World class facility of Helicopter Engines MRO Pvt Limited (HE-MRO) which is going to be based in Goa will provide Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) services for Safran TM333 and HAL Shakti engines. The ground breaking ceremony for the new MRO facility took place on Monday (March 14, 2022) at at Sattari, 40 km from Panaji in Goa and is the outcome of a joint venture of state owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and the French company Safran.
With a facility like this which will become operational in 2023, the engines which are installed on the HAL-built helicopters will help to increase the operational readiness of the Indian Armed Forces.
Who was present at the ground breaking ceremony?
Besides the ground breaking ceremony, the two sides also signed a MoU for setting up the joint venture between HAL & Safran.
According to an official statement under the Mou, reflecting their commitment to the government’s vision of “Atmanirbhar Bharat’’ especially in defence technologies and MRO, both sides will work together and explore opportunities for new helicopter engines in civil and military markets.
R Madhavan, CMD, HAL, and Franck Saudo, CEO, Safran Helicopter Engines and other senior officers from HAL and the Indian armed forces and other stakeholders were present at the ceremony.
From the Indian side, Amitabh Bhatt, CEO, HAL’s Bangalore Complex and Florent Chauvancy, EVP, OEM Sales & Marketing, Safran Helicopter Engines signed the MoU.
“The facility is going to provide MRO services for Safran TM333 and HAL Shakti engines which are installed on the helicopters built by HAL. These helicopters are in use by the armed forces of the country,” said the CMD of HAL.
The 1,000 sqm training and office facility and a 3,800 sqm international class shop facility is expected to provide the best services and the main aim is to reduce cycle time which will help in the operational preparedness and will also help in improving serviceability.
“The complex will be a key factor for building customer satisfaction and supporting the Government of India’s vision for aerospace MRO in India,” said Mr. Franck Saudo, CEO, Safran Helicopter Engines.
Indian Armed Forces fly helicopters which are powered by Safran designed engines and according to the company it powers 100 percent HAL produced helicopters. “We support all HAL helicopter programs and will offer a level of commitment to their future projects” the CEO of Safran Engines added.
The new facility has a capacity to repair 50 engines annually and a full capacity goal of 150 engines in the coming years. The Joint Venture which has been created today will help in generating employment locally for qualified technicians and engineers, and more opportunities will be created over the years. There are plans in the pipeline to expand the capacity and include civil and other engines in the future.
Safran engines power HAL helicopters
There are over 1000 engines, over 500 Shakti and 250 TM333 engines in the helicopters here in India.
Shakti is the Indian variant of the Safran Ardiden 1H1, co-developed with HAL and is installed on HAL’s ALH/Dhruv variants including Rudra. This engine is also selected to power the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) which was designed by the HAL.
The Ardiden 1U variant powers the new Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), which is a three-ton single-engine aircraft.
As has been reported earlier, for the civil applications, approval for the engine has already been certified by DGCA (India) on July 26, 2021.
In an earlier interaction with Financial Express Online, Alexandre Ziegler, Executive Vice President, International and Public Affairs, Safran had said that the company is also supporting the Indian Air Force with the M53 engine, which is powering the Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft.
Also Read: Aero-India: We are in India for a long run and seeking more local partnerships, says Safran Executive Vice President, International and Public Affairs
The new fighter jets from Dassault Aviation “Rafale’’ are powered by the M88 engine, from the house of Safran. The French company is also working on Optronics solutions, inertial navigation systems is in going on at various bases of the Indian Air Force, Army Workshops and Naval Dockyards