HAL And Safran Ink Pact To Jointly Develop Engine For India's 13-Tonne Multi-Role Helicopter

State-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and French enginemaker Safran have agreed to work together to develop an engine for the Indian Multi-Role Helicopter (IMRH) and its naval variant, the Deck Based Multi-Role Helicopter (DBMRH).

The two companies signed a workshare agreement on Wednesday (15 February) that stipulates an equal sharing of activities within the joint venture.

HAL will participate in the design, development, and production of some of the engine's core components, a significant accomplishment in terms of expertise and know-how in India.

The IMRH helicopter's development is ongoing, with a 1/3 scale model showcased at Aero India 2023.

Discussions with the Indian Armed Forces on the operational requirements for the new helicopter are also underway.

The availability of an indigenous engine will enhance the self-reliance content on the platform and demonstrates the commitment of both Safran Helicopter Engines and HAL to the government’s vision of “Atmanirbhar Bharat”, or achieving self-reliance - particularly in defence technologies, according to a joint statement.

“The joint development of high power engine is a new milestone in HALs ever-growing capabilities in the sector with a competent partner like Safran Helicopter Engines. We are confident of making the engine meet the highly stringent and demanding requirements of Indian Defence customers," HAL CMD C B Ananthakrishnan said in the statement.

“We are very proud to be associated with such an important program of the Indian MoD and very happy to once again support HAL, our partner for decades. While this program will bring many advanced technologies to the Indian aerospace ecosystem and to HAL, it will also provide the Indian Armed Forces with state-of- the-art solutions," said Franck Saudo, CEO, Safran Helicopter Engines.

According to the statement, the two companies will continue to work on the development of this joint venture in the coming months, which is intended not only to develop an engine for the IMRH, but also for other helicopters.

Additionally, they have also agreed on the condition for the transfer right to HAL for manufacturing of seven critical forging and casting raw parts, for further enhancement of indigenous content in Shakti engine of Dhruv and Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) programmes.