M88: A CONTINUOUSLY UPGRADED MILITARY JET ENGINE
The M88 jet engine built by Snecma (Safran), powerplant of the Dassault Aviation Rafale multirole fighter, has largely proven its maturity and operational capabilities, especially during the Harmattan operation in Libya, lasting eight months in 2011. With the latest M88-4E standard, incorporating a "TCO pack" to reduce total cost of ownership, the M88 kicks off a new phase in its ongoing evolution. Didier Desnoyer, head of Snecma's Military Engine division, shares his insights.
After being qualified in April 2012, the first M88-4E with the TCO pack was delivered in May. How would you describe its new performance capabilities?
The commissioning of the new TCO pack standard marks a major step forward in the ongoing upgrades of the M88 engine. Our aim, working with the French defense procurement agency DGA (Direction Générale de l'Armement) was to streamline maintenance operations and reduce costs for the Rafale fighter. Calling on our state-of-the-art design methods and manufacturing technologies, we modified certain critical parts in the hot section of the engine to extend their service lives. These parts operate in particularly harsh environments, and are traditionally demanding in terms of maintenance. By extending their lifespan, we naturally decrease the total cost of ownership for the engine. But the gains aren't solely financial: improvements to the high-pressure section, especially on the stator and rotor modules, enables us to streamline maintenance operations and reduce the number of times the plane is grounded for servicing, which in turn increases the engines' dispatch reliability. The latter is generally expressed in terms of tactical air cycles, or TAC, a NATO standard that measures the number of times pilots use the throttle between inspections. On the M88-4E, we have increased TAC from 2,500 cycles to 4,000 cycles! To date, 16 Rafales have had their M88 engines retrofitted to the 4E standard, by changing out their turbine blades. Plus, two new Rafales with M88-4E engines were delivered to the French air force in December 2012.
What are other possible upgrades for this engine in the coming years?
The TCO pack M88-4E engine clearly reflects Snecma's ability to come up with innovative maintainability solutions. Our technological leadership is based on our ability to improve engine performance, combined with input from extensive Research & Technology efforts. For example, we're working on a technology development program called THEO, launched by the DGA in 2003. The aim is to design new parts that will enhance the efficiency of high-pressure turbines. In turn, this means higher thrust, which is a natural development for a combat aircraft engine. We are now working on making this thrust increase compatible with the gains of the TCO pack by about 2015.
What's the current status of the Indian contract for new fighter planes?
For the last few years we have been negotiating the sale of M88 engines within the scope of India's request for proposals (RFP) for their new medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA), concerning 126 fighters for the country's air force. The Rafale was selected for exclusive negotiations, and we are now taking a close look at gradual production transfers and industrial offsets.
Snecmag - Snecma
So india would get most probably this engine M88 -4E package with TCO pack 
