ITP Aero will service all Tiger helicopter engines operated by the Spanish Army


Within the framework of the International Defence and Security Exhibition (FEINDEF) hold in Madrid (29-31s tMay), ITP Aero has announced the certification of its Albacete plant as the world’s second maintenance, repair and overhaul shop for the MTR390-Enhanced engine that powers the Tiger HAD combat helicopter. In this way, ITP Aero’s plant in Albacete will be servicing all the Tiger helicopter engines operated by the Spanish Armed Forces.


ITP Aero will service all Tiger helicopter engines operated by the Spanish Army Tiger HAD combat helicopter (Picture source: ITP Aero)


The MTR390-E engine powers the most advanced Tiger combat helicopter, an enhanced version of the engine that provides 14% additional thrust. The MTRI consortium, including ITP Aero, MTU Aero Engines, Rolls-Royce and Safran Helicopter Engines, is responsible for thedevelopment, production and maintenanceof the engine.Since the beginning of the programme, atotal of 194 MTR390-E engines have been ordered, 40 of which belong to the Spanish Armed Forces. ITP Aero is responsible for the design of the power turbine and the structure between turbines. It also is responsible for the production of other engine components.

The certification of the Albacete facility as the second MTR390-E engine MRO shop in the worldfollows a 4-year project for setting up two service centres, the AIA Bordeaux (Atelier Industriel de L’Aéronautique de Bordeaux) announced in August 2018 and the ITP Aero facility in Albacete. The certification of Albacete includes some inspection activities and cleaning processes, as well as bench testing of the engines, which will be carried out at ITP Aero’sfacility in Ajalvir (Madrid).

ITP Aero’sAlbacete facility opened in 2009 within the Aeronautical and Logistic Park, and from now on,will be servicing the Tiger helicopter engines operated by the Spanish Army. Hence,an investment plan has been put in place, including several technological areas, such as the automation in the process of inspection by induced currents.Jose Luis Zubeldia, Executive Director of the In Service Support Business Unit, has commented: "Over the years, ITP Aero has serviced thousands of engines for the Spanish Armed Forces, and this milestone reinforces the company's commitment with national security, consolidating technological capabilities that are key for the Spanish Defence competitiveness”.

The history of ITP Aero runs in parallel to the Spanish Defence. Since its foundation, in order to make possible the Spanish participationin the Eurofighter engine consortium, the company designs and produces engines and components for all types of aircraft, such as combat and transport aircraft, trainers and helicopters,throughout the engine’s whole life cycle, from R&D to in service support.ITP Aero is an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) through the main European consortia: Eurojet, which develops the Eurofighter Typhoon engine; Europrop International (EPI), which is in charge of the A400M transport aircraft engine; and MTRI, which develops the Tiger helicopter engine.