HAL, Turbomeca to form MRO unit for copter engines

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd and Turbomeca (Safran) of France have agreed to jointly set up an MRO outfit in the country to service helicopter engines of customers in India and outside. Most of them are on military helicopters.

HAL on Wednesday said the two signed an MoU at the ongoing Paris Air Show. The proposed company, whose details were not available yet, will address Turbomeca's TM333 and HAL's Indianised Shakti (Turbomeca Ardiden 1) engines.

The venture will add to available facilities now being offered in Bangalore, speed up engine servicing and clear backlog, said a spokesman.

The Armed Forces have a fleet of over 1,000 engines - including 250 TM33 and 250 Shakti engines - and are the largest operator of Turbomeca-designed engines in the country. Shakti powers HAL’s Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter. It has been selected for fitting into the Light Combat Helicopter and the HAL-designed Light Utility Helicopter that is being developed. An industry forecast says around 1,000 Shakti engines alone will be flying in the country over the coming years, according to HAL.

"The venture will provide maintenance, repair and overhaul [MRO] for Turbomeca and HAL engines installed on HAL-produced helicopters. Together, [they] will offer first-class service with the goal of optimising engine availability," it said.

HAL's CMD T. Suvarna Raju said, “The MoU places HAL and Turbomeca on a path of ambitious future partnership towards customer support in engine MRO.” Franck Saudo, Turbomeca's Vice-President Support & Services, called it a new step in a long-lasting and fruitful partnership with HAL.