By Kamal Shah
Jetendra S. Gavankar, CEO of Safran India speaks about SAFRAN’s incredible journey in India that has been a testament to innovation, collaboration, and commitment! With over 2,400 employees and partnerships with industry giants like HAL, BEL, and ISRO, SAFRAN has become a cornerstone of India’s aerospace and defence ecosystem. From its state-of-the-art Hyderabad plant producing LEAP engine parts to its advanced Helicopter Engine MRO facility in Goa, SAFRAN is shaping the future of “Make in India” and “Atmanirbhar Bharat.” Looking ahead to 2025 and beyond, the company is powering new horizons with a focus on regional jets, UAVs, sustainable technologies, and enhanced R&D. By fostering Indian talent, supporting startups, and integrating cutting-edge global standards, SAFRAN is making India a global hub for aerospace innovation and leadership!
Q. How has SAFRAN’s journey in India evolved over the years as a prominent contributor to the country’s aerospace and defence sector, and what are its key strategic priorities and objectives for 2025 and beyond in further strengthening its presence and partnerships within the region?
A. SAFRAN’s journey in India has been marked by steady growth and deepening collaboration with the country’s aerospace sector. More than 2,400 employees are working within the group in the country. Since entering India over seven decades ago, SAFRAN has established a robust presence through partnerships with key stakeholders, including Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), and private-sector companies. Among many manufacturing and sourcing activities by Safran companies, the establishment of SAFRAN Engineering Services in Bengaluru, Safran’s global IT GCC and SAFRAN Aircraft Engines MRO in Hyderabad underscores its commitment to creating an ecosystem of local innovation and manufacturing.
SAFRAN’s contributions span aircraft & helicopter engines, avionics, space propulsion systems, and other aircraft systems & components. A major milestone was the 2022 inauguration of our plant in Hyderabad for the production of LEAP engine parts, assisting exports from India and helping establish the engine parts manufacturing ecosystem in India. Safran with HAL is also setting up the Helicopter engine MRO facility at Goa to service all HAL helicopter platform engines. This facility highlights SAFRAN’s role in supporting India’s “Make in India” and “Atmanirbhar Bharat” initiatives by developing indigenous capabilities.
For 2025, SAFRAN’s priorities include enhancing its manufacturing footprint and strengthening its research and development efforts in India. The company is focused on enhancing its contributing to India’s regional jet and UAV projects while ensuring sustainable technologies align with global de-carbonization goals. Additionally, SAFRAN aims to deepen its collaborations with Indian startups and academia, fostering innovation and nurturing a skilled workforce for the country’s aerospace future.
By integrating Indian talent into its global supply chain and supporting local MSMEs, SAFRAN strengthens India’s position as a hub for aerospace manufacturing. Furthermore, its focus on training programs and skill development ensures a sustainable talent pipeline, aligning perfectly with India’s vision of self-reliance and technological leadership.
Q. What are the most recent advancements implemented in SAFRAN’s manufacturing facilities in India, and how do these developments align with or differ from the technological capabilities and production output standards observed in SAFRAN’s global plants?
A. SAFRAN globally is constantly innovating to better its manufacturing facilities and those best practices and technologies are transferred to the 17 sites of our Indian facilities too. So all of our Indian centers have incorporated advanced technologies aligned with global standards while supporting the “Make in India” initiative. The Hyderabad plant, inaugurated in 2022, leverages state-of-the-art manufacturing processes for LEAP engine components, including Industry 4.0 principles like automation, IoT-enabled monitoring, and data analytics. The facility is designed for high efficiency and sustainability, featuring energy-efficient systems and green building standards.
As for SAFRAN’s global facilities, the Indian plants are on par in adopting cutting-edge innovations while being tailored to meet local market needs. They mirror global sites in terms of quality and technological sophistication, ensuring integration into SAFRAN’s international supply chain. Furthermore, India’s facilities emphasize localization by working closely with domestic partners and suppliers. This dual focus on global competitiveness and local alignment positions SAFRAN India as a critical player in the company’s global manufacturing ecosystem.
Q. What is the current status of SAFRAN’s collaboration with India on powering the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), and what are the key technical and strategic challenges involved in developing a next-generation propulsion system for this ambitious defence project?
A. Any military system needs sustenance as the core ask, alongside the ability to upgrade/modify as per evolving technologies and sovereign needs. To provide this ability to Indian industries and research agencies, Safran has the vision to:
a. Build and develop in India all capabilities to design, develop, certify, produce and maintain state-of-the-art military engines for all present and future Indian combat aircraft at a better cost and unbeatable lead-time compared to ab initio technology development.
b. Develop India’s operational, industrial and technological sovereignty and contribute to Aatmanirbhar Bharat in the strategic domain of military aircraft engines.
c. Develop a complete industrial manufacturing eco-system in India comprising public and private sector companies as well as MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises).
Safran proposal, along with other engine OEMs, has been under discussion for the past few years for co-developing with DRDO/GTRE an aero-engine for future advanced combat aircraft such as AMCA fits in this long-term vision. Our approach is based on three pillars:
· Development of Aeroengine industrial Ecosystem (more than 15 firms supply engine parts to Safran Aircraft Engines /Safran Helicopter Engines, the current on-ground initiatives are – Investment in ToT for skill and tool development related to production with DPSUs and Indian private industry, Investment in JVs and 100% subsidiaries)
· Aeroengine MRO roadmap in India (LEAP and Helicopter Engine MRO )
· Development of aero-engine Design and development capabilities (SAFHAL Joint venture with HAL for Turboshaft engines)
We are now awaiting a decision from the government to take the jet engine co-development forward.
Safran is fully supporting the Indian initiative of Atmanirbhar Bharat and DAP2020 need of IC and will do all that is possible to meet this requirement.
Q. As we look ahead to the next decade, could you elaborate on your vision for SAFRAN’s role in contributing to and shaping India’s aerospace and defence landscape? Additionally, what are the key milestones and strategic objectives that SAFRAN aspires to accomplish by the year 2030 in alignment with this vision?
A. India is a strategic country on the back of an excellent Indo-French relationship. Safran has not faced any bottlenecks on technology sharing with Indian entities in the past and we expect this relationship to improve going forward. Safran’s strategy is to help establish a complete ecosystem for India in the Defence and Aerospace sector. Toward that, we are working on establishing high-tech manufacturing, state-of-the-art Maintenance and advanced design centers on multiple technologies in India. This provides an end-to-end ecosystem of any product life cycle. To establish such an ecosystem, we train manpower in our global centers for a long period and ensure the global QMS system is implemented in Indian entities and our Indian suppliers. With continuous support from the Safran SCM team, many of our Indian suppliers are now fully integrated into our global supply chain competing with global suppliers on cost, time and quality.
By 2030 Safran considers a large percentage of its products and services would be from Indian sources. Safran also aims to establish an engine design and development facility with DRDO and HAL. We also aim to contribute more to the Indian Space sector by co-developing and manufacturing products for ISRO and new-age space startups in India. Safran Data Systems India has been instrumental in projects like India’s moon mission and satellite launch initiatives, contributing significantly to India’s space sector growth. By 2030 we anticipate more involvement in India’s human spaceflight mission, Gaganyaan, and other missions in the future.
Safran will be working with HAL to jointly design a nextGen Turboshaft engine for the HAL 13 Ton Helicopter program. This will be the next big project for Safran in the immediate future and the start of a long partnership with HAL. We are always open to collaborating on future fighter engine programs in case India decides to develop them in the country under its “Atmanirbhar” policy framework. Our Helicopter Engine MRO facility coming up in Goa will be operational in 2025 to support the Indian Armed Force’s operational preparedness. As a group, Safran will be a 3000-strong team in India in 2025 supporting all its businesses as we are hiring several employees per year.
We are very optimistic about India’s aerospace and defence growth story and Safran’s contribution to this growth.
Q. How do you see France and India cooperating in the space domain?
A. India and France as such have been cooperating in the Defence and Aerospace domain for over 70 years now. Many of you here may not be aware that SAFRAN has been a pioneer in ToT in India and has a successful history of fruitful cooperation with India in strategic domains such as Space Rocket Engines, Helicopter Engine and Inertial Navigation Technologies, reinforcing India’s sovereignty.
The ToT done in 1974s on Liquid Fueled Rocket engine called Viking (by Société Européenne de Propulsion later SNECMA and now Safran Aircraft Engines) has helped India attain 100% independence in PSLV and GSLV launch technologies in due course. SAFRAN INS systems provide navigation and precision to all Indian space, missile and aircraft programs.
The Indo-French relationship in Space is spread over different facets of space science, technology and applications, including sounding rocket development, liquid engine development, hosting of payloads, joint satellite realization, training programs, satellite communication experiments and satellite launches. Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the French National Space Agency (CNES) have jointly realized two world-class space Missions.
We have some information that the Space Surveillance organization is looking to cooperate with India for a more comprehensive surveillance solution. Sharing of more accurate information on mutual areas of interest. A specific agreement is to be signed yet as France has with the United Kingdom, Germany, USA, Japan and Australia for a Joint Task Organization on Space Surveillance.
At the industry level, we have been closely associated with ISRO for the past two decades on GSLV, PSLV, GSAT, CARTOSAT, NISAR, Chandrayaan, Mars Orbiter Mission, Gaganyaan … programs. We have now partnered with Digantara for Space Situational Awareness. We are also working with many local space startups like Agnikul and Skyroot for Equipment on launch vehicles and Avantel, Azista Aerospace, Dhruva Space, Galaxeye etc. for Onboard satellite equipment, Ground Stations key components etc.
