MTU Aero Engines 90 years of engine excellence

MTU has been at the forefront of the engine industry for nine decades. The company has maintained this leading position thanks to its innovative strength and expertise—and the story is far from over.

author: Eleonore Fähling | mins reading time | published on: 11.12.2024

MTU Aero Engines looks back on a dynamic history marked by technical milestones. Since its beginnings as BMW Flugmotoren GmbH, the company has consistently pushed boundaries – with groundbreaking technologies like the low-pressure turbine and high-pressure compressor for the geared turbofan, as well as building a global maintenance network.

In the military sector, MTU has also become a trusted partner for cutting-edge propulsion technologies, shaping the next generation of engines for fighter jets and helicopters. With a clear vision of making emission-free flying a reality, the company combines decades of experience with state-of-the-art technology to shape the future of aviation.

The history of MTU shows: Where tradition meets innovation, progress is born.

90 Years and Beyond: MTU Aero Engines has been at the forefront of the engine industry for nine decades. The next chapter in its success story will be propulsion concepts that enable zero-emission aviation by 2050. The expertise and passion of its employees brought the mtu to this point and will continue to carry it into the future.

Assembly, repair and installation of BMW 801 aircraft engines at the BMW-facility Allach.

There from the outset

MTU Aero Engines AG has its origins in BMW Flugmotorenbau GmbH, which was founded in 1934 to bring together the aircraft engine activities of Bayerische Motoren Werke AG in Allach near Munich. BMW was already active in aircraft engine production during the First World War; indeed, the BMW logo can be interpreted as a stylized aircraft propeller. After the Treaty of Versailles prohibited aircraft engine production in Germany, BMW initially turned its attention to motorcycles and automobiles. It began to produce aircraft engines again in the second half of the 1920s.

In 1933, the Nazis geared the German economy toward arming for war and specifically promoted technical developments such as the jet engine. BMW Flugmotorenbau GmbH produced air-cooled aircraft engines with cylinders arranged into star shapes and developed the BMW 109-003 jet engine, which flew for the first time in 1941.

Restart and growth

For ten years after the end of the Second World War, the U.S. Army used the premises of BMW Flugmotorenbau GmbH as an engine maintenance facility for army vehicles. In 1955, MAN bought the northern part of the factory premises in Munich-Allach. On the rest of the BMW site, the remaining employees set up the infrastructure they needed to recommence work on aircraft engines. In the 1950s, BMW was a successful exporter of cars and motorcycles, but the company also resumed aircraft engine production.

Building the AVCO Lycoming six-cylinder aircraft engine under a license agreement. By doing so, BMW once again managed to reconnect with its aviation technology background—just as it had after the end of the First World War with licensed construction of the Pratt & Whitney Hornet aircraft engine.

Later on in the 1950s, the company acquired jet engine expertise when it began building the GE J79 under a license agreement. This supersonic engine powered the German version of the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter and, until 2013, the German Air Force’s McDonnell Douglas Phantom II.

In July 1969, the merger of MAN Turbo GmbH and the engine activities of Daimler Benz AG created Motoren- und Turbinen-Union, or MTU for short, with a view to developing and building the German share of the RB199 engine for the Tornado multi-role combat aircraft. This was also the first time that the young company was involved in an engine program as a risk and revenue share partner (RRSP).

MTU gained international experience by participating first in various military and, later, also in commercial engine programs, including the V2500 in 1983 as one of the founding partners, the GP7000 A380 engine in the 2000s, and shortly afterward the highly successful geared turbofan (GTF) engine family.

In 1981, MTU Maintenance opened its maintenance shop in Hannover; today, it serves as the headquarters of a network with over 6,000 employees. In the commercial maintenance sector, the company ranks among the top three service providers for aircraft engines and industrial gas turbines. Its customer portfolio includes airlines and operators of industrial gas turbines on almost every continent.

Lycoming GO-480-B1A6: The aircraft engine was designed and built by the Lycoming division of the US company AVCO in Williamsport, USA. From 1958 to 1963 it was produced under licence by BMW Triebwerkbau GmbH in Munich.

Lockheed F-104 Starfighter: Every engine in the German Starfighter fleet was sent to MTU for repair and overhaul until the aircraft was retired in 1987.

RB199: In collaboration with Rolls-Royce and Avio Aero, MTU began developing and producing the engine in 1969 to power the Panavia Tornado multirole fighter jet.

IAE V2500: MTU has a 16 percent share in the engine and is responsible for the entire low-pressure turbine as well as for numerous accessories.

MTU Maintenance: Over 45 years of MRO experience and expertise, serving more than 270 airline customers and offering services on a broad portfolio of more than 30 different engine types.

MTU goes global

For MTU customer proximity is key. She is globally present with her network of locations. MTU established its first North American subsidiary, MTU Maintenance Canada, in 1998. This was followed by Vericor Power Systems in Atlanta and Aero Engines Design (AED) in Connecticut; the latter was renamed MTU Aero Engines North America in 2002.

MTU expanded its presence on the continent in 2011 by acquiring Retan Aerospace in Dallas, Texas. MTU Maintenance Dallas has since developed into a center for on-site operations.

The Bavarian company had Asia in its sights as well. MTU took its first step there in Malaysia in 1991 by founding the ASSB joint venture, which specialized in airfoil repair.

A joint venture with China Southern Airlines in Zhuhai, China, followed at the beginning of the 2000s. In 2021, MTU Maintenance Zhuhai celebrated its 20th anniversary. It is due to open a second location in Jinwan in 2025.

MTU’s international growth strategy also included Europe. The company founded the Ceramic Coating Center joint venture in France in 1999 and followed this with Aerospace Embedded Systems (AES) in Munich in 2013—both with its French partner Safran Aircraft Engines.

MTU Maintenance Lease Services (MLS) in Amsterdam, founded in 2014, has developed into a major engine leasing service provider.

New locations in Eastern Europe, such as MTU Aero Engines Polska in Rzeszów, which was founded in 2009, have been successfully established. EME Aero, a joint venture founded in 2019 with Lufthansa Technik in the immediate vicinity of MTU’s headquarters in Munich, employs 1,090 people in a modern maintenance facility for GTF engines.

The newest member of the MTU family is MTU Maintenance Serbia, which has been an important and growing part of the MTU Maintenance network since its foundation in 2022.

To serve its customers worldwide even faster and more flexibly, MTU has strengthened its on-site service presence over the last ten years with locations in São Paulo, Brazil, and Perth, Australia. While both initially specialized in the maintenance of industrial gas turbines, they now also have aircraft engines in their portfolio.

MTU Maintenance Dallas: Located at the Fort Worth Alliance Airport near Dallas, Texas, the site is MTU Maintenance’s main hub for ON-SITEPlus services in North America.

ASSB in Malaysia: For over 30 years, the location has been home to MTU’s center of excellence for the repair of airfoils in high-pressure and low-pressure turbines using state-of-the-art processes.

MTU Maintenance Zhuhai: The location specializes in the maintenance, repair, and overhaul of IAE’s V2500-A5 and Pratt & Whitney’s PW1100G-JM engine, in addition to CFMI’s CFM56-5B/-7B and LEAP engines.

AES: The joint venture designs, develops and supports customized high-performance embedded solutions for the aerospace, defense and future air mobility industries.

MLS: The team has a strong background in the MRO business, so it is perfectly positioned to provide airlines, MRO providers, and lessors with comprehensive solutions which span the entire lifecycle of an aircraft engine.

EME Aero: The state-of-the-art facility in Jasionka, Poland, carries out disassembly, assembly, and testing and first began engine services for the PW1100G-JM in January 2020.

MTU Maintenance Serbia: At the state-of-the-art facility, experts conduct repairs on fan blades, cases, low-pressure compressor (LPC) airfoils and static parts, as well as composite repairs and painting.

Working on-wing: MTU Maintenance's OSS assignments usually have to be carried out quickly. Like here with the GE90, the world's largest engine, which the experts have made ready for take-off again.

Engine components “made by MTU” are among the world’s best

In the course of its 90-year history, MTU has developed numerous pioneering technologies—especially in the fields of low-pressure turbines and high-pressure compressors. Its development project for the Advanced Technology Fan Integrator (ATFI) at the beginning of the 2000s, for example, led to the Pratt & Whitney GTF™ engine family, which has been in scheduled flight operations since 2016.

Starting in 1981 with the PW2000, the first commercial engine MTU was involved in developing, the Munich-based company consolidated its reputation as a leading authority on the low-pressure turbine.

But its current masterpiece is the high-speed low-pressure turbine for the geared turbofan: with technology that is unparalleled in the world, MTU is the only company to have mastered it for this application.

There is, however, another module where the name MTU is mentioned with respect around the world: the high-pressure compressor. The company has been responsible for this component since the early 1970s in the RB199, since 1986 in the EJ200, and—for the first time in the commercial sector—since the early 2000s in the PW6000.

While the PW6000 was not a commercial success, it was the breakthrough for further developments in the partnership with Pratt & Whitney. MTU has also worked its way to the very top in turbine center frames and in manufacturing and repair processes.

PW2000: MTU has been working in cooperation with Pratt & Whitney on developing and manufacturing the PW2000 engine family since 1979. These engines are used in both the commercial and military sectors, particularly in medium- and long-haul operations.

Low-pressure turbine: MTU has a reputation as one of the world’s most experienced and technologically advanced manufacturers of low-pressure turbines.

High-pressure compressor: Compressors are the centerpiece of an engine. MTU Aero Engines has been developing, manufacturing and repairing high-pressure compressors (HPCs) for over 50 years.

GTF engine: The Pratt & Whitney GTF™ engine family powers next-generation commercial aircraft. The new engines offer double-digit percentage reductions in fuel consumption, pollution, noise emissions, and operating costs.

The story is far from over

Today, one-third of the world’s commercial aircraft take to the skies with MTU technology on board. The engine specialist has developed into a global player with 18 locations worldwide and over 12,000 employees from 88 nations. And its story is far from over.

The demands placed on technologies today are greater than ever: aircraft and engines must become even cleaner, quieter and more efficient—the vision for the future is emissions-free flight. The guiding star is the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to preferably 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. Getting there calls for innovative technologies and groundbreaking propulsion concepts. A key driver of innovation, MTU systematically positions itself at the forefront of this development. In its technology agenda, the company lays out potential solutions and concepts for sustainable commercial engines with the aim of meeting global climate goals. MTU’s experts are working on evolutionary and revolutionary technologies simultaneously. Key elements are enhancements of the gas turbine engine based on the geared turbofan as well as the Flying Fuel Cell^TM.

Flying Fuel Cell™: MTU is working on a revolutionary propulsion concept, the FFC, which aims to achieve virtually emissions-free flight through complete electrification of the powertrain.

NGFE: Engine specialists MTU Aero Engines, Safran Aircraft Engines, and ITP Aero are developing the engine for the New Generation Fighter.

And MTU is also setting standards for the future in the military sector: the New Generation Fighter Engine (NGFE) powers the New Generation Fighter (NGF), the next-generation fighter jet that is the centerpiece of Europe’s Future Combat Air System (FCAS). Together with Safran Aircraft Engines and the Spanish engine and component manufacturer ITP Aero, MTU is developing, producing, and providing support for the system. MTU’s involvement in the NGF also sees the company continue its tradition of military compressors: for the NGFE, MTU is developing and manufacturing the entire compression system consisting of low-pressure compressor, inter-compressor duct, and high-pressure compressor. And there’s more: MTU is also involved in the propulsion system for the next generation of European military helicopters.