On 9 July 2024, ST Engineering announced that its Commercial Aerospace division has strengthened its collaboration with Safran Aircraft Engines, by signing a two-year agreement, with a possible option for extension, to offer module repair offload support for the CFM LEAP-1A and LEAP-1B engines.
Highlighted in its new announcement, Safran Aircraft Engines will offload module repair tasks on the high-pressure turbine (HPT) rotor assembly and stage 2 HPT nozzle assembly of the LEAP-1A and LEAP-1B engines to ST Engineering as part of its new agreement, in order to meet the increasing MRO demand. The new partnership is believed to enhance Safran Aircraft Engines’ MRO capability and turnaround time for engine shop visits.
In addition, ST Engineering will also expand its support to Safran Aircraft Engines by providing maintenance offload services for LEAP-1B engines, on top of its existing maintenance support for CFM56-5B, CFM56-7B, and LEAP-1A engines.
Nicolas Potier, VP Support & Services at Safran Aircraft Engines, notes that the extended partnership with ST Engineering is part of Safran Aircraft Engines’ strategy to enhance its global capabilities for LEAP MRO operations. “The LEAP fleet has experienced the fastest ramp-up in commercial aviation industry with a growing fleet of over 3,300 aircraft, which means that we will need to rely on our valued MRO partners as part of our growing network to keep providing our customers with the highest CFM standards.” said Mr Nicolas Potier.
In ST Engineering’s latest media release, Tay Eng Guan, SVP/Head, Engine Services at ST Engineering also mentioned that the new offload agreement is a win-win arrangement for both parties and notes that ST Engineering is “well positioned to address the rising demand for quick-turn and performance restoration shop visits for LEAP engines”, with their investments in equipment and a skilled team of technicians. “We will continue to ramp up our LEAP engine capabilities and look forward to providing even greater support to Safran Aircraft Engines and airlines so that they can maximise their operations,” said Mr Tay.
ST Engineering’s Commercial Aerospace business currently has LEAP-1B engine testing capabilities and is continuously expanding its LEAP engine services at the Singapore facility. This will allow the business to offer a complete range of MRO services for both LEAP-1A and LEAP-1B engines, including LEAP-1A engine testing, expected to be operational by the third quarter of 2024. Recently, the LEAP engine fleet has surpassed 50 million engine flight hours, and will keep growing based on a strong backlog of over 10,600 engines.