ST Engineering, a global technology, defence, and engineering group headquartered in Singapore has bolstered its collaboration with Safran Aircraft Engines through a two-year agreement. The collaboration aims to provide module repair offload support for CFM LEAP-1A and LEAP-1B engines. This strategic move underscores ST Engineering’s commitment to enhancing Safran Aircraft Engines’ MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul) capabilities amidst increasing demand from operators.
Under the terms of the agreement, ST Engineering will handle module repair work for the high-pressure turbine (HPT) rotor assembly and stage 2 HPT nozzle assembly of both LEAP-1A and LEAP-1B engines. This collaboration addresses the growing MRO demand for LEAP engines as operators ramp up their flying operations. ST Engineering’s offload support augments Safran Aircraft Engines’ MRO capacity and optimizes the turnaround time of engine shop visits for customers. In addition to the module repair offload agreement, ST Engineering will reinforce its support to Safran Aircraft Engines in LEAP-1B engine maintenance offload services.
Tay Eng Guan, SVP/Head of Engine Services at ST Engineering, emphasized the significance of this partnership enhancement: “This offload agreement is the latest win-win arrangement that strengthens our partnership with Safran Aircraft Engines and support for LEAP engines operators. We are well positioned to address the rising demand for quick-turn and performance restoration shop visits for LEAP engines, having made investments in equipment such as shroud grinding machinery, and built up a strong team of skilled 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.”
In addition to module repair offload, ST Engineering continues to expand its support across a range of Safran Aircraft Engines’ products, including the CFM56-5B, CFM56-7B, and LEAP-1A engines. Nicolas Potier, VP Support & Services at Safran Aircraft Engines, highlighted the strategic importance of the expanded partnership: “Expanding our partnership with ST Engineering is part of our strategy to develop our global capabilities for LEAP MRO activities. The LEAP fleet has experienced the fastest ramp-up in the 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.”
ST Engineering was the first independent MRO provider in Asia to join LEAP open MRO ecosystem under the CFM Branded Service Agreement in 2023. Its Commercial Aerospace business currently has LEAP-1B engine testing capabilities and is progressively adding on more LEAP engine services at its Singapore facility. This will enable the business to soon provide the full suite of MRO services for both LEAP-1A and LEAP-1B engines, including LEAP-1A engine testing, which is expected to be ready in 3Q2024.
The LEAP engine fleet has recently surpassed 50 million engine flight hours, and it will keep growing based on a strong backlog of over 10,600 engines.
