Airbus and CFM International, a 50:50 joint company between GE and Safran Aircraft Engines, are collaborating to flight test CFM’s open-fan engine architecture. The ‘flight test demonstrator’ aims to ‘mature and accelerate the development of advanced propulsion technologies’, as part of CFM’s Revolutionary Innovation for Sustainable Engine (RISE) demonstration programme, on board an Airbus A380.

The flight test campaign will be performed in the second half of this decade from the Airbus Flight Test facility in Toulouse, France and beforehand, CFM will perform engine ground tests, along with flight test validation at GE Aviation’s Flight Test Operations centre in Victorville, California (the USA).

The flight test programme will achieve several objectives that could contribute to future engine and aircraft efficiency improvements, including: enhanced understanding of engine/wing integration and aerodynamic performance as well as propulsive system efficiency gains; validating performance benefits, including better fuel efficiency that would provide a 20% reduction in CO₂ emissions compared to today’s most efficient engines; evaluating acoustic models; and ensuring compatibility with 100% sustainable aviation fuels (SAF).

Sabine Klauke, Airbus’s chief technical officer, said: “New propulsion technologies will play an important role in achieving aviation’s ‘net zero’ objectives, along with new aircraft designs and sustainable energy sources. By evaluating, maturing and validating open fan engine architecture using a dedicated flight test demonstrator, we are collaboratively making yet another significant contribution to the advancement of technology bricks that will enable us to reach our industry-wide decarbonisation targets.”

Gaël Méheust, CFM’s president and CEO, said: “The CFM RISE programme is all about pushing the technology envelope, redefining the art of the possible, and helping to achieve more-sustainable long-term growth for our industry. CFM, its parent companies, and Airbus all share the same vision and commitment for the future; the open fan flight test demonstration programme is an exciting next step toward achieving the industry’s ‘net zero’ goals.”