National Aviation Safety Centre To be Established in India; Aircraft Accident Investigations will be Improved
India is planning to establish a National Aviation Safety Centre to train aircraft accident investigators and aviation professionals. The
Safaran, a France-based aerospace and defence group, is planning to triple its revenue in India to more than 3 billion euros by 2030, its CEO said. It will multiply its sourcing in the country by five. "Safran will triple its revenue in India to more than 3 billion euros by 2030, of which our sites in India will generate half. Simultaneously, Safran will multiply by five its sourcing in the country," group CEO Olivier Andriès said. The company inaugurated its largest MRO centre for LEAP engines in Hyderabad and announced two defence investments to support the country's Rafale program. The LEAP engines power Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, two of the most prevalent aircraft in the global aviation industry.
Safran has ramped up its Indian associations across both
defence and civil aerospace, with several pacts signed with private and
government-owned entities.
The CEO Andriès said, "The two new MRO centers in Hyderabad dedicated to
the LEAP and M88 engines and our new joint venture with BEL underscore India’s
importance to our Group. We’re proud to support the fast growth of India’s
civil and defence aerospace markets and contribute to India’s Make in India
policy and strategic autonomy." The new LEAP engine MRO centre signifies a
total investment of €200 million and will be operational in 2026.
The 45,000-square-meter facility aims to ramp up to 300 LEAP shop visits a year and to boast a next-gen test bench. It will support the fast growth of the CFM International LEAP fleet, which powers most of the latest-generation narrowbody aircraft.
India is CFM’s third-largest market, with 5 Indian carriers operating over 400 LEAP-powered aircraft and 2,000 engines on order, Safran said. The new site will have more than 250 people at launch and up to 1,100 at full capacity. In Safran's new MRO shop dedicated to the M88 engine, the company will power Dassault Aviation Rafale fighter jets in India. The M88 engine facility is also situated in Hyderabad, adjacent to the LEAP engine centre. With a €40 million investment, the facility will provide MRO services for over 600 engine modules a year and will employ up to 150 people at full capacity. This defence MRO facility is said to prioritize engines on aircraft operated by the Indian Air Force, while it will also perform MRO for other M88 export customers.
India recently ordered 26 Rafale M naval variants and already operates 36 Rafale and 47 Mirage 2000 fighters. On November 24, Safran signed a Joint Venture and Cooperation Agreement with Bharat Electronics Limited to manufacture Safran Electronics & Defense’s “Hammer” modular air-to-surface weapon. It can be integrated with multiple aircraft types, including the Rafale and the Indian Army’s single-seat HAL Tejas. Safran CEO Andriès also flagged two other investments announced in February 2025, totaling more than €30 million. This includes an engineering centre in Bangalore specializing in avionics and actuators, now operational and having about 250 employees. Another project is an electronics and actuation manufacturing capacity in Bangalore with 400 employees, starting operations in 2026.
Source: Economic Times
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