Details of a previously unannounced test campaign involving an upgraded Ariane 6 rocket engine have emerged in the 2025 annual accounts of ArianeGroup SAS, the group’s French entity.
The filings describe the testing of a 200-kilonewton version of the rocket’s Vinci upper stage engine at DLR’s Lampoldshausen facility in Germany. The upgrade increases the engine’s thrust by around 11%, from 180 kilonewtons. The testing was “conducted throughout the year” and included a long-duration test in October that lasted 570 seconds.
According to ArianeGroup, the upgraded Vinci engine is being developed under a European Space Agency contract. Evidence from a September 2022 ESA Space Transportation Proposal presentation suggests that the adaptation of the engine was part of a €357.6 million Ariane 6 Product Adaptations Element approved at the agency’s Ministerial Council meeting in 2022.
Additional funding for these adaptations was committed at ESA’s 2025 Ministerial Council meeting, although member states provided less than half of the proposed amount, contributing €145.94 million towards a €304.40 million funding envelope. This shortfall and others were noted in the ArianeGroup SAS filings, with the company stating that it had received “partial support” for future launcher preparation programmes, Ariane 6 evolutions, and an increase in the production rate of P160C boosters.
The more powerful upper stage engine is part of a suite of upgrades included in the Ariane 6 Block 2 configuration. This upgrade package also includes the more powerful P160C solid-fuel boosters introduced in June and a lighter upper stage structure.
The filings state that modifications were made to the engine’s turbine and nozzle, and that the test campaign was due to restart in early 2026. ArianeGroup has not publicly indicated whether testing has resumed.
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