MRO & Manufacturing
Aequs Wins 15-Year Safran Contract for Airbus A320 Wheels
Aequs secures a 15-year single-source deal with Safran Landing Systems to manufacture A320 wheels in India.
Aequs Limited has secured a 15-year, single-source contract with Safran Landing Systems to manufacture fully assembled Airbus A320 wheels at its Belagavi Aerospace Special Economic Zone (SEZ) facility in Karnataka, India.
The partnership, initially announced at the Farnborough International Airshow in July 2026 and detailed in Aequs’ first-quarter fiscal year 2027 earnings presentation on July 29, 2026, represents a major shift in aerospace supply chains. According to company filings, this is the first time Safran Landing Systems has outsourced this specific flight-critical manufacturing process outside its own internal facilities.
End-to-end domestic production for Airbus A320 wheels
The agreement covers the complete manufacturing lifecycle for the Airbus A320 wheels. Operations will take place entirely within the Belagavi Aerospace ecosystem. The process includes sourcing aerospace-qualified aluminum within India, followed by forging, machining, surface treatment, and final assembly.
During the company’s earnings presentation, Aequs management described the 15-year agreement as the longest contract in company history.
Aequs will deliver completely assembled wheels built from India-sourced aerospace qualified aluminum, forging, machining, surface treatment, and assembly all within the Belagavi Aerospace ecosystem. That is 100% make in India for a flight-critical product.
According to reporting by the Deccan Herald, production under the new Safran Landing Systems contract is scheduled to commence in fiscal year 2028. This timeline aligns with calendar year 2029 delivery targets cited in broader industry coverage of the Farnborough announcement.
Financial growth and capacity investments
The Safran Landing Systems contract, along with long-term agreements signed with two new aerostructures Tier-1 customers at Farnborough, pushed Aequs’ aerospace order book past the $1 billion mark to $1.004 billion.
In its July 30, 2026 financial release, Aequs reported first-quarter revenue of ₹3,955 million, a 55 percent year-over-year increase. The company attributed the growth to higher build rates and an expanding aerospace portfolio.
Aravind Melligeri, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Aequs Limited, stated that the quarter marked a strong start to the fiscal year as the company focused on translating expanded capacity into financial returns. “Customer confidence in our execution is reflected in our order book crossing USD 1 billion, up 13% sequentially,” Melligeri said.
To support the new Airbus A320 wheel production and other contracts, Aequs invested ₹830 million in capital expenditure during the first quarter. The company’s aerospace division is currently operating at approximately 70 percent capacity utilization, leaving room for the planned production ramp-up.
AirPro News analysis
We view the Safran Landing Systems contract as a structural milestone for India’s aerospace manufacturing sector. Historically, domestic aerospace production in India has focused on individual component machining or non-critical aerostructures. Securing a single-source, end-to-end manufacturing contract for a flight-critical dynamic component like a commercial aircraft wheel demonstrates a maturation of the local supply chain. Safran’s decision to outsource a fully assembled, flight-critical product outside its own facilities indicates high confidence in the Belagavi Aerospace SEZ ecosystem to maintain stringent quality and safety standards.
Photo Credit: Deccan Herald