HAL and Safran ink MoU for strategic cooperation for new chopper engines
A ground breaking ceremony for a new facility of helicopter engines MRO private limited, a joint venture of two companies was held on March 14 in Goa, wherein Safran Helicopter Engines’ Florent Chauvancy and Amitabh Bhatt from HAL signed the MoU.
FollowPanaji: Aiming to further give a boost to the government’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat campaign, state-owned plane maker HAL and France-based Safran have signed a strategic MoU to explore opportunities for new chopper engines in civil and military markets.
A ground breaking ceremony for a new facility of helicopter engines MRO private limited, a joint venture of two companies was held on March 14 in Goa, wherein Safran Helicopter Engines’ Florent Chauvancy and Amitabh Bhatt from HAL signed the MoU.
“The 1,000 sqm training and office facility and a 3,800 sqm international class shop facility will provide Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) services for Safran TM333 and HAL Shakti engines installed on HAL-built helicopters to increase the operational readiness of the Indian Armed Forces”, HAL CMD R Madhavan.
Safran Helicopter Engines’ Franck Saudo stated, “I am very proud to celebrate the launch of this world class MRO Centre for the TM333 and Shakti gas turbines aboard India Armed Forces helicopters. This complex will be a key factor for building customer satisfaction and supporting the Government of India’s vision for aerospace MRO in India.”
With a fleet of over 1000 engines, including 250 TM333 and over 500 Shakti, India’s Armed Forces are one of the largest operators of Safran-designed helicopter engines and our company powers 100 per cent of HAL produced helicopters. We support all HAL helicopter programs and will offer the level of commitment to their future projects, he said.
The facility will be operational by the end of 2023 with a capacity to repair 50 engines a year and a full-capacity goal of 150 engines in the coming years.
The Joint Venture will also bring employment opportunities to over 60 qualified engineers and technicians of the region, the HAL said.
India’s Armed Forces are among the largest operators of Safran-designed helicopter engines with a fleet having over 1,000 engines, including 250 TM333 and over 500 Shakti engines, it said.
Shakti is the Indian variant of the Safran Ardiden 1H1, co-developed with HAL. HAL has produced over 500 plus Shakti engines till date successfully.
Shakti is installed on HAL’s ALH/Dhruv variants including Rudra and has also been selected to power the HAL-designed Light Combat Helicopter (LCH).
The Ardiden 1U variant powers the new Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), a three-ton single-engine aircraft.
The engine was certified by DGCA (India) on July 26, 2021 for civil applications.
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