Bengaluru-based Hical Technologies signed a Memorandum of Understanding with France-based Safran Aerosystems on 7 October 2026 to explore a joint venture for manufacturing complex Dassault Rafale systems in India. The proposed venture will produce complex fluid and fuel systems and related assemblies for Rafale aircraft supplied under the Make in India initiative. The pact links a growing Indian supplier with a core Rafale equipment maker at a time when India is expanding its Rafale fleet and building a domestic aerospace supply chain.
What Is the Hical Safran MoU Agreement?
The Hical Safran MoU agreement is a preliminary pact signed on 7 October 2026 in Bengaluru to explore a joint venture in India. The proposed venture will manufacture complex fluid and fuel systems and related assemblies for Dassault Rafale aircraft supplied under the Make in India initiative.
A Memorandum of Understanding, often shortened to MoU, is a written document in which two parties record their intent to work together. It is not a final contract. It sets out the scope for talks on shareholding, technology, investment and location before a formal joint venture agreement is signed. A joint venture is a new business jointly owned by two or more partners who share capital, technology, risks and profits.
Under the Hical Safran pact, the joint venture would focus on sophisticated equipment such as fuel gauging and distribution units, tank inerting parts, hydraulic equipment and high pressure ducts for engines and fluid circuits. These are mission critical fitments that manage how fuel is stored, measured and delivered inside a fighter jet and how hydraulic power moves control surfaces. Safran Aerosystems brings design authority and certification knowhow in this domain. Hical brings precision electromechanical manufacturing capacity in India.
The timing is linked to capacity expansion. Hical inaugurated a 60,000 square foot aerospace facility at Devanahalli near Bengaluru on 6 October 2026, a day before the MoU. The plant will house dedicated lines for complex electromagnetics, electromechanical, hydraulic and control systems for commercial aircraft and Rafale programmes. Hical is also developing a 160,000 square foot aerospace qualified facility at Hosur, where ground breaking was completed in July 2026. Safran Aerosystems leadership has pointed to this expanding footprint as important for meeting the quality and scale needs of the Rafale supply chain.
Who Are Hical Technologies and Safran Aerosystems?
Hical Technologies Pvt Ltd is a Bengaluru-based precision electromechanical manufacturer for aerospace and defence platforms. Safran Aerosystems is a France-based maker of onboard aircraft systems and a subsidiary of the Safran group. The MoU pairs Hical manufacturing depth in India with Safran design leadership in fuel and fluid systems.
Hical was established in 1986 and is headquartered at Electronics City in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The company supplies motors, solenoids, actuators, transformers, precision machined parts, sheet metal integration, cable harness and systems integration to global aerospace majors. Its customers include Collins Aerospace, Honeywell, Eaton and Safran. Hical also works with the Indian Space Research Organisation through its Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre unit, supplying electromechanical actuators for thrust vector control in the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle and LVM3 programmes. The company holds design house approval from the Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification for commercial and military aircraft uses. Yashas Jaiveer is the Managing Director of Hical Technologies (as of October 2026).
Hical already sits inside the Rafale ecosystem. In March 2026 Dassault Aviation awarded Hical a long term contract to manufacture products for critical control systems used on the Rafale. Hical is also developing high temperature solenoid valves for the Environmental Control System of the Tejas Mk2 light combat aircraft built by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), the defence public sector aircraft maker headquartered in Bengaluru.
Safran S.A. is a French multinational aerospace, defence and space group headquartered in Paris. The group was formed in 2005 through the merger of engine maker SNECMA and electronics specialist SAGEM. Safran employs more than 100,000 people globally and reported revenue of over €31 billion in 2025. Safran Aerosystems is one of its group companies and is headquartered at Plaisir in France. The company designs safety systems such as evacuation slides and oxygen systems and fluid management systems such as fuel gauging, fuel distribution, tank inerting, hydraulics and high temperature ducts.
Safran has operated in India for more than 70 years and today employs about 3,500 people across 18 sites. Its Indian footprint covers Hyderabad and Bengaluru for aircraft engine parts, electrical wiring, engineering services and digital work. The group inaugurated its largest LEAP engine maintenance, repair and overhaul centre in the world at Hyderabad in 2025. It has also announced a dedicated maintenance shop at Hyderabad for the M88 engine that powers the Rafale. Safran works with HAL through joint ventures for LEAP engine components and helicopter engine maintenance, and co-developed the Shakti Ardiden 1H1 helicopter engine that powers the Dhruv and Rudra helicopters.
| Feature | Hical Technologies | Safran Aerosystems |
|---|---|---|
| Country and base | India, Bengaluru | France, Plaisir |
| Parent group | Independent private company | Subsidiary of Safran group, Paris |
| Core products | Motors, actuators, solenoids, transformers, precision machining, cable harness | Fuel and fluid systems, oxygen systems, evacuation systems |
| Role in MoU | India manufacturing partner | Technology and design partner |
What Is the Dassault Rafale Fighter Jet?
The Dassault Rafale is a twin engine, canard delta wing, multirole combat aircraft built by Dassault Aviation. The Rafale performs air superiority, ground strike, reconnaissance, anti ship strike and nuclear deterrence roles in a single sortie, a capability Dassault calls omnirole. The Rafale is powered by two Safran M88 engines.
The Rafale flies at a maximum speed of Mach 1.8 with a service ceiling near 50,000 feet. Dassault Aviation is headquartered at Saint Cloud in France and carries out final Rafale assembly at Merignac near Bordeaux. The Rafale programme involves Thales for avionics and radar and Safran for engines and onboard systems, supported by a network of about 500 subcontractors. The Rafale entered service with the French Navy in 2001 and with the French Air and Space Force in the mid 2000s. Export operators include Egypt, Qatar, Greece, Croatia, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia and India.
The Rafale comes in three main variants. The Rafale C is a single seat land based fighter. The Rafale B is a twin seat land based fighter used for training and strike roles. The Rafale M is a single seat carrier based fighter with reinforced landing gear and an arrestor hook for operations from aircraft carriers. India will become the first country after France to operate both the land and carrier versions.
The Rafale is a 4.5 generation fighter, not a fifth generation fighter. Fifth generation fighters feature full stealth shaping, internal weapons bays and supercruise as core design traits. The Rafale has reduced radar signature features, an advanced RBE2 active electronically scanned array radar, electronic warfare suite and data links, but it carries weapons externally and lacks full stealth design. It has 14 external hardpoints on land versions with a capacity of 9.5 tonnes of external stores.
Is the Rafale Made in India?
The Rafale is made in France, but key sections are now moving to India. Dassault Aviation signed four Production Transfer Agreements with Tata Advanced Systems Limited in June 2025 to manufacture the complete Rafale fuselage at Hyderabad. The Hyderabad facility will build the front section, central fuselage, complete rear section and lateral shells, with first deliveries expected in financial year 2028 at a rate of up to two fuselages per month. Dassault Reliance Aerospace Limited at Nagpur already makes five different Rafale parts, and Tata Advanced Systems is now the first producer of a complete Rafale fuselage outside France.
How Many Rafale Jets Does India Have?
India has 36 Rafale jets in service with the Indian Air Force. India has ordered 26 Rafale Marine jets for the Indian Navy, taking the fleet to 62 aircraft. A proposal for 114 Rafale jets for the Air Force is under negotiation and would take the total to 176.
The 36 Air Force jets were ordered under a government to government deal worth about €7.8 billion signed on 23 September 2016. Deliveries began with five aircraft arriving at Ambala on 29 July 2020. The full fleet was delivered by 2022. The fleet comprises 28 single seat Rafale EH and 8 twin seat Rafale DH variants equipped with Meteor beyond visual range missiles and Scalp cruise missiles.
The Rafales are stationed at two bases. No. 17 Squadron, called Golden Arrows, operates from Ambala Air Force Station in Haryana and covers the western and northern fronts. No. 101 Squadron, called Falcons of Chamb, operates from Hasimara Air Force Station in West Bengal and is oriented toward the eastern sector. Both bases were built with dedicated maintenance, training and weapons storage infrastructure.
India signed a second government to government deal worth about ₹63,887 crore on 28 April 2025 for 26 Rafale Marine jets. The package includes 22 single seat jets and 4 twin seat trainers, along with pilot training, simulators, weapons and five year performance based logistics. Deliveries are scheduled from mid 2028 to 2030, with 9 jets in 2028, 12 in 2029 and 5 in 2030. The Rafale M jets will operate from INS Vikrant and INS Vikramaditya and will replace part of the ageing MiG-29K fleet. The deal also covers integration of indigenous weapons such as the Astra air to air missile, setting up of fuselage production and maintenance facilities for engines, sensors and weapons in India, and additional equipment for the existing Air Force fleet.
| Rafale Programme | Number | Status and Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Indian Air Force, 2016 deal | 36 jets | Delivered between 2020 and 2022, based at Ambala and Hasimara |
| Indian Navy, 2025 deal | 26 Rafale M jets | Ordered April 2025, deliveries from mid 2028 to 2030 |
| Proposed Multi Role Fighter Aircraft deal | 114 jets | Cleared by Defence Acquisition Council in February 2026, price talks underway |
Why the Joint Venture Matters for Make in India Defence
The Hical Safran joint venture proposal matters because it moves India up the aerospace value chain from parts to complex systems. Make in India is the national programme launched in 2014 to turn India into a manufacturing hub by easing investment, building industrial corridors and raising domestic value addition. In defence, this push is linked to Atmanirbhar Bharat, the call for self reliance in critical technologies and weapons production. The Hical Safran plan fits directly into this goal.
Fighter jet supply chains have tiers. Tier 3 firms make simple machined parts. Tier 2 firms make sub assemblies. Tier 1 firms design and deliver complete systems such as fuel, hydraulics and landing gear that are certified to fly. Indian private firms have largely worked at Tier 2 and Tier 3 levels so far. A joint venture with Safran Aerosystems for complete fluid and fuel systems would lift Hical toward Tier 1 work. That means design, industrialisation and production in India, not just build to print orders from drawings sent from France. Hical Managing Director Yashas Jaiveer has said the goal is to prove that critical aerospace systems can be designed, industrialised and produced competitively in India for the world.
The business logic is strong on both sides. Safran needs depth, quality and scale in its supply chain as Rafale output rises. Dassault is ramping up production to meet export orders from India, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates and others, with the 300th Rafale delivered in 2025. Safran already sources LEAP engine parts from HAL, Godrej and other Indian suppliers and operates joint ventures with HAL for engine components and helicopter engine maintenance. A new private sector joint venture adds capacity outside the public sector chain. For Hical, the pact builds on its March 2026 Dassault contract and gives it access to Safran technology, qualification methods and global customers.
The wider Rafale ecosystem in India is also expanding fast. Tata Advanced Systems will build complete fuselages at Hyderabad from 2028. Safran is building a 5,000 square metre M88 engine maintenance shop at Hyderabad with an investment of over €40 million and a capacity of more than 600 engine modules per year. Safran signed a joint venture and cooperation pact with Bharat Electronics Limited in November 2025 to make the HAMMER modular air to ground weapon in India. Together, fuselage lines, engine maintenance, weapons production and now fuel and fluid systems create a cluster that can support both Indian orders and global Rafale exports.
What Lies Ahead for the Rafale India Deal
The immediate next step is conversion of the MoU into a binding joint venture agreement. The two sides will now negotiate shareholding, work share, technology transfer, investment size and plant location. Devanahalli and Hosur are natural options given Hical investments there, but the final site has not been announced. Defence joint ventures with foreign partners also need compliance with Foreign Direct Investment norms and industrial licensing rules before production begins.
The larger backdrop is the proposed 114 jet Multi Role Fighter Aircraft programme for the Indian Air Force. The Defence Acquisition Council, chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, gave Acceptance of Necessity for the programme in February 2026 as part of approvals worth ₹3.60 lakh crore. Under the plan, about 18 jets will arrive in flyaway condition from Merignac in France and the remaining 96 will be assembled in India with indigenous content rising from about 30 percent to more than 60 percent. Dassault submitted its technical and commercial proposal in August 2026. Price talks are now underway, and the government aims to conclude the contract by the end of financial year 2026-27.
Three factors make this timeline urgent. First, Indian Air Force fighter squadron strength has fallen to 29 squadrons against a sanctioned 42 squadrons after the retirement of the MiG-21 fleet. Second, indigenous programmes such as Tejas Mk2 and the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft will take years to mature, with the first Tejas Mk2 flight planned for mid 2027 and AMCA service expected only in the mid 2030s. Third, Dassault has agreed to integrate Indian weapons and secure data links on the Rafale, removing a key hurdle flagged by the Air Force. If the 114 jet deal moves ahead, ventures like Hical Safran will supply the domestic content that the contract will demand.
Key Takeaways
- Hical Technologies signed an MoU with Safran Aerosystems on 7 October 2026 to explore a joint venture for complex Rafale fluid and fuel systems in India.
- Hical inaugurated a 60,000 square foot facility at Devanahalli on 6 October 2026 and is building a 160,000 square foot plant at Hosur to support Rafale and commercial programmes.
- The Dassault Rafale is a French twin engine omnirole fighter built by Dassault Aviation, powered by Safran M88 engines with a top speed of Mach 1.8.
- India operates 36 Rafale jets from Ambala in Haryana and Hasimara in West Bengal and ordered 26 Rafale Marine jets in April 2025 for delivery from 2028 to 2030.
- Tata Advanced Systems will manufacture the complete Rafale fuselage at Hyderabad from 2028, the first such production outside France.
- Safran was formed in 2005 and is headquartered in Paris, with about 3,500 employees across 18 sites in India and a new M88 engine maintenance shop at Hyderabad.
