Alongside Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), the leading helicopter engine manufacturer has a comprehensive strategy to support market growth in India, integrating new engine development and placing a new focus on in-service engine support.
With a fleet of over 1,000 engines, including 250 TM333 and 250 Shakti, India’s armed forces are one of the largest operators of Safran-designed helicopter engines. And the trend is not about to decrease; India has been identified as a strategic growing market for the French manufacturer. Safran Helicopter Engines EVP Programmes, Cyrille Poetsch comments, “we forecast an important demand of 1000 rotorcraft during the coming 10 years, for both civil and military rotorcraft”.
The relationship between HAL and Safran Helicopter Engines goes back to 1962 and an agreement to produce, in India, the Artouste IIIB turbine installed in Indian versions of the Alouette III (known as Chetak) and Lama (Cheetah). More than 600 of these engines were produced in India. Since then, this partnership has gone from strength to strength and Safran has been selected to power all subsequent HAL-developed rotorcrafts. Safran also powers and/or equips 65% of Indian aeroplanes and helicopters, and is the chief supplier of key systems and equipment for the Rafale.
Cyrille Poetsch further comments, “Our strategy in India is clearly built around this long-standing cooperation with HAL. They have a roadmap to sustain the Indian demand for helicopters, and Safran has been identified as a key partner in reaching this objective. That is something we are very proud of”.
A key element of the partnership is the Shakti / Ardiden 1H1. Certified in 2009, the 1,400 shp engine was co-developed by Safran and HAL and is now built in Bangalore, under the Shakti designation, with both Indian and French-made components. This engine was first selected to power HAL’s Dhruv, now in service, and powers the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) in final stages of development. Today, more than 250 Shakti are in service.
Most recently the Ardiden 1U, a derivative of the Ardiden 1H1 specifically designed to power single-engine rotorcraft, was selected to power the Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), a new three-ton, single-engine, multipurpose rotorcraft. This engine has a compact architecture featuring a gas generator made up of two centrifugal compressor stages, coupled to a single-stage high-pressure turbine and a two-stage power turbine.
The first technical flight of the Ardiden 1U in the LUH took place in September 2016, in Bangalore, and met all its performance targets. Certification is planned for 2018.
“We currently power all HAL rotorcraft and are committed to remaining their leading engine supplier. Now, a new step has been taken in the domain of support and services with the opening of HE-MRO service centre”, says Cyrille Poetsch.
Inaugurated in October 2016 by India’s Defence Minister, Mr Manohar Parrikar, Helicopter Engines MRO Pvt. Limited (HE-MRO) is a Joint Venture of Safran and HAL, dedicated to supporting of helicopter engines operated by national and international operators, and primarily the Indian Air Force and Indian Army
This new facility will provide maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) services for Safran TM333 and HAL Shakti engines installed on HAL-built helicopters and will become active in the coming months with a capacity of 50 repaired engines a year, ramping up before long to 150.
“State-of-the-art engines require world-class services, and these lie at the heart of HE-MRO: we aim to provide Indian customers with the very best in support and services. Once again, we are very proud of the trust that HAL has placed in us to conduct this strategic mission”, Cyrille Poetsch.
Another milestone in the Safran Helicopter Engines roadmap in India is set by the Russian Ka-226T. Russia and India reached an agreement to manufacture the Ka-226T in India. “The Ka-226T is powered by our Arrius 2G1, an engine certified in 2015 and currently produced in our headquarters in France. We are looking at producing this engine in India through a partnership built around the ‘Make in India’ initiative”, said Poetsch.
