Safran MRO facility in Hyderabad set to enhance operational readiness of Rafale fighter jets

France-based Safran Aerospace will set up a new maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility in Hyderabad, dedicated to servicing the M88 engines that power India's Rafale fighter jets.

 

Safran Aircraft Engine Services India will be the first such facility for the M88 afterburning turbofan engine outside France.

 

India, which already operates 36 Rafale fighter jets, earlier this year signed a Rs 63,000 crore deal for the procurement of 26 Rafale-Marine fighter jets from Dassault Aviation, to be deployed on  INS Vikrant and INS Vikramaditya. Dassault Aviation and Safran have a longstanding business partnership as the latter supplies key propulsion and systems technology for Rafale aircraft.

 

Safran currently operates two facilities in Hyderabad—Safran Electrical & Power India, dedicated to manufacturing electrical harnesses for CFM LEAP engines and the Dassault Rafale fighter, and Safran Aircraft Engines Hyderabad, which specialises in the production of rotating parts for the LEAP engine's low-pressure turbine.

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We look forward to expanding our presence with the upcoming Safran Aircraft Engine Services India, focused on LEAP engine MRO services and scheduled to be operational before the end of the year, as well as a newly announced fourth site to provide maintenance for the M88 military jet engine powering the Dassault Rafale, Pierre Fernandez, general manager of Safran Aerospace, has been quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

 

Fernandez met Telangana Industries Minister D. Sridhar Babu recently and announced the plans for the MRO facility.

 

The initiative is expected to create approximately 150 new jobs by the end of next year, with the potential to add another 750 positions in subsequent phases, the state government said in a release.

Defence