Safran Power Units to double capacity at Texas turbojet plant

Safran Power Units is doubling the capacity of its Grand Prairie, Texas plant, citing growing demand for the small turbojet engines it builds for missiles and drones. The added capacity is scheduled to come on stream in 2028. The company did not disclose how much it is investing.

Among the products assembled at the site is the TR40 engine family, which powers the Kongsberg Naval Strike Missile. The US Navy is acquiring the weapon and designates it the RGM-184. Safran chief executive Olivier Andries said demand for the TR40 family has quadrupled in recent years, and that the company sees further applications ahead. He said the new assembly line in Texas is intended to meet demand from strategic customers.

Safran Power Units has been based in Texas since 1989. It already supplies locally assembled engines for the Kratos BQM-167 and BQM-177 aerial targets.

Separately, the French group's venture capital arm, Safran Corporate Ventures, has taken a minority stake in Akira as part of the engineering firm's latest funding round. The size of the investment was not disclosed. Akira was founded in 2003 as an automotive engineering business that developed test benches before moving into aerospace. It operates in Bayonne and Bergerac, France, and works on the design, prototyping and testing of propulsion systems and rotating machinery, including turbomachinery, piston engines, electric machines, transmissions and pumps.

The company already works with several Safran divisions, among them its aircraft and helicopter engine units, on research and technology programmes. These include the RISE open-fan demonstrator, being developed through the CFM International joint venture with GE Aerospace.