Now Reading: HAL and Safran sign deal to co-develop Aravalli helicopter engine
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HAL and Safran sign deal to co-develop Aravalli helicopter engine
HAL and Safran Helicopter Engines have signed the final contract with their joint venture Safhal Helicopter Engines to co-develop a new high-power turboshaft engine called Aravalli. The engine, in the 3,500-4,000 shaft…
HAL and Safran Helicopter Engines have signed the final contract with their joint venture Safhal Helicopter Engines to co-develop a new high-power turboshaft engine called Aravalli. The engine, in the 3,500-4,000 shaft horsepower class, will power India’s proposed 13-tonne Indian Multi-Role Helicopter (IMRH) and its naval variant Deck-Based Multi-Role Helicopter (DBMRH). The contract covers design, development, manufacture, supply and lifecycle support.
HAL director Ajay Kumar Shrivastava and Safran’s Olivier Savin signed the agreement in Bengaluru. HAL CMD Ravi K said the deal is a significant step toward self-reliance in aero-engine technology. Safran CEO Cedric Goubet said this is the first time Safran has taken on such a class of engine as a co-development. The companies have a decades-long partnership, with Safran engines powering HAL’s Cheetah, Chetak, and Shakti engine family. The Aravalli could also find civil aviation applications, and the programme is expected to build maintenance and overhaul capabilities in India.
Indian Opinion Analysis
HAL’s IMRH programme is the Indian armed forces’ long-running effort to replace ageing medium-lift helicopters such as the Mi-17 fleet. A custom engine has been a critical missing piece: without a dedicated powerplant, the entire helicopter programme remained contingent on foreign suppliers. The new Aravalli engine, co-developed with Safran, directly addresses that dependency. Historically, India’s aero-engine ambitions have struggled to move beyond licensed production, the Shakti engine is itself a Safran-derived design. What changes now is that, for the first time, a turboshaft engine in this power class is being co-designed from scratch with full lifecycle control in India. Next step: HAL’s development timeline for the IMRH airframe itself, which will determine when the Aravalli enters flight testing.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
