Safran, the UK’s third-largest civil aerospace player, expands its local innovation capabilities

Safran announces the creation of Safran Tech UK, the Group’s first Research & Technology (R&T) centre outside France. This initiative is part of Safran’s strategy to support the Group’s expanding presence in the United Kingdom and is a first step in the global expansion of its R&T activities.

Building on a 90-year presence in the country with growth underpinned by a series of acquisitions of renowned companies, Safran further strengthened its footprint in the United Kingdom with the integration of the actuation and flight control businesses acquired from Collins Aerospace in mid-2025. As a result, the Group has become the UK’s third-largest civil aerospace player, with more than 5,500 employees across 14 sites and annual revenue of £1.5 billion.

Safran’s operations in the United Kingdom now span a broad range of the Group’s products for civil and military aviation: aircraft landing gear, seats, actuators and flight controls, nacelles, helicopter engines and electrical equipment. The main sites cover the entire value chain, from Research and Technology, design, engineering and manufacturing through to maintenance and MRO services.

The creation of this new R&T entity reflects Safran’s ambition to leverage the UK’s rich and dynamic innovation ecosystem to address the sector’s key challenges, especially the decarbonization of aviation, which accounts for 75% of the Group’s R&T investment.

Safran Tech UK will drive the emergence of new technologies in two strategic areas for the Group’s UK-based activities:

- Electrification of propulsion and actuation systems for next-generation aircraft.

- High-performance composite materials.

Olivier Andriès, Chief Executive Officer of Safran, said: “Launching Safran Tech UK, our first research entity outside France, reflects our ambition to make the United Kingdom a catalyst for innovation for the decarbonization of aviation. As the UK’s third-largest civil aerospace player, we’re proud to contribute to the vitality of the country’s industry and research ecosystem.”