In a significant development, India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and France's Safran have made a joint decision to collaborate on developing combat aircraft engines. Both parties will prepare a detailed roadmap for this project before the year's end. Additionally, they have agreed to support industrial cooperation for motorization of heavy-lift helicopters under India's Multi Role Helicopter (IMRH) program with Safran Helicopter Engine.
The announcement follows Prime Minister Modi's visit to France and his discussions with President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. The leaders of both countries adopted the vision of 'Horizon 2047: 25th Anniversary of the India-France Strategic Partnership, Towards A Century of India-France Relations,' reaffirming their commitment to cooperate in the co-development and co-production of advanced defence technologies, benefiting not only themselves but also third countries.
The statement emphasized the outstanding cooperation in military aviation between India and France, spanning over five decades, and acknowledged the timely delivery of the 36 Rafale jets ordered by India. Going forward, they plan to extend their ground-breaking defence cooperation in advanced aeronautical technologies, specifically supporting the joint development of a combat aircraft engine, with a detailed roadmap to be prepared jointly by Safran and DRDO.
Furthermore, India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and France's Safran Helicopter Engine have concluded a shareholders agreement for engine development, a move aimed at advancing progress on the IMRH program.
The cooperative ventures reflect the spirit of trust between India and France, built on a successful track record of sharing and joint development of critical components and technology building blocks through technology transfer.
According to the ANI report, India is currently in advanced discussions with French firms for co-developing engines for fifth-generation fighters and the IMRH project under the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.