Safran Aircraft Engines’ goal for the T-Rex enhancement for its Dassault Aviation Rafale-powering M88 engine is to “deliver more thrust with minimal changes” to the design, according to the company’s chief executive.
Unveiled at the Paris air show on 17 June, the M88 T-Rex will equip the future F5-standard Rafale, which is set to enter service in the early 2030s.
It will raise the thrust available from the afterburning engine by 20% to 19,840lb (88kN) over the current 16,500lb.
“It is a great engine, now with the evolution of the [Rafale’s] mission we need to provide more thrust, and we wanted to make it in a way that the changes required to the airplanes are as minimal as possible, and the interchangability will be maximised,” Stephane Cueille, chief executive of Safran Aircraft Engines, tells FlightGlobal.
But a guiding principle behind the modernisation was to boost the power available without sacrificing other significant characteristics, says Cueille, speaking at the Paris show.
“The M88 engine is extremely reliable and probably the benchmark in terms of maintainability,” he says.
To achieve the higher output, Safran plans to “improve a limited selection of components”, including an enhanced low-pressure compressor, new materials and better cooling in the high-pressure turbine to allow higher temperature operation, and a nozzle with optimised aerodynamics.
Work on the “first generation of these components” is already under way and Cueille expects to start the full development phase “probably this year” as the specification of the F5 is finalised.
But a 20% improvement in thrust is a significant leap in performance. “It’s what we can achieve with having more flow in the engine,” he says, noting that Safran has been working with the airframer “for years” to improve the airflow available.
“So this feature is already there and then moving to a turbine that is 1.5 generations ahead of the [current] M88 makes a big difference,” Cueille adds.
He declines to comment on which missions could necessitate the more powerful engine but says the demand from the French air force is to perform those “with high payload but still having manoeuvrability”.
Notably, the Rafale F5 will be integrated with the new ASN4G munition – a large, scramjet-powered nuclear-capable hypersonic missile being developed by MBDA.
Although there are no plans to provide the engine as a retrofit option for the current fleet “it will be a possibility” if later required, says Cueille.
