Limbach L550E


The Limbach L550E is a German aircraft engine, designed and produced by Limbach Flugmotoren of Königswinter.

Design and development

The L550E is an air-cooled horizontally-opposed 550cc four-cylinder two-stroke petrol engine developing at 7500 rpm which can drive a propeller either directly or geared. It employs a single magneto ignition, four carburettors, and is lubricated by oil mixture lubrication with a fuel to oil ratio of 25:1 for mineral oil or 50:1 for synthetic oil.

Iranian copy

Since at least 2014, the Iranian firm Mado has marketed a copy of the L550E, called MD550. The Mado variant is used for the Iranian Shahed-136 UAV.
According to a 2023 CNN investigation, Western intelligence officials and analysts believe the Iranian government illegally acquired the engine technology approximately 17 years earlier, enabling the development of domestic copies such as the MD550.

Xiamen Limbach

The Garpiya family of drones is powered by Limbach L550E from Xiamen Limbach.