HAL and Safran Aircraft Engines signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop industrial cooperation in Ring forging manufacturing for commercial engines. HAL will produce LEAP (Leading Edge Aviation Propulsion, powering Airbus A320 Neo family and Boeing 737 Max) engine Forgings at its Foundry & Forge facility in Bengaluru as part of the MoU. The MoU was signed by Mihir Kanti Mishra, CEO (Bangalore Complex), HAL and Dominique Dupuy, Senior Vice President (Purchasing), Safran Aircraft Engines in Bengaluru in the presence of key officials from both companies yesterday.

"Safran is a long standing partner, especially on our Helicopter programs, as evidenced by the joint development of the "Shakti" helicopter engine. We are also going to codesign and coproduce the next generation IMRH engine with Safran. We are proud to take this partnership to another level, and to develop our skills in key technologies", said C.B. Ananthakrishnan, Chairman & Managing Director (Additional Charge), HAL.

"We are delighted to expand our collaboration with HAL, which is already part of the LEAP Supply Chain through our joint-venture in Bengaluru dedicated to the production of aero-engines pipes", said Jean-Paul Alary, CEO, Safran Aircraft Engines.

An Industrial Cooperation Contract was also signed by Anil Kumar VN, GM (F&F), HAL and Jean Michel, Strategy Director and India Development for Safran Military Division.