media releases

The advanced European turboprop was selected by Airbus Defence and Space for the new Eurodrone

Airbus announced today that it has selected Avio Aero to power the Eurodrone unmanned aerial system with its Catalyst engine. The program includes 120 engines and a multi-year service and maintenance agreement.

“We are honored to be chosen by Airbus to power Eurodrone”, said Riccardo Procacci, CEO and General Manager of Avio Aero. “This is a huge milestone for the European aviation industry, enabling the growth of European Capabilities and sovereignty, and of course all our Catalyst team. We’ve invested in people, resources and infrastructure to begin executing for the program immediately, and our teams across Europe are ready to get to work.”

The Catalyst engineering team, as well as the engine’s supply chain and assembly, is based in the industrial European ecosystem. Sites involved are: Avio Aero of Italy (with Rivalta di Torino, Pomigliano d’Arco and Brindisi plants and “Energy Factory Bari” laboratory at Bari Polytechnic) and Poland, GE Aviation Turboprop (Czech Republic), the GE Aviation Advanced Technology Center of Munich (Germany) and the GE Engineering Design Center of Warsaw (Poland). The Catalyst engine has been conceived as 100% ITAR-free (International Traffic in Arms Regulation) and will be fully certified in Europe.

Eurodrone is a Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) with versatile and adaptable capabilities that make it the perfect platform for Intelligence, Surveillance Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) missions or homeland security operations.

The Catalyst engine, currently performing flight-testing campaigns, is the first turboprop in the aviation history made with 3D-printed components, enabling a lighter and more efficient engine. With the best-in-class overall pressure ratio of 16:1, the Catalyst delivers up to 20% lower fuel consumption, 10% more cruising power and payload, enabling three more hours on a typical UAV mission versus turboprop engines today. The Catalyst’s FADEC (Full Authority Digital Engine Control) simplifies integration between the propeller (to be designed and manufactured by the German MT-Propeller) and avionics.

ABOUT AVIO AERO

Avio Aero is a GE Aviation business that designs, manufactures and maintains components and systems for civil and military aviation. Today, the company provides its customers with innovative technological solutions to quickly respond to the continuous changes required by the market: additive manufacturing, rapid prototyping as well as technologies dedicated to the production of transmissions, turbines and combustors. The company's head office is in Rivalta di Torino, where its largest production facility is also located. Other important facilities are situated in Brindisi and Pomigliano d'Arco (Naples), with a total of over 4,300 employees employed in Italy. Abroad, it has a plant and a test center in Poland and a production facility in the Czech Republic, with a total of over 900 employees. Through continuous investment in research and development and a consolidated network of relationships with major universities and international research centers, Avio Aero has developed a globally recognized level of technological and manufacturing excellence, as evidenced by the partnerships signed with the world's leading aviation companies.

Contacts

Ylenia Berardi – External Relations and Public Affairs Manager
ylenia.berardi@avioaero.it - +39 335 57 01 709
 

Matteo Acciaccarelli – Media Relations and Public Affairs specialist
matteo.acciaccarelli@avioaero.it - +39 331 49 27 507