Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Safran Aircraft Engines have 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 here as part of the MoU.

The MoU was signed by CEO (Bangalore Complex), HAL, Mihir Kanti Mishra, and Senior Vice-President (Purchasing), Safran Aircraft Engines, Dominique Dupuy, in Bangalore in the presence of key officials from both companies on Thursday.

"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", Chairman & Managing Director (Additional Charge), HAL, C B Ananthakrishnan was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the Bengaluru-headquartered company.

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