Lufthansa Technik is developing a second-generation of its PTE patient transport unit, in line with an order from the German Armed Forces. The order, placed in 2020, is for an initial 26 PTE NG (New Generation) units over the next two years.
The development for the German Armed Forces is based on the Patient Transport Unit (PTU) NG, which is in international service. Lufthansa Technik recently delivered eight additional PTU NG units to NATO’s Multinational Multi Role Tanker Transport fleet.
One goal of the further development is to make the PTE NG flexible enough to be deployed on all suitable aircraft types for the German Armed Forces. For it to be used on both the A400M and the German Air Forces’ future A321neoLR, for example, it will require all the necessary military and civil approvals, as both aviation and medical equipment.
The specification and airworthiness certification will be carried out by Lufthansa Technik. The specialised Swiss medical device manufacturer Aerolite has been contracted to develop and manufacture the system. For installation in different aircraft types, the partners have also developed a special concept that allows electrical connection to various onboard power systems with direct and alternating current. Installation requires no tools and takes only a few minutes.
“The ease of adaptation to a wide variety of aircraft types is a decisive advantage of the new PTE NG for the German Armed Forces,” said Mirco Laufer-Beuser, senior engineer, aeromedical solutions, at Lufthansa Technik. “This enables us to provide our customer with the greatest possible flexibility in successfully managing its increasingly extensive range of missions.”
“With this order, we are also following up on an almost 20-year success story of first-generation PTEs,” added Oliver Thomaschewski, head of product and project management, aircraft components, at Lufthansa Technik in Hamburg, Germany.
The German Armed Forces currently operates 37 first-generation PTEs, which were procured at the time for the A310 MRTT and C-160 Transall. Almost all of them are still in daily service, since 2018 also on the A400M. The new generation will also meet the requirements of the German Air Force’s future transport fleet. Lufthansa Technik said the wealth of experience gained from Bundeswehr missions flows directly into the PTE NG.
