MOSCOW, Russia - On May 30, Rybinsk Motors and GE Aircraft Engines (GEAE) signed a definitive agreement to form a joint venture ( Rybinsk-GE Aviation Motors ) to produce aircraft engines and aeroderivative engines in Russia.
Registration of the new company is expected to be completed within 60 days.
Rybinsk-GE Aviation Motors will assemble complete engines, provide comprehensive quality assurance, and market and sell the engines. Rybinsk-GE Aviation Motors will also provide spare parts service and product support for the engines.
Under the terms of the agreement, Rybinsk Motors and GEAE will each produce engine parts and modules, provide labor and management personnel to staff the joint venture, and perform engine testing. In addition, Rybinsk Motors will perform repair and overhaul of engines in service.
The first engines produced by Rybinsk-GE Aviation Motors are expected to be LM2500 gas generators and CT7 turboprop and turboshaft engines. The LM2500 gas generators are aeroderivative units employed in industrial applications, such as electrical power generation and gas line pumping stations. In accordance with an agreement between GEAE and Sukhoi Design Bureau, CT7 turboprop engines will power S-80 multipurpose 26-passenger/cargo aircraft, with first flight planned for early 1997. CT7 turboshaft engines will power the Kamov Ka-64 16-passenger helicopter, which is to begin flying in 1998.
The headquarters, engine assembly area, and quality assurance organization of Rybinsk-GE Aviation Motors will be located at the Rybinsk Motors facility in the city of Rybinsk, approximately 300 kilometers (180 miles) north of Moscow.
Rybinsk Motors produces aircraft engines, such as the D-30 family of engines for the Tupelov Tu-154M and Ilyushin IL62M airliners and the Ilyushin IL-76 cargo aircraft, plus engines for power generation, engines for snowmobiles and other applications, and diesel engines for tractors.
GEAE, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.A., designs and manufactures turbofan, turboprop, and turboshaft engines for civil and military fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, as well as aeroderivative engines for marine and industrial applications. GEAE is in the forefront in the establishment of successful international joint ventures in which the participants "share to gain." Participants share technology and expertise in manufacturing products and opening markets and thereby gain more working together than either would gain individually.