Europe Faces Shortage of Jet Engines for Drones and Missiles

A lack of domestically produced small jet engines for drones and cruise missiles is hindering Europe’s rapid rearmament.

Hartpunkt reported on this.

The article notes that current European cruise missile development and production programs rely on four main engine manufacturers: Safran, Motor Sich, Kale Arge, and Williams International.

In particular, the French manufacturer Safran has traditionally supplied mini jet engines for anti-ship missiles such as the Exocet, RBS-15, Naval Strike Missile (NSM), and cruise missiles like the Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG and Missile de Croisière Naval.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian and Turkish manufacturers – Motor Sich and Kale Arge – have so far primarily supported national cruise missile development programs, including the R-360 Neptune, SOM, and Çakır.

The Dutch company Destinus is the newest player in the European cruise missile market, manufacturing the T150 turbojet engine used in the RUTA mini-cruise missile.

It is noted that the Czech manufacturer PBS does not currently supply engines for European or international cruise missile programs, but has several engine models that may be of interest to European mini-cruise missile developers.

Meanwhile, Hartpunkt notes that American manufacturers of small jet engines have so far played a relatively small but decisive role in the European cruise missile market as the sole suppliers of turbofan engines.

In particular, Williams International supplies turbofan engines for the Norwegian Joint Strike Missile and the German-Swedish Taurus KEPD 350.

The article states that if Europe wants to compete in the field of cruise missiles, it must take seriously the expansion of domestic production of jet mini-engines, in particular through national and European funding.

The publication believes that developing a European alternative to American small turbofan engines should be a priority in the medium and long term.

“European manufacturers, if entrusted with a special development project, will likely be able to create a mini-turbofan engine with high thrust and low fuel consumption within a few years,” Hartpunkt states.