Safran Aircraft Engines Boosts India Presence With New Investments

Safran Aircraft Engines is also on the verge of entering India much deeper by making new investments, establishing new production facilities and more relationships throughout the aerospace value chain that will make India a major destination as far as engine maintenance and production is concerned.

President of Safran Aircraft Engines, Stephane Cueille, stated that the investments the company had made in India corresponded to the government program Make in India.

According to him, India has become a strategic market for the group due to the increasing fleet growth and increasing industrial options in maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), supply chain and prospects of engine production.

On the possibility of producing in the country, Cueille declared that Safran Aircraft Engines has a strong intention to reinforce its investments by developing more production facilities to accommodate the increase in commercial and military aircraft production.

The French aerospace giant already has an electronic partnership with approximately 25 major aerospace suppliers in India, with the likes of Tata Group, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, PTC Industries, Teal, Maini Group and Mach Aero, strengthening its desire to develop a strong local aerospace supply network.

On the defence orders, Cueille added that in case of orders of other Rafale fighter jets by the Indian Air Force, Safran would be obliged to substantially increase its presence in India, and would even bring the M88 engine assembly line to the country, depending on the order size.

Safran has established the largest MRO centre in the world for the CFM International LEAP engines in 2025 in Hyderabad at an outlay of €200 million. The 45,000-square-metre plant will be operational in 2026 and is projected to receive 300 visits to shops yearly at maximum capacity, which is 25 per cent of the company's MRO network throughout the globe.