hot and high,’ the Arrius’s performance and reliability enhance crew confidence. We are committed to capitalizing on its strengths to develop new, even better variants,” said Safran Helicopter Engines v-p Fabrice Condamine.

Safran is currently testing Add+, a technology-demonstration engine based on the Arrius with 30 percent of its parts made from 3D printing, which reduces weight, increases performance, and cuts production time.