06/10/2026
This month in turbojet history: On June 6, 1974, the Microturbo TRI 60 (now Safran) completed its first run. A compact, single-shaft turbojet purpose-built for high-volume, cost-optimized production.
Designed for target drones, cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles, and RPVs, it featured an axial compressor and annular combustor tailored for reliability in short-life or attritable missions. Variants of this engine family would later power systems like the Storm Shadow/SCALP EG and RBS-15.
More than fifty years later, the strategic logic remains the same: when platforms are built to be produced at scale and employed in high-risk or one-way missions, every subsystem must deliver maximum reliability at minimum cost and complexity.
At Zulu Pods, we’re applying that same philosophy to the fluid delivery and lubrication systems that enable today’s attritable and expendable aircraft and munitions to perform when it matters most.
Our patented ZPOD, pyroless air starters for altitude turbojet starts, one-way-use fuel pumps, and inline fuel/oil mixers that dramatically extend storage life and altitude performance are all purpose-built for the next generation of mass-deployable systems.
Because making America’s greatest systems work better and last longer isn’t just about the engine. It’s about every supporting system that keeps the platform mission-ready from the factory floor to the fight.
What advancements in attritable propulsion and subsystems are you most excited about right now?
