MTU Aero Engines the first company to obtain civil approval for the mainte-nance of the TP400-D6 engine

MTU Aero Engines, Germany's leading engine manufacturer, has received approval from the Federal Aviation Office (LBA) to maintain the propulsion system powering the A400M military transport aircraft. This makes MTU the first of the partners in Europrop International (EPI), the TP400-D6 consortium, to hold such an unlimited license for the maintenance (in accordance with EASA 145 standards) of the entire propulsion system.

Since the A400M military airlifter presently is - and in the foreseeable future will remain - the only application for the TP400-D6, this unlimited approval by a civil agency marks a milestone. The engine is being produced under a civil type certificate, but its operation by purely military users did not fall within the scope of the certification. "After two years of intensive discussions with representatives of civil and military agencies we have now finally reached this goal, which is of importance to the TP400-D6 program and its customers," says Gerhard Baehr, MTU's Director TP400-D6/Tyne Programs.

Plans now are to implement a set of harmonized military airworthiness rules, the EMAR (European Military Airworthiness Requirements) regulations, which are essentially based on the civil regulations, for adoption across Europe.