All Nippon Helicopter (ANH) has signed a Support-By-the-Hour(SBH^®) contract with Safran Helicopter Engines to support Arrano engines powering its brand new Airbus H160 helicopter. This contract formalizes a MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) and service agreement supporting the two engines of the helicopter. This is the first-ever SBH^® contact signed for the Arrano.

This contract will be managed locally by Japan Aerospace Corporation and supported by Safran Helicopter Engines Japan, supporting more than 110 helicopter operators flying in Japan.

Jun Yanagawa, President of ANH, said: “It is our mission to keep our helicopter as much as flyable. We are pleased that this contract will allow us to receive extensive support for our helicopter”.

Guy Bonaud, Safran Helicopter Engines Japan General Manager, said: “We are pleased that ANH is the first customer to rely on SBH^® contract to support Arrano engines. We look forward to delivering them world-class services and supporting them in their most demanding missions”.

Safran's Arrano is a new-generation, 1,300 shp engine incorporating the latest technology. More efficient and easy to use than the previous generation, Arrano engine is offering about 15 % reduction in fuel consumption over other in-service helicopter engines. It is already certified to operate without restrictions with up to 50% of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), like all Safran engines.

SBH^® is Safran Helicopter Engines’ support-by-the-hour program. It makes engine operating costs predictable, eliminates cash peaks and allows flexibility for scheduled and unscheduled MRO coverage. SBH^® also goes digital, with added-value services now embedded in the contracts: engine Health Monitoring, Expert Link and Online SBH^® . By the hour services now cover 50% of Safran Helicopter Engines’ customer turbines’ flying hours.