HYDERABAD: Telangana aims to ensure that by 2030, every aircraft flying anywhere in the world will carry at least one component made in Telangana, according to IT and Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu. He emphasised that the state is positioning itself as a global hub for aerospace and defence manufacturing.
The minister highlighted that aerospace and defence exports from the state have significantly increased, rising from Rs 15,900 crore in 2024 to Rs 32,850 crore in the current financial year, reflecting an annual growth of 103%.
For the first time since the formation of Telangana, aerospace and defence exports have surpassed pharmaceuticals to become the state’s leading export segment.
Under the leadership of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, Telangana has attracted investments in aerospace and defence worth Rs 4,200 crore since January 2024. Additionally, projects worth another Rs 12,500 crore are currently in the pipeline.
Hyd has turned hub for aerospace manufacturing: Min
The minister noted Hyderabad’s rapid growth in aerospace manufacturing, including areas such as aero-engines, defence systems, drones, and space technologies. Recently, major aerospace facilities have been inaugurated by Safran Aircraft Engines and Tata Advanced Systems Limited.
The Safran Aircraft Engine Services India (SAESI) facility at GMR Aerospace Park, established with an investment of around Rs 1,300 crore, is the company’s largest global Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) centre for LEAP aircraft engines. This facility covers 45,000 square meters and is expected to service up to 300 LEAP engines annually, generating over 1,000 skilled jobs by 2035.
Safran has also announced the establishment of an M88 engine MRO facility in Hyderabad, with an investment exceeding Rs 400 crore for servicing Rafale fighter jet engines. This proposed facility is expected to employ around 150 specialists and service more than 600 engine modules annually.
Additionally, Tata Advanced Systems Limited and Safran Aircraft Engines have jointly inaugurated a Rs 425 crore manufacturing facility in Adibatla for producing complex rotating components for CFM LEAP engines. This unit will manufacture critical aero-engine components for global aviation supply chains, including those linked to Pratt & Whitney.
Hyderabad is already home to training and engineering support ecosystems connected to Pratt & Whitney’s global aircraft engine programs. The minister noted that Telangana is rapidly becoming India’s leading hub for drone and anti-drone technologies, with Hyderabad-based firms such as Zen Technologies and Grene Robotics developing advanced military drones, AI-powered anti-drone systems, and autonomous defence technologies.
The JSW Group and US-based Shield AI are also establishing a military drone manufacturing facility in Hyderabad with an investment of nearly Rs 800 crore.
Regarding the state’s expanding space technology ecosystem, Sridhar Babu mentioned that Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace recently entered the unicorn club and became the first Indian private company to successfully launch the Vikram-S rocket.
Furthermore, Hyderabad has evolved into a major global manufacturing hub for helicopter and aircraft fuselages. Telangana is currently the world’s sole supplier of fuselages for the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter, with the 300th Apache fuselage already delivered from Hyderabad. Key structures for CH-47 Chinook helicopters and Boeing 737 aircraft are also being manufactured in the state.
Sridhar Babu stated that Telangana currently has five dedicated aerospace and defence parks located in Adibatla, Shamshabad, and Maheshwaram. The government plans to establish another three to four world-class aerospace parks with advanced industrial infrastructure.
Moreover, over 1,500 MSMEs (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises) from Telangana are integrated into global aerospace supply chains, supplying critical components to companies such as Boeing, Airbus, and Lockheed Martin.
Since January 2024, approximately 25,000 direct jobs have already been created in the aerospace and defence sectors, and another 1.25 lakh jobs are anticipated by 2030 as upcoming aerospace, drone, and defence projects become operational.
