On the third day of the Paris Air Show, Emeric d’Arcimoles, Chairman and CEO of Turbomeca, the leader company in gas turbines for helicopters, met the press, commenting 2002/2003 highlights. The first chart of the presentation tells the story : “2002/2003: a good year for Turbomeca”. The French company has an overall market share of 43 % (civil 50 %, military 29%), and delivered 818 gas turbines for 635 helicopters. For 2002, net sales are 612 million euros, showing a 16% increase. The R&D budget represents 15 %. 78% of this percentage is autofinanced. A very high ratio explained by the numerous projects going on : 6 new versions to be certified and the development of a new family of the Ardiden helicopter.

After a short introduction by Emeric d’Arcimoles, Francois Courtot, VP Aero-Engines gave an overview of the programs update and new developments. Regarding support and services, Didier Desnoyer, VP Operator Support, detailed Turbomeca's new developments.

• Arrius

1,000 engines - one million flight hours. A special mention for the EC 135. The Arrius has a 68% market share of all EC 135 in service. All the UK Police Forces EC 135 are powered by Arrius engines and the German Border Police (BGS) just ordered eleven Arrius-powered EC 135. The Arrius holds a 45% marketshare on the A 109 Power. The Arrius 2G will be certified at the end of 2004 to power Russia’s Ka 226.

• Arriel
5,000 Arriel turbines in service - 15 millions flight hours. One EC145, powered by the Arriel 1E2, was recently delivered to the French Gendarmerie and to EMS operators (ADAC, Rega). In May 2003 took place the first flight of the Dolphin HH 65 prototype, re-engined with the Arriel 2C2. Five EC 155 B1 with Arriel were recently delivered to the GFS (Government Flying Service) of Hong Kong . The Arriel 2S2 will power the future generation of Sikorsky S76, whose first aircraft is undergoing test at CGTM. Other developments are on the agenda for the Chinese market (H410, Z11-MB1)

• TM333
During Aero India 2003, Turbomeca signed a contract with HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) for several hundred TM 333 2B2 for the Dhruv helicopter. 82 engines have already been delivered to the Indian client.

• Ardiden
Dedicated to the 5 à-6,5 ton helicopter market, several hundred Ardiden 1H engines will be co-developed and co-produced with HAL (Shakti in India).

• Makila
1,500 engines in service. The Makila 2A will get its European certification (DGAC/JAA) in February 2004. The first deliveries were for CHC and French Special Forces’ EC 225.

• MTR90
In March 2003, the MTR390 powered the first flight of production HAP and the delivery to French Army Corps is planned for the beginning of 2004. Eighty production MTR390 have already been delivered to Eurocopter.

• RTM 322
More than 1,100 engines for modern medium-sized helicopters have been ordered by 10 countries. The RTM 322 powers 75% of EH 101 helicopters and was selected by over 85 % of NH90 customers

• Adour
2,600 units delivered – 6.2 million flight hours. A new variant with increased thrust and reduced maintenance cost, Adour MK 951for Hawk, is to be certified by September 2003. South African Air Force ordered 24 Adour MK 951 engines for their flight trainers.

• Larzac
The Larzac engine powers the Alpha Jets in 5 countries. It was selected by HAL to power the HJT36, the Indian Air Force future Intermediate Jet Trainer. Maiden flight took place in March 2003.