Bangalore’s robust aerospace sector has led some industry insiders to crown it the Aerospace Hub of India, as multinational giants, local mainstays and innovative startups have opened engineering offices and manufacturing facilities in the city. Below, we provide an overview of the most influential Bangalore companies in the aerospace industry.
Top Aerospace Companies in Bangalore
- Boeing
- Collins Aerospace
- Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
- Safran
- Asteria Aerospace
- Unimech Aerospace
- Airbus
Top Aerospace Companies in Bangalore
Safran is a French aerospace company that manufactures aviation, defense and space equipment. More than 75 percent of aircraft operated in India use the company’s engines and equipment. The company employs 1,500 workers across its 13 India locations. In its Bangalore facilities, the company specializes in helicopter engines, engineering services and data systems. It’s also the location of Safran HAL Aircraft Engines, a joint venture between Safran and HAL to produce pipes for aircraft engines.
Lufthansa Technik Services India opened in Bangalore in 2005 and offers component services for all types of commercial aircraft. Services include spare parts, repair and overhaul services via its in-house and contracted MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) network. The Bangalore office also has a pre-check center for freight, which checks and validates documentation for air freight.
The Pratt & Whitney division of RTX makes aircraft engines. In January of 2023, it opened the India Engineering Center in Bangalore to “drive the future of commercial flight,” according to the company. Fifty-plus employees, who work in aero, mechanical and control systems for Pratt & Whitney products, work at the Center, with hundreds more to join over the next four years.
Textron’s Bell Helicopter division has been doing business in India since 1995; the company has 130 engineers in its Bangalore office. The company says that more than 1,000 Bell aircraft serve search and rescue, medical transport, corporate transport and military operation missions in India.
GKN Aerospace India manufactures engines for civil and defense aircraft. It makes thrust chambers for Viking and Vulcain rocket engines, including the Vulcain 21, which powers the Ariane 6 rocket. The company says its systems are part of 100,000 daily flights, and that it aims for net-zero emissions by 2050.
Collins Aerospace is a North Carolina-based subsidiary of RTX Corporation, formerly known as Raytheon Technologies. The company, which is one of India’s largest exporters of aerospace products, has two Bangalore facilities, including a 413,000-square foot global engineering center and a large manufacturing facility that produces evacuation slides, cargo systems, lighting and actuation components. About 4,100 employees are based in Bangalore.
Airbus, which is headquartered in France, is one of the biggest manufacturers of commercial aircraft and helicopters in the world. In Bangalore, it employs 900 engineers who develop products for commercial airlines, helicopters and the defense and space sectors. Airbus’ Information Management Center in Bangalore employs more than 1,000 IT professionals. A 150-person customer service team is distributed between Bangalore and New Delhi.
Asteria Aerospace is a Bangalore-based drone manufacturing company that can customize drones for different industries, including agriculture, defense, GIS mapping and oil and gas inspections. Asteria has also developed a drone-as-a-service offering that allows clients to use an in-house cloud platform to schedule flights, capture high-resolution images and analyze the collected data. Asteria is a subsidiary of Jio and Reliance Industries.
Hical Technologies, based in Bangalore, makes motors, solenoids, actuators, and more products for defense and aerospace companies. Hical actuators were used in the PSLV-C58 satellite, which the India Space Research Organization launched in 2024. The company was founded in 1988.
Astrogate Labs, based in Bangalore, makes laser communication tools that enable long-distance wireless communication in space-to-space and space-to-ground links. Its products serve nanosatellites and cube satellites. The company was founded in 2017.
GE Aerospace has been doing business in India since 1982, beginning with a CF6-50C2 engine on an Air India Airbus. The company says it has more than 700 engines deployed on Indian carriers and that another 2,000 engines are in the works. GE Aerospace also supplies the Indian military with jet engines. A partnership with Hindustan Aeronautics, launched in 1986, supports the Tejas light combat fighters program in India.
CAE offers pilot training at its Bangalore training center for the Airbus A320 platform, plus helicopter aviation training for Airbus and Bell helicopters. The company also makes software for in-flight needs, including crew and flight management and operations control.
In August of 2024, Lockheed Martin India, in tandem with Tata, introduced an F-21 fighter plane designed specifically for the Indian Air Force. The collaboration is part of the Make in India initiative, launched in 2014 to boost design and manufacturing in the country. Lockheed Martin says the new F-21, an upgraded version of the F-16 fighter jet, will generate thousands of skilled aerospace and defense jobs.
Centum Electronics, an aerospace technology company based in Bangalore, makes embedded computers, avionics platforms, digital and hardware in the loop (HIL) simulators, energy management systems and actuators for major aerospace companies. The company was founded in 1994 and also has operations in Europe and North America.
One of the biggest names in aerospace, Boeing designs, manufactures and services commercial, military and space aircraft. Boeing India, the company’s India subsidiary, is headquartered in Delhi and employs 4,000 workers. The company is building a large engineering and technology campus in Bangalore that will undertake engineering and research for Boeing products. It will also include avionics manufacturing and assembly.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), which was founded in 1941, is a government-owned company that employs 24,457 workers. The Bangalore-based company designs and manufactures fighter aircraft, helicopters, avionics and aerospace equipment. Since 2005, the company has partnered with French aerospace company Safran to produce aircraft engine pipes through a joint venture called Safran HAL Aircraft Engines, which is also located in Bangalore.
Moog India has a sales office, design & technology center and repair facilities in its Bangalore office, which encompasses more than 146,000 square feet. The company has been in India for more than 30 years. Moog makes motion control products, including software and hardware, for aircraft and spacecraft.
Bombardier, the Canada-based manufacturer of civil, defense and business jets, opened the Bombardier India Engineering Centre in Bangalore in 2011. The 500 craftspeople who work in the Centre add luxury touches such as bespoke seats, customizable kitchens and living room and bedrooms to Bombardier’s 5500, 6500 and 7500 jets.
Thales Group, in India since 1956, provides avionics and in-flight entertainment products to India-based airlines, including Jet Airways and IndiGo. Thales also has major contracts with the Indian Ministry of Defense. Thales’ Bangalore engineering competence center, one of two in India, is devoted to defense and the aerospace industry.
Famous for its luxury automobiles, London-based Rolls-Royce employs a significant Indian workforce that manufactures and services engines for large commercial airliners, corporate jets and aircrafts for the Indian Armed Forces. The company employs more than 500 engineers and other professionals across its five India locations. Its Bangalore engineering center is home to a supply chain team and an engineering team specializing in aerospace projects.
Asteria Aerospace says it is the leading drone manufacturer in India, with more than 400 drones deployed. The drones collect aerial data, which Asteria uses to create actionable intelligence for its clients. The company has in-house software development, hardware designs and manufacturing capabilities for the drones. The company was founded in 2011.
Unimech Aerospace engineers and manufactures precision components and complex electro-mechanical assemblies for aerospace companies. It also supplies them with tooling for airframes, engines and aircraft line maintenance. Founded in 2016, the company has two Bangalore facilities: a 30,000-square-foot machine shop and a 90,000-square-foot manufacturing facility for Innomech, a subsidiary of Unimech. It employs more than 200 people.
Maini Precision Products, which has 11 facilities in Bangalore, machines precision components for aerospace structures, engines and systems. Maini Precision Products is the flagship company of the Maini Group, which employs 1,500 workers across its four companies. Another subsidiary, Maini Materials Movement, develops aviation mobility products such as electric tow tugs to transport cargo.
Ignis Aerospace and Design is a “design-to-build” engineering company that develops products for aerospace companies using its expertise in computer-aided design, manufacturing and engineering technologies. The company also has experience in aircraft structural design and analysis, as well as the development and testing of aircraft software systems. Ignis’ primary engineering and technology center is located in Bangalore.
