SaM146 powerplant production set to grow

Six of the 54 powerplants delivered to customers in 2016 will serve as spare engines (UEC-Saturn)

A total of 54 PowerJet SaM146 turbofan engines for Russia’s Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) regional jetliners were delivered to customers in 2016. Six of these are intended as spare powerplants.

The figures are quoted in a report by the United Engine Corporation, the parent company of Russia’s UEC-Saturn that produces the engine as part of the PowerJet joint venture with Safran Aircraft Engines.

Two foreign operators joined as new customers for the SaM146 last year: Ireland’s CityJet and the Royal Thai Air Force. Additionally, two Russian airlines started operating SSJ100 in 2016: Yamal Airlines and IrAero. Both lease their aircraft from Russia’s State Transport Leasing Company (GTLK).

Last year’s SaM146 output proved eight units short of the initial target of 62, but still in line with the revised plan for the year. Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company (SCAC), the SSJ100 OEM, assembled 22 airframes and delivered 28 aircraft to customers.

PowerJet’s plan for 2017 calls for delivering 72 such engines. Some of these will be installed on newly produced SSJ100s; others will be added to the part pools serving existing airlines and lessors.

The Sam146 production target is in line with SCAC’s plan to ramp up SSJ100 output to between 35 and 40 airframes per year.

“This fits our production capabilities. We assume that the output should remain the same for the next several years,” UEC-Saturn says in a statement.

The decision to design an engine specifically intended for SSJ100 was made in 2003. The SaM146-powered aircraft entered service in April 2011.