Safran to transfer full engine tech for next-gen Indian fighter jet: Report

French aerospace group Safran has agreed to a full technology transfer to India, including the critical hot section of a fighter jet engine, for the country’s indigenous fifth-generation stealth aircraft programme, The Economic Times reported on Thursday, citing CEO Olivier Andriès.

Safran and India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) plan to jointly develop a 120–140 kilonewton engine in India, Andriès told ET.

He said that India would receive intellectual property rights for key components such as compressors and turbines, according to the report.

The government is expected to soon announce a joint venture between Safran and the Gas Turbine Research Establishment, an arm of DRDO, for the project, which is estimated to cost about $7 billion, ET reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Safran is also open to setting up an assembly line in India for its M88 engines, which power Rafale fighter jets, the report said.

State-run Hindustan Aeronautics and private-sector firms including Tata Advanced Systems, Larsen & Toubro and Adani Defence & Aerospace have responded to an expression of interest issued by the Aeronautical Development Agency for the fifth-generation fighter programme, ET reported.

India’s earlier attempt to develop its own fighter engine under the Kaveri programme failed to achieve the required thrust levels.

The report emerged a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Safran Aircraft Engine Services India, an aircraft-engine maintenance hub in Hyderabad.

The maintenance, repair and overhaul facility for LEAP engines, used on Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, was built with an initial investment of about ₹1,300 crore and can service up to 300 engines a year.