Snecma Jet Engine M88

Dassault Aviation's Rafale has proven its "omnirole" capabilities in combat missions in a number of foreign deployments, encompassing air superiority, interception, reconnaissance, fire support, ground attack, etc. The Rafale is powered by twin Snecma M88 engines, a state-of-the-art powerplant that combines performance and reliability. Designed and produced by Snecma, the M88 is the most compact fighter engine in its thrust class. Developing about 16,860 lb of thrust with afterburner, the M88 offers exceptionally carefree handling for all missions, thanks to its unrivaled power-to-weight ratio. This performance is the results of Snecma's expertise, expressed in state-of-the-art technologies such as integrally-bladed disks (blisks), powder metallurgy, single-crystal high-pressure turbine blades with ceramic coatings, thermostructural composites and more. The M88 also incorporates the latest advances in reducing electromagnetic and infrared signatures. One of the top challenges facing armed forces today is to be able to project power, while maintaining the smallest logistic footprint. Dispatch reliability and maintainability were designed into the M88. Its all-modular design facilitates and simplifies all maintenance operations. Furthermore, it is perfectly integrated in the Rafale airframe, which means that two ground crew members can remove and reinstall an engine is less than an hour. And the Rafale is the only combat aircraft in the world that can take off again with its reinstalled engines, without having to be checked out on a test stand. To further improve fleet dispatch reliability, in 2012 Snecma introduced a new production standard, the M88-4E, also dubbed the "TCO Package" (total cost of ownership), featuring critical parts with longer lifespans. The mean time between overhauls was increased from 2,500 to 4,000 cycles, or a 60% jump in time on wing. All modules on the M88-4E are fully interchangeable with those on the M88-2. Technical characteristics Thrust with afterburner (lbf) 16,860 Dry thrust (lbf) 11,240 Specific fuel consumption with afterburner [(lb/lbf.h)] 1.66 Specific fuel consumption without afterburner [(lb/lbf.h)] 0.78 Airflow rate (lb/s) 143.30 Turbine entry temperature (K) 1,850 (2,870.6°F) Pressure ratio 24.50 Bypass ratio 0.30 Length (in) 139.29 Inlet diameter (in) 27.40 Weight (lbs) 1,977.55