Aerospace Diary

by   Neelam Mathews  -Pix Credit-Snecma February 16, 2015, 3:18 PM France’s Snemca and India’s Max Aerospace have finalized an agreement to form an aircraft engine maintenance, repair and overhaul operation called Maxaero Aircraft Engines Pvt Ltd ( MAEPL ). The partners claim that the operation, which is set to start operations during the second quarter of 2015, will be India’s first privately owned engine   MRO   joint venture. Initially,   MAEPL   will provide line support for the Snecma M53 engines that power Dassault Mirage 2000 fighters operated by India’s air force. The service has indicated that it plans to outsource more maintenance work. The new company will also start supporting   CFM 56 airliner engines, made by Snecma’s   CFM   International partnership with   GE   Aviation. According to   MAEPL   chairman Bharat Malkani, there are currently approximately 400 CFM 56 engines in ser...

AIN NEWS LIVE FROM AEROINDIA  »  2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS February 4, 2013, 2:42 PM India’s Defense Research Development Organization ( DRDO ) has confirmed that it has abandoned plans to jointly develop and produce the Kaveri military aircraft engine solely with France’s Snecma. The change in plan has come after India ordered 99 of General Electric’s F-414 engines—in preference to the Eurojet 2000 engine—for its indigenous Light Combat Aircraft Mark  II  program, for which the Kaveri is supposed to be an alternative powerplant. “We still need an overseas partner, but it will not be Snecma on a single-vendor basis,”  CP  Ramnarayanan, director of the  DRDO ’s Gas Turbine Research Establishment ( GTRE ) recently told Indian reporters. “We will select our partner through competitive bidding.” A  DRDO  official told  AIN  on condition of anonymity that if the Kaveri partnership is reten...

AIN Defense Perspective » May 4, 2012 by  Neelam Mathews The naval prototype of India’s Tejas light combat aircraft made its first test flight on April 27. May 4, 2012, 2:15 PM   The naval prototype of India’s Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA) made its first test flight on April 27. Already delayed by four years, the program still faces design concerns, including weight. Strengthening of the rear airframe for carrier operations, and the addition of an arrestor hook, has made the aircraft about 1,000 pounds overweight. “The naval variant of the LCA will require the F414 Enhanced Performance Engine [EPE] providing up to 26,500 pounds of thrust, a 20-percent boost,” an Indian Navy official told AIN . General Electric and Boeing have proposed the EPE for future versions of the F/A-18E/F Super Horne...

News Aviation Daily Feb 26 , 2010 , p. 11 Neelam Mathews Planned to coincide with the bi-annual India Aviation Show in Hyderabad starting March 3, engine maker CFM International is launching a training center at the 250-acre Aerospace Park located at Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in a 300-square-meter (3,210 sq. ft.) shop facility. CFM is a leading supplier of aero-engines to the Asia-Pacific region. More than 3,800 CFM56 engines are in service with 116 airlines in 24 countries in the region; Asia-Pacific accounts for about 19% of the worldwide CFM56 fleet in service. Snecma has a big partnership with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. for the supply of forged aluminum parts for the CFM56. In India, more than 320 CFM56 engines are in service, and some 360 engines are on order. CFM’s main customers in India include Jet Airways, Jet Lite, SpiceJet, Go Air, Reliance, the Indian air force, Air India and Air India Express. Airlines in the neighborhood, such as Sri L...