History
The Rolls-Royce Turbomeca RTM322 is a turboshaft engine currently produced by Safran Helicopter Engines. The RTM322 was originally conceived and manufactured by Rolls-Royce Turbomeca Limited, a joint venture between Rolls-Royce and Turbomeca, now Safran Helicopter Engines. The engine was designed to suit a wide range of military and commercial helicopter designs. The RTM322 can also be employed in maritime and industrial applications.
The Safran Aneto is a later development targeted for the super-medium and heavy helicopters, developed by Safran Helicopter Engines covering the 2,500 to 3,000 hp (1,900 to 2,200 kW) range.
Development
The engine was designed for the Hughes AH-64 Apache and Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawk, competing with the General Electric T700 and the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW100. The partners shared the £100 million development costs equally. Rolls-Royce made the turbines, the combustor, and the inlet particle separator: Turbomeca produced the axial–centrifugal compressor and intake.
The engine first ran on 15 December 1984, with eight bench prototypes for 30,000 cycles and 13,000 test hours, and four for flight tests, initially aiming for type certification to be issued in 1987.[1]
The first order for the RTM322 was received in 1992 to power 44 Royal Navy AgustaWestland Merlin HM1s which subsequently entered service in 1998.[2] Over 1,100 engines are in service, having logged over one million flight hours, powering 60% of the Agusta-Westland AW101 fleet and 80% of in-service NH90s.
In 2013, Turbomeca, later part of the Safran Group, acquired the entire programme, becoming responsible for both production and product support.[3] Safran Helicopter Engines has since developed a new engine derived from the RTM322, known as the Aneto.
