Hyderabad | Boosting its India presence, French major Safran on Wednesday said its maintenance, repair and overhaul facility for the LEAP engines will be operational in 2026 and also expects to triple its annual revenue in the country to more than 3 billion euros by 2030.
Safran, which is into aerospace, defence and space segments, will also be setting up a dedicated MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) facility for the M88 engines powering the Dassault Aviation Rafale fighter jets. Both facilities will be in Hyderabad.
"The new LEAP engine MRO centre represents a total investment of 200 million euros and will be operational in 2026. The 45,000-square-meter facility will ramp up to a capacity of 300 LEAP shop visits a year and boast a next-generation test bench," the company said in a release.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the facility through video conferencing on Wednesday.
The MRO facility is for LEAP (Leading Edge Aviation Propulsion) engines that power Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX planes.
These engines are manufactured by CFM International, an equal joint venture between Safran Aircraft Engines and GE Aerospace. India is CFM's third-largest market, with five Indian carriers operating more than 400 LEAP-powered aircraft and 2,000 engines on order.
The new site will employ more than 250 people at launch and up to 1,100 at full capacity. Also, an on-site training center will train more than 100 Indian technicians and engineers each year.
Besides, Safran will set up a dedicated MRO facility for the M88 engine powering the Dassault Aviation Rafale fighter jet in Hyderabad.
The 5,000-square-meter facility represents an investment of over 40 million euros and will provide MRO services for more than 600 engine modules a year and will employ up to 150 people at full capacity.
"Prioritising engines on aircraft operated by the Indian Air Force (IAF), it will also perform MRO for other M88 export customers. India is a long-standing customer for Safran's military engines," the release said.
Recently, India ordered 26 Rafale M naval variants and already operates 36 Rafale and 47 Mirage 2000 fighters.
Safran CEO Olivier Andries said the two new MRO centres in Hyderabad dedicated to the LEAP and M88 engines, and the new joint venture with Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) underscore India's importance to the Group.
"We are proud to support the rapid growth of India's civil and defense aerospace markets and actively contribute to the country's Make in India policy and strategic autonomy. Safran will triple its revenue in India to exceed 3 billion euros by 2030, of which half will be 'Made in India' by our Indian facilities.
"At the same time, Safran will multiply by five its sourcing in the country," he said.
The Safran Aircraft Engine Services India (SAESI) facility will be among the largest global aircraft engine MRO facilities and it is also the first time that such a facility has been set up by a global engine OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) in India.
On November 24, Safran inked a joint venture and cooperation agreement with Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) to manufacture Safran Electronics & Defense's 'Hammer' modular air-to-surface weapon.
The 'Hammer' can be integrated on multiple aircraft types, including the Rafale and single-seat HAL Tejas. In February 2025, Safran had announced investments totalling over 30 million euros for two projects -- an engineering centre in Bengaluru specialising in avionics and actuators, and an electronics and actuation manufacturing facility in Bengaluru.
The engineering centre, which is operational now, has around 250 staff, while the facility in Bengaluru, with 400 employees, will start operations in 2026.
SAFHAL -- the joint venture between Safran Helicopter Engines and HAL -- started designing the Aravalli engine for two future heavy helicopters for the Indian Armed Forces in 2024.
