Safran Helicopter Engines and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) have signed a “Memorandum of Understanding” to extend their cooperation and explore opportunities for new helicopter engines in civil and military markets.
Florent Chauvancy, EVP OEM Sales, Safran Helicopter Engines and Amitabh Bhatt, CEO, HAL’s Bangalore Complex signed the MoU at the ground breaking ceremony, on 14 March, of a 1,000 sqm training and office facility and a 3,800 sqm international class shop facility to provide MRO services for Safran TM333 and HAL Shakti engines installed on HAL-built helicopters.
HE-MRO 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. It will also bring employment opportunities to over 60 qualified engineers and technicians of the region. The facility has an expansion capacity for other engines in the future.
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 the manufacturer power 100% of HAL-produced helicopters.
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 Dhruv and 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.
