Turbomeca (Safran), and the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at the Paris Air Show to establish in India a joint venture to support customers in India and other countries. This joint venture will provide maintenance, repair and overhaul for Turbomeca and HAL engines installed on HAL-produced helicopters. Therefore the engine fleet which will be addressed is the TM333 and Shakti engines. Together, Turbomeca and HAL intend to offer their Indian customers a firstclass service, with the goal of optimising engine availability.

With a fleet of over 1,000 engines, including 250 TM333 and 250 Shakti, India’s armed forces are the largest operator of Turbomecadesigned engines in the country. Shakti is the Indian designation of the Turbomeca Ardiden 1, co-developed with HAL, and produced under licence.

This joint venture will boost the ‘Make in India’ drive, considering the forecast that around 1,000 Shakti engines will be flying in India over the coming years.

Franck Saudo, Turbomeca Vice President Support & Services, said, “This JV is a new step in a long-lasting and fruitful partnership between Turbomeca and HAL. We are extremely proud of the continued confidence placed in us by HAL. Together with HAL, we are committed to offer world-class support to customers in India and other countries”.

T. Suvarna Raju, Chairman and Managing Director, HAL, said: “The partnership reflects the close relationship established over many years between HAL and Turbomeca. This MoU places HAL and Turbomeca on a path of ambitious future partnership towards customer support in the field of engine MRO.”

Shakti is fitted to HAL’s ALH/Dhruv rotorcraft. Over the past years, the engine has been selected to power the light combat helicopter (LCH) and the new, HAL-designed LUH (light utility helicopter), a three-tonne single-engine aircraft under development.