Honeywell is eyeing a retrofit application for its HTS900 engine on legacy Airbus Helicopters EC145 rotorcraft.
It claims the powerplant, originally developed for the US Army's cancelled ARH Arapaho programme, would offer a 7% improvement in fuel burn over the EC145's Turbomeca Arriel 1E2.
The US manufacturer has yet to select a partner for any upgrade programme, which would be offered through a third party, and has no timeframe for launch, says Tom Hart, vice-president of defence aftermarket Americas.
"It would be an excellent drop-in replacement for that capability," he says and would also be the first twin-engined application for the 1,100shp (820kW)-class HTS900.
It is already being used by Eagle Copters for a retrofit programme on older Bell Helicopter 407 singles, where it replaces the Rolls-Royce M250-C47 engine. Honeywell sees a long-term market for around 200 units for this use, says Hart.
In addition, it has been selected by independent manufacturer Marenco Swisshelicopter for its SKYe SH09 light single, which has so far accumulated around 80 orders.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
