Ear‐to‐ground

Work is starting on a new generation of jet engines in the 10 ton thrust category. This became official when the French government gave the go‐ahead to SNECMA for the M56 engine. Indeed, it is seen as the key item in the current five year plan. Whilst intended essentially for civil aircraft there is, in fact, no reason why the engine should not be used in defence aircraft. Forty million francs have been allocated for the research and development stage. But before the exact thrust limit is decided, tests will have to be conducted on atrial engine to find the desired noise level.