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may 2006 • special edition for ILA 2006 airshow

Russia upgrades NATO’s fighters

Ishim airlaunch project Ilyushin Il-76 re-engining programme IFC expands Russian airliners export

Russian aero engines for foreign customers

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May 2006 Editor-in-Chief Andrey Fomin

Deputy Editor-in-Chief Andrey Yurgenson

Columnists Alexander Velovich Vladimir Shcherbakov

Special correspondents Alexey Mikheyev, Victor Drushlyakov, Yevgeny Yerokhin, Andrey Zinchuk, Valery Ageyev, Alina Chernoivanova, Natalya Pechorina, Yury Ponomarev, Sergey Popsuyevich, Piotr Butowski, Alexander Mladenov, Miroslav Gyurosi

Design and pre-press Grigory Butrin, Irina Dynga

Web support Georgy Fedoseyev

Translation Yevgeny Ozhogin, Egor Kokryashkin, Alexander Makarenko, Andrey Bystrov

Cover photo Miroslav Gyurosi

Publisher Aeromedia Publishing House Ltd. Director General Andrey Fomin

Deputy Director General Nadezhda Kashirina

Marketing Director George Smirnov

Executive Director Yury Zheltonogin

Published with support from Russian Knights foundation

News items for “In Brief” columns are prepared by editorial staff based on reports of our special correspondents, press releases of production companies as well as by using information distributed by ITAR-TASS, ARMS-TASS, Interfax-AVN, RIA Novosti, RBC news agencies and published at www.aviaport.ru, www.avia.ru, www.gazeta.ru, www.cosmoworld.ru web sites

The magazine is registered by the Federal Service for supervision of observation of legislation in the sphere of mass media and protection of cultural heritage of the Russian Federation.

Registration certificate PI FS77-19017 dated 29 November 2004

Dear readers, You are holding another special issue of the Take-off magazine – the supplement to Russian national aerospace magazine Vzlyot. Its release has been timed with the ILA 2006 air show in Berlin. As an international event, the show, which has rated high among similar aerospace gatherings, determines the interest shown by Russian and CIS aerospace companies. This year, Russia is going to have a pavilion of its own at ILA 2006, in which major aerospace developers and manufacturers are to display their hardware.

A major trend today is the growing scale of international cooperation in high technology and sophisticated hardware development. Russia has been on a par with the global trends. A case in point is its cooperation with foreign players under the RRJ Russian Regional Jet project and SaM-146 engine for it, joint work of Russian and foreign cosmonauts on board the ISS, just to name a few. Recently, new impetus has been given to the upgrade of the MiG-29 fighters in service with several East European countries that are NATO member states. In this issue, we publish some of the results of the work done in this field. I hope the materials will be interesting to you, all the more so since one of the Slovak Air Force's MiG-29 fighters upgraded by Russian and a number of Western companies is to be displayed in Berlin.

A month before ILA 2006, Moscow hosted dedicated exhibition Engines 2006 where major Russian, Ukrainian and other aero engine developers and manufacturers showcased their latest advances in aircraft engine development. Indeed, they do have something to show off. Over the past year, several major deal have been struck for export sales of existing and future Russian aero engines, work has kicked off on introducing advanced powerplants to the Russian planes and a number of sophisticated programmes is under way. Therefore, this issue places emphasis on the latest achievements of the Russian aero engine makers.

Participants and visitors of the ILA 2006 air show will have an opportunity to see some of them with their own eyes at the Russian pavilion.

By tradition, the magazine covers other promising aerospace programmes under way in both Russia and other CIS countries. We have emphasized the key events in the Russian aerospace industry over the past several months.

We are doing our best to provide our readers with the most complete and reliable information on the hot news of the Russian aircraft industry, the latest designs it has been working on and how Russian-made fixedwing and rotary wing aircraft are operated throughout the world. With such information under one's fingertips, it is easier to analyse the situation on the global market and take effective decisions. I would like to wish the participants of the ILA 2006 air show successful and fruitful work and assure everybody that as usual Russian aircraft will never fail them.

Sincerely yours, © Aeromedia, 2006

P.O. Box 7, Moscow, 125475, Russia Tel. +7 (495) 198-60-40, 798-81-19 Fax +7 (495) 198-60-40 E-mail: info@take-off.ru http://www.take-off.ru

Andrey Fomin Editor-in-Chief

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AIR FORCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 may 2006

Russian Air Force procurement in 2006 Tu-160 officially fielded at last Su-34's deliveries to start in 2007 MiG-31BM kicked off trials Air Force to decide on upgrading its MiG-29s Plans to upgrade Military Transport Aviation fleet Ka-52 back from firing range Mi-28N's official trials Russian Knights got the World Cup! First Russian satellite-guided bomb tested More details on Irbis radar to fit Su-35 fighter

Russia upgrading NATO fighters Slovak MiG-29s being converted to meet NATO and ICAO standards

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Upgraded under the RSK MiG contract, in early December last year two Slovak Air Force MiG-29s found their way home, the 1st Airbase in Sliac in central Slovakia. These were the first in the batch of ten single-seat MiG-29s and two MiG-29UB twin-seaters to be enhanced under the Russian-Slovak deal signed on 24 November 2004. Acting as the project integrator, RSK MiG teamed up with Rockwell Collins and BAE Systems as suppliers of new aircraft equipment, and the LOT aircraft repair plant in the western Slovak city of Trencin, a place where the aircraft will be upgraded. The project is unique, as it is the first time that a Russian company is involved in NATO aircraft modernisation. Miroslav Gyurosi and Andrey Fomin tell about MiG-29 fighters in service with Slovak Air Force and their upgrade programme

Poland boosting its fleet of MiGs Luftwaffe fighters to join Polish Air Force

14

Last year the Polish Air Force saw a number of MiG-29 fighters enter service. The aircraft are a gift from its NATO counterpart, the German Luftwaffe, which inherited 24 of them from the East German Air Force after the 1990 reunification of Germany. The fighters have been extensively operated by Luftwaffe and have often taken part in NATO exercises for over the decade. However, Germany decided to get rid of this WARPAC inheritance early in the XXI century, and in 2002 it sold all of its 23 MiG-29s to Poland at a symbolic price of 1 Euro. Once in Poland, the aircraft headed for the Bydgoszcz aircraft repair plant. After a slight refurbishment the first ex-Luftwaffe MiGs arrived at the Malbork airbase last summer. The first MiGs to undergo a major overhaul that extended their service life until 2018 came to Malbork from Bydgoszcz in December 2005. As soon as the rest aircraft arrive at Malbork, the Polish Air Force will have the largest MiG-29 fleet of 36 aircraft in Eastern Europe, except CIS countries. Piotr Butowski reviews the history and prospects of Polish MiG-29 fleet

AIRSHOWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

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Sukhoi fighters as symbol of “Victory Eagle” in China

CONTRACTS AND DELIVERIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 New record in Russian arms export President Putin brings $7.5 billion from Algeria India receiving upgraded Il-38SDs India to upgrade first Su-30MKIs and sell Su-30Ks SAAB to deliver avionics for Su-30MKMs RSK MiG sums up foreign trade results Be-103 to appear in China soon Ukraine delivers four An-32Ps to Libya UUAZ delivers more helicopters to Asia Five Ansat helicopters operate in South Korea Venezuela mastering Mi-17V-5s Ka-226 to be assembled in Jordan?

Russian AL-55I engine for Indian trainers

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On 18 March 2006 the NPO Saturn Association embarked on bench tests of the first AL-55I turbofan prototype, designed to be mounted on the Indian HJT-36 training aircraft. In fact, it is the first time the national aircraft enginebuilding industry has developed a new power plant especially for a foreign customer. However, AL-55I designers are not going to stop at that. They plan to design a whole family of AL-55 engines with a thrust of 1,700–3,500 kgf, which may be mounted on a wide range of trainers, combat trainers, and light combat aircraft. The tests of the first AL-55I are timed with the 90th anniversary of the NPO Saturn and the 60th anniversary of the Lyulka Scientific Centre, Saturn's Moscow affiliate office. Andrey Fomin describes the AL-55I project and programme status

INDUSTRY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Decree on United Aircraft Corporation signed Maiden flight of third Yak-130 An-70 gets its first certificate Kamov gearing up for certification in Europe

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Alexander Novikov: “New engine-making association is needed�

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Commercialisation of the Klimov RD-33MK turbofan engine to fit the Mikoyan MiG-29K (MiG-33) carrierborne fighter under development for the Indian Navy and development of the first examples of the Klimov TV7-117ST turboprops to power the future Ilyushin Il-112V airlifter are high on the Russian aircraft engine industry's priority list. The modified RD-33MK has begun its long-time endurance tests. A TV7-117ST mockup has been approved and the trials of its gas generator have kicked off. The Chernyshev Moscow Machine-Building Enterprise, which is about to celebrate its 75th anniversary, is productionising these engines. Chernyshev's Director General Alexander Novikov was kind enough to talk with Take-Off's Andrey Yurgenson on the status of the programmes and other advanced efforts pursued by the plant

Salut arms Chinese Air Force

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Last November Rosoboronexport signed a $550 million contract on delivering 180 AL-31F engines to be mounted on Sukhoi Su-27SK and Su-30MKK aircraft to China. The contract was awarded to the Salut Moscow Machine-building Production Plant (MMPP Salut), the traditional exporter of AL-31F engines to China. The new contract allowed Salut to reach the all-time high production rate in the past 15 years: the 2006 production plan envisions manufacturing about $600 million's worth of products, which amounts to about 90% of Salut's production output in 1991. At the present time MMPP Salut derives 83% of its profits from exports, but its management is positive that sooner or later the trend will be reversed and upgraded AL-31Fs, developed and manufactured by Salut, will be fitted on the Russian Air Force fighters. Take-off's correspondents Piotr Butowski and Viktor Drushlyakov have recently visited MMPP Salut and examined priority programmes of the enterprise

COMMERCIAL AVIATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Russian civil aviation in 2005 RRJ receives first firm orders Su-80GP gearing up for maiden flight Aviakor to deliver three An-140s to Yakutiya First M-101T delivered to Dexter IFC's export breakthrough

PS-90 gives IL-76 a new life

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Ilyushin Il-76 transports started to be fitted with new power plants a year ago. At that time the first Il-76TD90VD was being equipped with new PS-90A-76 engines under a contract with the Volga-Dnepr Group in Tashkent, and the modified D-30KP-3 Burlak engine was undergoing bench tests in Rybinsk. The programme of retrofitting Il-76s with new power plants has made much progress over the past year: the Il-76TD-90VD has undergone most flight tests and has recently been certified by the Aviation Register of the Interstate Aviation Committee with regards to noise-abatement requirements; Il-76TD-90s have been fitted with PS-90A-76 engines under a contract with an Azerbaijani air carrier; and the flagship Il-76MD-90 in service with the Russian Air Force has been re-engined with PS-90A-76 turbofans and submitted for flight tests in Voronezh. Viktor Osipov tells about the progress made in retrofitting Il-76s with new power plants in the past year

COSMONAUTICS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

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New ISS crew to celebrate 45th anniversary of Gagarin's spaceflight Giants to tender for Clipper President, Defence minister to give boost to GLONASS A space suit or a satellite?

Riding MiG to orbit Ishim programme

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A novelty unveiled by Kazakhstan's Kazcosmos company at the Asian Aerospace 2006 show in Singapore late in February was a project of the Ishim air-launched space rocket system designed to quickly orbit small spacecraft by means of a LV launched from the Mikoyan MiG-31I aircraft. The Ishim is a joint Russian-Kazakh programme pursued by Kazcosmos in cooperation with Russia's RSK MiG Corp. and MIT Moscow-based Institute of Heat Technology. Andrey Fomin and Igor Afanasyev review the project and its prospects

AIRSHOWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Ambitious reconstruction plans for MAKS venue

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air force | in brief

According to numerous public statements by Russian Defence Minister Sergey Ivanov, the governmental defence procurement in 2006 will grow by 54 billion rubles – an increase of more than 20% over 2005 – to total 236 billion rubles (about $8.3 billion). Some of this money is to be paid for advanced aircraft for use by the Russian Air Force.

According to RusAF's chief, Gen. Vladimir Mikhailov, his service in 2006 is to receive several Su-34 aircraft, whose testing is due to be completed this year, and several Mi-28N helicopters whose Stage A official flight trials kicked off last summer (see a relevant article in this issue). The official tests of the Yak-130 combat trainer are slated to wrap up by year-end, and deliveries of the 12 LRIP (low-rate initial production) combat trainers to the Air

Force might have started by then under the existing contract.

In addition, according to Gen. Mikhailov, RusAF is intent on continuing to buy upgraded Su-27SM fighters. As is known, under the three-year deal clinched by the service and KnAAPO in 2004, the manufacturer will have upgraded the first 24 in-service Su-27 fighters before the end of 2006. The first seven Su-27SMs were delivered on 23 December 2004. Another 10 aircraft were to be upgraded in 2005.

KnAAPO upgraded 11 fighters last year – one plane more than planned.

For the company to fulfil its part of the deal, it will need to modernise six fighters more this year.

The Air Force chief also said that work has been going on to update Su-24M tactical bombers and Su-25 attack aircraft. At present, the

Alexey Mikheyev

Russian Air Force procurement in 2006

Su-24M2 and Su-25SM aircraft are nearing the end of their official tests.

“We have taken up a proactive upgrade of the MiG-31,” Gen. Mikhailov added. The first MiG-31BM has kicked off its trials last year (see this issue for the relevant article). The service chief has mentioned again that similar upgrades would cover the in-service MiG-29 fleet as well,

but the RusAF has not decided yet which standard the MiG-29s are to be upgraded to. There are two upgrade options on offer – the MiG-29SM and MiG-29SMT. The first re-engined Il-76MD-90 airlifter, a dedicated Tu-214 derivative and several helicopters could be procured among other things this year.

Tu-160 officially fielded at last

Alexey Mikheyev

The 30 December 2005 decree by the Russian President fielded the Tu-160 strategic bomber with the Russian Air Force. Actually, the bomber has been operated by the service since 1987 when the first aircraft were delivered to the 184th Heavy Bomber Air Regiment at Priluki AFB, Ukraine. By late 1991, as many as 19 Tu-160s had been stationed there. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia had to

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activate its Tu-160 fleet virtually from scratch. Six brand-new bombers fresh from the Gorbunov KAPO plant in Kazan were deployed to Engels AFB vic. Saratov in the early 1990s. Then, after the protracted talks with Ukraine, eight more planes of the type arrived at Engels AFB in 2000, and the rest of the Tu-160s in Ukraine were disposed of, with the disposal paid for by the United States. The KAPO plant deliv-

ered another new bomber in the same year.

Thus, a 15-ship Tu-160 fleet had been concentrated at Engels air base by the beginning of the new century. In the wake of the tragic crash on 18 September 2003, 14 aircraft remained in inventory of the 121st Heavy Bomber Air Regiment, 37th Air Army. The bomber fleet was expected to be beefed up in 2004, then in 2005.

However, according to Lt.-Gen. Igor Khvorov, chief of the Long Range Aviation Command, the military began to receive another Tu-160 from the manufacturer after it had been overhauled and partially upgraded. The bomber is due to enter operation this spring to become the 15th aircraft of the type in the 37th Air Army's inventory.

This done, RusAF is to launch an upgrade of the rest of the aircraft.

The bulk of the tests under the upgrade programme have been completed. The programme provides for fitting the Tu-160s with cutting-edge avionics and the latest long-range cruise missile. It looks like this prompted the Russian president to sign the long-awaited decree. Truth be told, RusAF's chief, Gen. Vladimir Mikhailov, admits that Vladimir Putin's famous hourslong flight on the Tu-160 Pavel Taran (side number 03) on 16 August 2005 could play its role.

The Supreme Commander-in-Chief was very pleased with the sortie and, possibly, facilitated the decision to field the bomber officially.

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Russian Defence Minister Sergey Ivanov paid a visit on 23 March to the Novosibirsk Aircraft Production Association named after Valery Chkalov (NAPO) where he was briefed on the status of developing the advanced tactical strike aircraft, the Sukhoi Su-34 (Su-27IB). The defence minister and the company's managers discussed the production plan of the Su-34, which operational evaluation is slated for next year. Pilots and engineers with the 4th Combat and Conversion Training centre (CCTC) in Lipetsk will be first to master the plane. A month ago, CCTC's chief, Maj.-Gen. Alexander Kharchevsky, said that the first two aircraft were to be delivered “in the near future�.

During the opeval at CCTC, flight and ground crews are to be converted, maintenance procedures determined and combat training techniques and schedules devised.

According to a Sukhoi spokesman, under the three-year governmental contract, NAPO shall deliver to the Air Force 24 Su-34s to activate the first air regiment operating the advanced strike plane. Further down the road, the Su-34 is to oust the Su-24M tactical bomber from the inventory. To maintain the combat capabilities of RusAF's strike fleet during the Su-24M's ouster, Sukhoi has been running a programme to upgrade the existing Su-24M bombers. The programme is aimed at extending their service life, enhancing their navigation and attack precision and expanding their combat capabilities.

The Akhtubinsk-based Defence Ministry's State Flight Test Centre has completed the flight trials of the Sukhoi Su-24M2, an upgrade of the Su-24M. The Su-24M2 was employed in the

MiG-31BM kicked off trials The programme on upgrading the MiG-31 interceptor fleet in service with the Russian Air Force has finally resumed. In December, the first MiG-31BM prototype upgraded by the Sokol plant in Nizhny Novgorod arrived to MoD's State Flight Test Centre in Akhtubinsk for further testing. Its upgrade in line with design documentation from RSK MiG Corp. and Tikhomirov-NIIP institute, developer of its fire control system, was completed in mid-2005, with the aircraft stating to fly in Nizhny Novgorod in September. Now, it is going to do the same in Akhtubinsk.

The upgraded interceptor got the improved Zaslon-AM passive phased-array radar with an advanced software package and an up-to-date cockpit display system wrapped around colour LCDs. The aircraft is to carry the latest longrange active radar-homing air-to-air missiles, RVV-AE medium-range and R-73 dogfight missiles. Its navigation and ECM aids are to be modernised as well.

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RSK MiG Corp. offered to upgrade the in-service MiG-31Bs as far back as 1998, and the upgraded interceptor demonstrator was unveiled to the media at LII airfield in Zhulovsky as early as January 1999. Then, it was displayed at the MAKS '99 air show. However, the programme ground to a halt further down the road. Over the past years, it has changed both in terms of subcontractors and systems to be modernised, on the one hand, and the purpose of the efforts, on the other.

In particular, emphasis on the interceptor's ground-attack capability has been decreased. The new upgrade package has won the support of the Air Force's top brass, prompting the Ministry of Defence to fund the programme at long last.

Two upgraded interceptors are to fly at the first stage of trials. Another one could join them later on. Once the trials have been completed, the existing fleet of MiG-31Bs will be up for upgrade that is expected to be done by Sokol.

Alexey Petrov

Su-34's deliveries to start in 2007

combined Russian-Chinese exercise in 2005, including life fire exercises. Simultaneous overhauling and upgrading the Su-24M have been mastered by NAPO. According to Sukhoi's

spokesman, the company has made a three-year contract with the Air Force for upgrading the current Su-24M fleet to Su-24M2 standard, with the first two aircraft ready for delivery.

Air Force to decide on upgrading its MiG-29s This year the Russian Air Force is to place emphasis on upgrading the combat aircraft and helicopters it operates. Particularly, work will be continued on the Sukhoi Su-27SM, Su-24M2, Su-25SM and Mikoyan MiG-31BM programmes. At a news conference in January, RusAF's chief, Gen. Vladimir Mikhailov, mentioned the need for upgrading the inservice MiG-29 fighters. However, in spite of the early MiG-29SMT prototypes were built and offered to the service as far back as the late 1990s, RusAF was in no hurry to buy them since the price was pretty steep.

Recently, the situation has changed.

The customer and the developers seem to have agreed in January on the in-service MiG-29s' upgrade acceptable in terms of cost and effectiveness. Two options were on the table. One was more expensive but more effective - the MiG-29SMT mounting a cutting-edge Zhuk-M radar. The other was the cheaper

MiG-29SM with its upgraded N019M radar and a limited number of the latest trimmings.

In all probability, the MiG-29SM offered by RSK MiG Corp. in 2005 is to become the standard to be used in upgrading the Fulcrum fleet. RSK MiG Corp. unveiled some details on this 'low-cost' MiG-29 upgrade variant at the LIMA 2005 air show in Malaysia last December. On the whole, the MiG-29SM offered to RusAF is very similar to the Belorussian MiG-29BM. Four BelAF MiG-29s were upgraded to the MiG-29BM standard by the 558th Aircraft Repair Plant in Baranovichi with the assistance of RSK MiG Corp. and Russkaya Avionika company.

Therefore, for the Russian Air Force to decide on an upgrade variant for its fighter, the service needs consent of Belarus that paid for MiG-29BM's R&D. The talks are underway.

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Plans to upgrade Military Transport Aviation fleet Voronezh to Il-76MD-90 standard.

In addition, in 2007, the branch is expected to start taking delivery of latest Ilyushin Il-76MFs powered by the same engines but featuring a greater lifting capacity. Based on the outcome of the first stage of the official trials, the Air Force issued its preliminary conclusion paving the way for the TAPC corporation in Tashkent (Uzbekistan) to kick off Il-76MF full-rate production.

Antonov An-124 Ruslans will keep on handling outsize cargo shipment.

Touching upon the sensitive issue of buying Antonov An-70 airlifters, Vladimir Mikhailov stressed

Meeting the media early this year, the Air Force chief, Gen. Vladimir Mikhailov, offered the service's view on the future of the Military Transport Aviation (Russian acronym – VTA).

“Until 2015–2020, Ilyushin Il-76 airlifters will have made up the mainstay of the Military Transport Aviation (about 70%) both in terms of strength and combat capabilities,” the service chief said.

Being re-engined with the advanced PS-90A-76 turbofan engines, part of the existing Il-76MDs will have been upgraded by the VASO aircraft plant in

that the aircraft conceived as a medium airlifter had 'grown fat', with RusAF's Military Transport Aviation already heaving the Il-76 as a heavylifter. So, the service chief sees no need for acquiring the An-70. As far as a future medium replacement for the obsolete An-12 is concerned, the Air Force is pondering two options – the Ilyushin Il-214 and the Tupolev Tu-330VT. The former could be codeveloped with foreign participation, since India displayed interest in it. The latter is heavily commonised with the Tu-214 airliner in production at the KAPO aircraft

plant in Kazan. However, due to the lack of the funding required, the Tu-330VT programme has been put on hold. Thus, Gen. Mikhailov's plans to get a cuttingedge medium airlifter as early as 2008 look a bit too optimistic.

The situation is somewhat better as far as the future tactical airlifter is concerned. It is to succeed the Antonov An-26. The Ilyushin Il-112V is expected to be the successor. Some money are allocated to pay for developing it, and Gen. Mikhailov is hopeful that the aircraft could complete its maiden flight in 2007.

with success in autumn 2002, with the maiden flight fulfilled on 25 June 1997. Early in 2000, pilots with the 344th Army Aviation Combat and Conversion Training Centre (CCTC) in Torzhok evaluated the machine and praised its flight characteristics.

Although Stage A had been passed over three years ago, the customer has not released its preliminary conclusion. As is known, the Air Force's top brass has opted for the Mil Mi-28N combat helicopter as its primary future type. At the same time, the RusAF chief, Gen. Vladimir Mikhailov, has repeatedly said that the service is not about to reject Kamov's machine but “the Ka-52's deliveries will be limited to the requirements of special units”. The customer's current priorities and

also the meagre funding of the programme are the cause of the slow pace of the test programme.

Nonetheless, Kamov with its single Ka-52 flying prototype, compared with Mil's three prototype choppers, manages to pass a test after test, including live firings.

In April, a high-ranking Turkish military delegation visited Russia.

Turkish pilots flew a series of familiarisation missions on the Ka-52 at Kamov's flight base vic. Moscow and at the 344th CCTC in Torzhok.

The flights included firing the cannon and rockets. They show the reviving interest of the Turkish military in Kamov's helicopter; hence, the Ka-50-2 Erdogan still has a chance to win the protracted Turkish tender.

Ka-52 back from firing range

Kamov JSC

Kamov JSC Kamov JSC

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Andrey Zinchuk

cannon and S-8 rockets and antitank missiles, including those it had never launched before. Thus, the tests proved the machine was capable of employing various types of guided weaponry.

On-board weapons were tested during the second stage of the Ka-52's official test programme, whose first stage – flight performance evaluation – was completed

The Kamov Ka-52 twinseat combat helicopter has wrapped up another stage of its official tests recently. During the trials at RusAF's and aircraft industry's proving grounds, the helicopter used all of its onboard weapons. Despite difficult weather conditions, its avionics suite was like a clock-work, ensuring fire control within the parameters specified. The helicopter fired its 2A42

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Mi-28N's official trials

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main rotor hub, refined automatics of the powerplant and fuel system, etc. Both prototypes were powered by Klimov/Motor Sich TV3-117VMA engines with 2,200 hp of takeoff power each.

However, future production machines are to be fitted with upgraded Klimov VK-2500 engines 2,400 hp each.

In 2003, Gen. Vladimir Mikhailov announced that the Mi-28N had been selected as the main future combat helicopter of the Air Force, the service to procure about 50 machines until 2010. The Mi-28N's principal advantage over its rival, the Ka-52, was said to be its lower production and operating costs (the Russian Army Aviation's structure is designed to accommodate Mil's machines) and the feasibility of using its systems to upgrade the in-service Mi-24 attack helicopters.

At the same time, for the Air Force chief's words to convert to deeds, a lot of technical snags will have to be ironed out first. First of all, the VR-29 reduction gearbox, which can transfer power up to

5,100 hp, will have to be brought up to snuff in terms of reliability and service life. There are several problems with special equipment.

Following the rejection of the initially-planned Almaz-280 mastmounted radar from Almaz (Moscow), the issue of a radar for the Mi-28N has been unresolved for a long time. Recently, the N025 radar under development by the GRPZ plant in Ryazan has been offered to equip the Mi-28N. As of last year's autumn, the first examples of the N025 were being bench-tested by the developer. The first radar to fit the helicopter was slated for delivery in late 2005, but the first production Mi-28N (side number 032) completed its maiden flight with no radar (it even lacked the characteristic mast-mounted radar fairing).

Unveiled at the MAKS 2005 air show, the N025 is the X/Ka-band radar, with the X-band used for acquiring aerial threats out at 20 km and clouds out at 100 km and the Ka-band used for groundmapping, ground threat acquisition out at 10 km and automatic terrain-hugging.

The Tor optronic station under development by the Krasnogorsk-based Zverev Optical-Mechanical Plant (KOMZ) is to become the Mi-28N's primary targeting system. The Tor is a moving module that houses behind its two flat windows the optical, TV and thermal-imaging search and track channels, each featuring both wide and narrow fields of vision. The Tor has been under development for quite a while, with the programme hampered by the company's financial problems. The Mi-28N's second optronic system is designed for helicopter's piloting. At present, the machine mounts the turreted TOES-521 system from the Ural Optical-Mechanical Plant (UOMZ) for this purpose. A helmet-mounted target designator is being tested as well.

Obviously, the Mi-28N will be able to enter service only after all of its systems have been tested through and through and brought up to snuff as far as reliability and effectiveness are concerned.

Rostvertol JSC

The first production Mi-28N helicopter took off for its maiden flight at Rostov-on-Don on 27 December 2005, with Air Force Commander-in-Chief Gen. Vladimir Mikhailov attending the event. The machine with side number 32 was made by the Rostvertol company using updated production documentation and is the baseline model. Last spring, the Russian Ministry of Defence ordered three first production Mi-28Ns from Rostvertol for them to shoulder the bulk of the official tests. The one with side number 32 was the first of the series with the rest to be built 2–3 months one after the other. Details of the FY 2006 budget draft became known in mid-December 2005, with the draft providing for MoD to buy eight Mi-28Ns in 2006 (the first three have been mentioned above, while the other five are to be ordered this year).

The machine that took off in Rostov-on-Don proved to be the third flying Mi-28N. The first prototype – the OP-1 (side number 014) – was made by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant a decade ago and first flew on 14 November 1996.

However, the first stage of its flight tests was short. The tests resumed on 24 April 2002 when the machine was fitted with an advanced VR-29 main gearbox (until then, the machine had been equipped with the VR-28 reduction gearbox that had limitations on transferring max power of both engines). The OP-1 no longer flies. Instead, it is used for ground testing of advanced avionics.

The second flying Mi-28N (OP-2, side number 02 – currently 024) was made by the Rostvertol production plant. It flew its maiden mission on 25 March 2004 and started Stage A of the official trials in late June 2005. It has logged over 100 flight hours to date. Compared to the first prototype, the OP-2 embodied a number of key design improvements, getting advanced rotor blades and

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Russian Knights got the World Cup! Centre, Merited Pilot of Russia), Guards Lt.-Col. Igor Shpak (commander of the team), Guards Lt.-Col. Oleg Ryapolov (qualified as pilot-sniper), Guards lieutenant-colonels Oleg Yerofeyev, Andrey Alexeyev, Victor Melnik and Alexey Kotomkin (all qualified as 1st class pilots).

This year's air show at Al-Ain is the second event, in which the Kubinka AFB display pilots took part. Last year, they performed hors concours as a composite team on two Su-27UBs and two MiG-29UBs and were given a nickname Russian Swifts by the local media. This time round, the Russian Knights came first by right. This spring, both Kubinkabased display teams – the Swifts and the Russian Knights – celebrated their 15th anniversary by pulling off impressive aerobatics in the skies over their home base.

Konstantin von Wedelstaedt

The Russian Knights, the Air Force's display team flying Sukhoi Su-27 fighters, came first at FAI's 23rd world cup aerobatic championship at Al-Ain (UAE).

The international jury gave the team 12 scores (9,495 points).

France's Breitling Jet Team on five Czech-made L-39s came second with 10 scores (8,930 points). The third place was taken by the South African Sasol Tigers flying four Czechmade L-29s (8 scores, 7,720 points). In all, display teams from 35 countries competed in the world cup championship and at the air show in Al-Ain. The five Russian Knights on three Su-27 fighters and two Su-27UB combat trainers arrived at Al-Ain accompanied by an Ilyushin Il-76 airlifter. The team included the leader, Guards Col. Igor Tkachenko (deputy chief of the 237th Aircraft Demonstration

First Russian satellite-guided bomb tested

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Su-34, the KAB-500S can be carried by the multirole fighters of the Su-27/Su-30 family, e.g. the Su-27SM2, Su-30MK2, Su-30MK3, Su-35, etc. as well as the future fifth-generation fighter being developed under the PAK FA programme. The coordinates of a target can be fed to the KAB-500S's guidance system by the carrier aircraft before release. The weapon's precision remains the same round the clock in any weather.

The bombs weighs 500 kg, features a 380-kg HE warhead and measures 3,000 mm in length and 350 mm in diameter, with the control surfaces' span equalling 750 mm.

According to Region's promotional materials, the KAB-500S can be released from an altitude ranging from 500 m to 10,000 m at a speed of 550–1,100 km/h, with its range equalling 2–9 km and accuracy being within 5–10 m.

According to the Kompas company's web page, the PSN-2001

satnav receiver also is to fit the new version of the Kh-25M air-tosurface tactical guided missile (information on the missile dubbed Kh-25MSE was unveiled at the MAKS 2005 air show). In the near future, the receiver is to fit other air-, ground- and sealaunched high-speed small-size weapons as well.

An export version of the bomb, designated as KAB-500S-E, was unveiled by Region at MAKS 2003, and last September, the KAB-500S, along with other air-launched PGMs, was displayed at Akhtubinsk during a show on the occasion of the 85th anniversary of GLITs (see photo).

Andrey Fomin

According to Russian missile technology web site www.missiles.ru, advanced Russian smart bomb KAB-500S with a satellite guidance system completed its official trials in February. The weapon was tried out at MoD's State Flight Test Centre (Russian acronym – GLITs) in Akhtubinsk. The new bomb is tailored for use as part of the weapons suite of the Sukhoi Su-34 tactical strike aircraft.

The KAB-500S was derived by the Region company, a division of the Tactical Missiles Corporation from the KAB-500 family of guided bombs in cooperation with the Kompas design bureau (Moscow).

Its guidance system is wrapped around the 24-channel Kompas PSN-2001 satnav receiver relying on the GLONASS satellite navigation system.

The new precision-guided weapon is designed for eliminating small-size surface threats pinpointed in advance. In addition to the

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air force | in brief

More detail on Irbis radar to fit Su-35 fighter

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The emitter wrapped around the Oliva (Olive) solid-state exciter and two Chelnok (Shuttle) travelling-wave tube amplifiers provides a max peak power of at least 20 kW on search frequencies, an average power of 5 kW and a medium discrete continuous illuminating-frequency power of at least 2 kW. The fore-channel receiver based on a low-noise head-end amplifier receives and handles initial processing of HF signals with a noise figure of 3.5 dB. Initial digital signal processing is handled by the programmable signal processor based on the Solo-35.01 digital computer while data processing and radar's control is performed by the Solo-35.02 digital computer. Both computers constitute the EKVS-E digital computer system.

Development of the Irbis-E radar relies on several proven devices from the Bars radar mounted on the Sukhoi Su-30MKI, including the clock driver, low-frequency and high-frequency receivers and exciter. The Irbis-E's EGSP-27 twin-stage gyro drive is a derivative of the Bars radar's single-stage drive, the EGSP-6A. The sophisticated phased array embodies solutions proven in developing the phased arrays of the Osa and Bars radars. The receiver's amplifier is derived from the Chelnok travelling-wave tube driver developed under the N011M radar programme (the N011M is the Bars's predecessor) and tested as part of the avionics suite of a Su-27M prototype (side number 712) at the flight test stage, having provided a considerable increase in the radar's range.

The Irbis features a simultaneous 30-target acquisition and tracking capability in the trackwhile-scan mode. It engages two targets simultaneously with two semi-active radar homing missiles and up to eight targets with eight active radar homing missiles, including four of the targets out at 300 km or more. In the ground-

attack mode, the radar handles terrain mapping (both ground and water) and ground target acquisition in the low-resolution 'realbeam', medium-resolution Doppler beam sharpening (DBS) and high/extra-high-resolution adaptive synthetic aperture focusing modes. Operating against aerial and ground threats at the same time, the Irbis-E maps the ground while keeping an eye on airspace or tracking an aerial threat with precision sufficient for attacking it with active radar homing missiles.

The system features a head-on acquisition range of at least 350–400 km for aerial targets with the 3 sq.m radar cross-section (RCS) and a pursuit acquisition range of at least 150 km with a target traveling at 10,000 m or higher.

The Irbis-E spots 'super-lowobservable' threats with the

0.01 sq.m RCS out at 90 km. when identifying a tight multiple target at a range of 50 km, its resolution is 50–100 m in range, 5 m/s in speed and 2.5 deg. in angular coordinates.

As a derivative of the Bars radar, the Irbis features far superior characteristics than its predecessor, namely an operating frequency band that has been expanded more than twofold, the aerial target acquisition and azimuth tracking zone that grew from 70 deg. to 120 deg., a far greater range, enhanced ECM immunity, etc. In these terms, the Irbis is on a par with the latest foreign designs, surpassing most of US and west European passive and active phased-array radars and rivaling the most sophisticated system in the class – the AN/APG-77 radar of the USAF's Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor.

Tikhomirov-NIIP

Recently, Tikhomirov-NIIP institute unveiled rather detailed information on the advanced Irbis phased-array radar system designed for use on advanced Sukhoi Su-27 derivatives, the Su-35 and Su-27SM2 in the first place. Last year, the company took out advertisement permission for the Irbis, which enables us to mention design features and capabilities of the advanced radar.

The Irbis (Ounce in Russian) radar system, which TikhomirovNIIP has been developing since 2004 under supervision of Chief Designer Vladimir Zagorodny based on the experience in developing the Bars (Panther) and Osa (Wasp) passive phased-array radars, is designed for operating as part of its carrier's avionics suite to acquire and track aerial and surface threats, IFF them, identifying the class and type of aerial targets, gauging the number of aircraft within the multiple targets, low-, medium and highdegree resolution ground-mapping, information support of obstacle avoidance capability, correcting navigation systems, ranging, cueing radar-homing missiles, etc.

The Irbis-E is a multifunction X-band passive phased-array radar mounted on a gyro drive operating in azimuth and banking – the socalled twin-stage gyro. The radar relies on the EKVS-E computer system wrapped around the Solo-35 digital computer. The 900 mm diameter passive phased-array antenna, which has the vertical polarisation and 0.4-millisecond electronically-scanned directional pattern keying, features a scan zone of at least 60 deg. in azimuth and elevation by means of the electronic beam steering. In addition, an azimuth/banking electrohydraulic actuator mechanically steers the array 60 deg. in azimuth and 120 deg. in lateral plane, with the vertical polarisation being able to be abandoned for the horizontal polarisation to enhance waterborne threat observation conditions.

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RUSSIA UPGRADING NATO FIGHTERS SLOVAK MIG-29s BEING CONVERTED TO MEET NATO AND ICAO STANDARDS The Legacy of Czechoslovakia The Slovak Air Force dates back to early 1993. Having split up, the Czechs and Slovaks decided to halve their formerly common fleet of 20 MiG-29s. Thus, nine MiG-29 singleseaters and one MiG-29UB together with 70 MiG-21s, 23 Su-22M4/UM3K fighterbombers and 13 Su-25K attack aircraft formed the backbone of the Slovak Air Force.

While ageing MiG-21s and Su-22s were discarded after a while and more sophisticated but still obsolete Su-25s were sold to Armenia after being removed from service in late 2002, those MiG-29s are still in service. Their number even more than doubled in the mid-90s due to deliveries from Russia.

Czechoslovakia was second only to eastern Germany among former Soviet allies in

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Europe to get fourth generation MiG-29s in 1989. A year before 15 Czech pilots took a refresher training course at the Lugovaya airbase in Kyrgyzstan. The first MiG-29 landed at the Zatec airbase northwest of Prague in the spring of 1989, and as soon as 24 April the Czech crew took off to fly the aircraft around.

In June 1989 Czechoslovakia took delivery of a batch of nine MiG-29 variant A (type “9-12A�) aircraft, while ten more planes, including one twin-seater, were supplied to Czechoslovakia in September that year. All of these aircraft joined the 11th fighter regiment (Stihaci Letecky Pluk) headquartered at Zatec, to be divided in 1992 between newly independent Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

Slovakia put its ten MiG-29s at Sliac and tailored there the 1st fighter airbase, which

was composed of nine MiG-29 variant A fighters (old, i.e. Czechoslovak, side numbers 3709, 3911, 5113, 5515, 5817, 7502, 8003, 8605 and 9308) and one MiG-29UB twinseater (old side number 4401) that came to Sliac in the autumn of 1992. The new markings featured a white cross with two horizontal bars against the red background and blue lower part, and new four-digit numbers appeared on the fins. As far as the painting is concerned, some aircraft were left with their old green-and-brown camouflage, while others received new colour schemes.

Replenishment from Russia Unlike the Czechs, who opted to get rid of Soviet-produced weapons, discarded its ten MiG-29s in 1994 and later sent them to www.take-off.ru

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air force | report Poland in exchange for helicopters, their neighbours chose to develop cooperation with the Russian military, because on the one hand, potential NATO membership was not expected before early XXI century, while on the other hand, western aircraft were too dear for them. Russia's weapons cost less and were offered as repayment of a $800m debt to Slovakia.

Such cooperation resulted in a $176m three-year defence contract signed in March 1994, which provided for delivery of advanced MiG-29 aircraft, air-to-air missiles, anti-aircraft and anti-tank guided weapons. It took Russia three months to provide the customer with five MiG-29 (type “9-12B”) single seat fighters and one twin-seater. The rest of the batch was delivered in 1995, bringing the overall number of MiG-29s in service with the Slovak Air Force to 24.

During the 1997 visit of then Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin to Slovakia, agreement was achieved to further defence cooperation between the two countries in 1997–99. During the first stage of such cooperation programme four more MiG-29s, Su-39 attack planes, aircraft engines and ammunition worth $450m were to have been supplied to Slovakia. A number of contracts, worth $600m, to deliver MiG-29 fighters, Ka-50 combat helicopters and surface-to-air missile systems were to have been concluded subsequently, but

Andrey FOMIN, Miroslav GYUROSI Photos by Miroslav Gyurosi

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Left: the first upgraded Slovak MiG-29 during a test flight, December 2005 Bottom: a dozen Slovak MiGs slated for upgrade include two twin-seaters. The photo shows the first MiG-29UB upgraded to NATO standards

things just didn't work out as planned. Those previously delivered twenty-something MiG-29s have remained the backbone of the Slovak Air Force. Although Slovakia was officially admitted to NATO on 15 April 2003, the Russian planes will remain in service with its Air force, at least until the first half of the next decade. Nevertheless, if Russian-made planes want to serve a NATO country and partake in joint exercises, they have to meet certain NATO requirements and demonstrate interoperability with weapons produced in the USA and western Europe. This is the goal of the aforementioned MiG-29 upgrade programme that was launched last year.

Upgrade The idea behind the fighters upgrade programme is to make their avionics capable of interoperating with that of allied troops, and to enhance the cockpit in order to ensure more efficient fighting abilities. To this end the aircraft will feature new communications, navigation and IFF systems. Single-seat MiG-29s will be fitted with the AN/APX-113 transponder produced by BAE Systems. The British company is delivering AN/APX-113 transponders under a five-year contract signed on 11 June 2003, which provides for the installation of IFF systems on the Slovak planes, helicopters and ground vehicles being upgraded to NATO standards. Four of the transponder's antennae are installed in front of the cockpit canopy, while the fifth one is fitted on the lower surface of the aircraft nose.

The MiG-29UB has a different version of the transponder, the AN/APX-117, whose antennae are slightly different. Both types of

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Top: improved MiG-29UB No 5304 in a Sliace airbase hangar Top right: advanced MiG-29 cockpit: the MFI-54 multifunction colour LCD instead of the familiar IPV display and the PUS-29 control panel located below the head-up display Bottom right: MiG-29UB's rear cockpit now also features the MFI-54 multifunction colour LCD instead of the IPV display Bottom: new aerials became main visual differences of MiG-29AS aircraft upgraded to NATO and ICAO standards

aircraft are fitted with the AN/ARC-210 radio, AN/ARN-147 navigation receiver for VOR/ILS capability, and the AN/ARN-153 digital receiver for TACAN landing. All of these systems are produced by Rockwell Collins. The newly installed airborne systems are connected via a data bus compliant with the MIL-STD-1553B standard.

Changes in the cockpit management system consist in the installation of the pushbutton-rimmed MFI-54 multifunction colour LCD instead of the old IPV monochrome TV display, that used to provide information from

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the radar and the KOLS optronic sighting system, and was located in the upper right hand side of the instrument panel, and the PUS-29 control panel located under the head-up display. Both the display and the control panel are delivered to Slovakia by the Russian Avionics company. The instruments now have Imperial System units rather than metric ones.

Upgrade of ten MiG-29s to NATO standards will cost Slovakia $69.6m, of which some $50m is the repayment of Russia's foreign debt to Slovakia, while the remaining

$19m will be invested by the Slovak Defence Ministry.

The first flight of the MiG-29 side number 6728 was carried out by RSK MiG senior test pilot Pavel Vlasov on 1 December 2005.

A week later he took off in the upgraded twinseater side number 5304. Shortly after, three Slovak pilots started an intensive MiG-29UB training course to get certified as instructors and train other Slovak pilots.

The Trencin aircraft plant had finished upgrading two more MiG-29 aircraft by the early 2006. The remaining eight MiGs now www.take-off.ru

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air force | report under upgrade are to join the Slovak Air Force by the mid of this year. By the late April Slovak Air Force received five upgraded singleseat fighters and a pair of twin-seaters, which then got new designations MiG-29AS and MiG-29UBS respectively (S–for Slovakia). Following the customer's request modernisation of the rest MiG-29s to be upgraded has been postponed and this break is used for six upgraded MiG-29s operational tests finalisation, Slovak pilots training and scheduled fielding of the upgraded aircraft with the Slovak Air Force combat alert forces.

MiG-29 pilots are to clock about 80 flight hours this year, and maybe 110 hours later on.

As of now, the Slovak Air Force has in service 21 MiG-29 aircraft (18 single- and three twin-seaters), 12 of which are to undergo upgrade. They are expected to remain in service until 2012–15.

Top: maiden flights of the first upgraded Slovak MiGs were carried out by RSK MiG senior test pilot Pavel Vlasov. The photo shows him signing in a pre-flight inspection log-book of a Slovak mechanician Right: this MiG-29UB (side number 4401) hasn't been converted to MiG-29UBS stadard yet. Would it be upgraded in the future along with the rest eight Slovak Fulcrums is a matter of time Bottom: by late April 2006 the Slovak Air Force had received seven upgraded aircraft – five MiG-29s and a pair of MiG-29UBs. The picture shows the first upgraded MiG-29 with side No 6728

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POLAND BOOSTING ITS FLEET OF MiGs LUFTWAFFE FIGHTERS TO JOIN POLISH AIR FORCE First arrival MiG-29 fighters first appeared in Poland in 1989, when the country was a Warsaw Pact member. The contract to provide the Polish Air Force with 12 MiG-29 fighters was signed in the spring of 1989. As early as in June–August 1989 four MiG-29 variant A (“9-12A”) single-seat aircraft and three MiG-29UB twin-seaters arrived at the Minsk Mazowiecki airbase, the home base of the 1st fighter regiment of the Polish Air Force located east of Warsaw. Another five fighters came

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Last year the Polish Air Force saw a number of MiG-29 fighters enter service. The aircraft are a gift from its NATO counterpart, the German Luftwaffe, which inherited 24 of them from the East German Air Force after the 1990 reunification of Germany. The fighters have been extensively operated by Luftwaffe and have often taken part in NATO exercises for over the decade. However, Germany decided to get rid of this WARPAC inheritance early in the XXI century, and in 2002 it sold all of its 23 MiG-29s (one aircraft crashed in June 1996) to Poland at a symbolic price of 1 Euro. Once in Poland, the aircraft headed for the Bydgoszcz aircraft repair plant. After a slight refurbishment the first ex-Luftwaffe MiGs arrived at the Malbork airbase last summer. The first MiGs to undergo a major overhaul that extended their service life until 2018 came to Malbork from Bydgoszcz in December 2005. As soon as the rest aircraft arrive at Malbork, the Polish Air Force will have the largest MiG-29 fleet of 36 aircraft in Eastern Europe, except CIS countries. www.take-off.ru

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Top: the first five MiG-29G aircraft sold to Poland still with Luftwaffe colour scheme, September 2003 Left: this MiG-29 side No 4120 (No 2918 in Luftwaffe) was produced on 20 November 1988.

Overhauled and upgraded by WZL-2 in Bydgoszcz, it has an extended specified life of 4,000 hours or 40 years, i.e., theoretically, it can remain in service until 2028! The fighter has been in service with the Polish Air Force 41st tactical squadron in Malbork since January this year.

Bottom: one of the first four German MiG-29Gs that joined the 41st squadron at the Malbork airbase in June 2005 in a hangar

Piotr BUTOWSKI, Poland Photos by author

to Poland on 30 October 1990 to join the 1st 'Tadeusz Kosciuszko' squadron of the 1st 'Warsaw' fighter regiment stationed at Minsk Mazowiecki.

12 Polish MiG-29s at the Minsk Mazowiecki airbase to be consequently organised into the 1st 'Warsaw' tactical aviation squadron with 22 MiG-29 fighter planes, which is today's strength of the squadron.

The swap When the Warsaw Treaty organisation ceased to exist, Poland chose to join NATO together with the Czech Republic and Hungary, which happened in March 1999.

Since NATO membership involved adoption of NATO standards, Poland decided to give up buying Russian weapons and was eyeing possible purchase of American F-16 or F-18 or French Mirage 2000 fighters, when all of a sudden the Czech government offered them ten MiG-29 aircraft in exchange for 11 W-3 Sokol helicopters. The Polish government accepted the offer, despite the plans to join NATO, and the deal was signed on 20 December 1995. Two days later four singleseat and one twin-seat MiG-29s arrived in Poland. Another five aircraft followed suit in January next year. Ten Czech planes joined www.take-off.ru

Handsome price The contract of the century under which Germany was to sell 23 out-of-service MiG-29 aircraft discarded from to Poland at a symbolic price of 1 Euro was signed in Berlin on 29 January 2002. The Polish move to beef up its fleet of Russian-made fighters was explained as a stopgap measure necessary to improve national air defence until the country got American aircraft, standard for all NATO members. The contract also provided for the delivery of engines, spare parts and a large batch of MiG-29-compatible airto-air missiles. Although the deal was, on the face of it, gratis, Poland spent some $30m on training, maintenance and repairs. Together with 'free' aircraft Poland had to buy, at full value, a whole brigade of armoured vehicles

and equipment, including 128 Leopard 2A4 tanks, armoured personnel carriers and means of communication.

Having acquired German MiG-29s, the Polish government revised its plans to buy 60 F-16C/D multirole aircraft and in December 2002 it decided to cut this number to 48.

The hand-over ceremony took place at the Luftwaffe Laaga airbase in MecklenburgPomerania on 26 September 2003, when the first five aircraft were delivered to Poland (German single-seat aircraft were designated MiG-29G, while MiG-29GT stood for twinseat fighters). The rest 18 aircraft had been handed over to Poland by August 2004.

Before they could join the Polish Air Force they had to undergo maintenance and overhaul at the WZL-2 aircraft repair plant in Bydgoszcz.

Russian aid Concerned about keeping their fighters in good shape, the Polish government decided take-off may 2006

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Second life of Luftwaffe planes

up their phase-in in order to go on with pilots training.

Simultaneously, their equipment was commonised with that of other 22 MiGs in service with the 1st squadron stationed at Minsk Mazowiecki. For instance, formerly German aircraft were fitted with the Suprasl identification system, the SC-10D2 transponder and the ANV-241MMR VOR/ILS navigation system. The AN/ARN-118 short-range radiotechnical navigation system and the GPS Trimble 2101 satellite navigation system receiver were integrated with the rest of the navigation equipment. Furthermore, the Russian-made A-323 short-range radiotechnical navigation system and the KOLS-29 (”23S”) combined infrared tracking set and laser range finder were restored after having been partially stripped by the Germans as they never used them.

The batch of German MiG-29s set the Polish Air Force leadership thinking about how to best use them. The ultimate decision was to tailor a second Polish Air Force squadron armed with MiG-29 fighters – the 41st tactical squadron headquartered at the Malbork airbase, the former home of MiG-21bis aircraft.

The first batch of four planes came to Malbork on 7 June 2005. It included three combat aircraft (old Luftwaffe No 2904, 2912 and 2905 were replaced with new ones – 4111, 4113 and 4118 respectively) and a combat trainer (side No 4115 instead of old No 2923). The Polish decided to keep the Luftwaffe designation MiG-29G for singleseat aircraft and MiG-29GT for twin-seaters.

The above aircraft saw condition inspections and scheduled maintenance procedures rather than major overhaul, which extended their service life for another 100–110 flight hours or 18 months. This was done to speed

The first four ex-Luftwaffe aircraft were followed in December last year by two MiG-29s overhauled in Bydgoszcz. First came MiG-29UB side No 4123 (No 2925 in Luftwaffe), then MiG-29 side No 4120 (No 2918 in Luftwaffe). These aircraft saw major overhaul at the WZL-2 plant, which drastically boosted their service life and allowed for their on-condition operation and maintenance. The Polish Defence Ministry wants ten former German aircraft to get major overhaul at the Bydgoszcz plant.

The order is fulfilled in cooperation with RSK MiG, whose experts assess the technical condition of the aircraft, develop overhaul procedures and prepare documents for further aircraft operation.

In addition to the aircraft that have already been overhauled ( side No 4120 and 4123), six single-seat MiG-29s side

in the autumn of 2002 to resume its ties with RSK MiG Corp., which resulted in an overhaul and spare parts delivery contract.

Overhaul is being carried out by the WZL-2 plant, which used to take care about Polish MiG-29s with assistance provided by the 558th aircraft repair plant in Baranovichi, western Belarus. RSK MiG was responsible for MiG-29 condition analysis, spare parts delivery, and post-overhaul quality control assurance. Moreover, RSK MiG provided free of charge available aircraft systems malfunction data. The contract also provides for cooperation between WZL-2 and RSK MiG to set up a comprehensive logistics system and to ensure technical assistance for future upgrade of MiG-29s in accordance with Polish requirements.

Replenishment in Malbork

No 4101, 4103, 4104, 4116, 4121 and 4122 (respective Luftwaffe No 2907, 2916, 2917, 2901, 2910 and 2921) and two MiG-29UB twin-seat combat trainers side No 4105 and 4110 (respective Luftwaffe No 2924 and 2922) will see major repair. The ten aircraft chosen for major overhaul have the least total flight hours ranging from 1,150 to 1,600. MiG-29 fighters that were built in the late 80s-early 90s last century and the ones Poland operates have a specified life of 2,000 flight hours or 19 years. Major overhaul and upgrade will extend their life to 4,000 hours or 40 years, which is possible thanks to advanced fault diagnostics procedures and equipment, reinforcement or retrofitting of some airframe elements, replacement of some assemblies.

Overhauled and upgraded aircraft will require less scheduled maintenance, and it will be possible now to perform all such maintenance procedures on site, whereas until now an aircraft had to be overhauled by the plant twice in a lifetime regardless of its condition. New maintenance procedures and increased service life will reduce the cost of one flight hour of the upgraded MiG-29 by 40 per cent.

Overhaul and upgrade of the ten aircraft are to be completed already this year.

Approximately at the same time, by the end of 2006, the first four ex-Luftwaffe MiG-29s operating in Malbork since June 2005 will have used up their service life. They may also undergo overhaul and upgrade which will extend their life until 2018, but no decision has been taken so far. Two planes with side No 4112 and 4119 (ex-No 2908 and 2910) will become training aids in the Defence Ministry's flying school in Deblin. The remaining seven ex-German MiG-29s will be cannibalised.

MiG-29GT side No 4115 (ex-No 2923) twin-seat combat trainer is one of the four aircraft that joined the 41st squadron in Malbork without overhaul.

Their service life was extended until December 2006, but their future is vague

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Sukhoi fighters as symbol of 'Victory Eagle' in China From 15 to 22 March, the city of Zhangjiajie, Hunan province, in central China hosted a large-scale aviation festival dubbed Victory Eagle and dedicated to the 60th anniversary of ending the Second World War. Sukhoi jets, which are very popular in China, were the salt of the event. Invited to perform at the festival were RusAF's Russian Knights display team on Su-27 fighters, LII's test pilots Anatoly Kvochur and Alexander Pavlov who arrived on a Su-30 fighter with an Il-78 tanker plane in tow, and Svetlana Kapanina on a Su-26M sports plane.

The festive mood of the show was jazzed up by the Chinese and Russian media's rumours about a 'dead lock' to be performed by the Russian aircraft by flying through the unique cavern called Tianmen (Chinese for 'sky gate') – a 131-m-high arch in a rock

with a minimum width of 28 m and a depth of 60 m. Brave Hungarian pilot Peter Besenyei is the only one who has dared to pass via the cavern on a piston-engined aerobatic plane.

According to the Chinese media, to watch the 'dead lock', one would have to buy a ticket worth as much as $840 (!), and those willing to see such a reckless stunt were aplenty.

The Chinese media followed by their Russian colleagues would have the Russian Knights, then Kvochur and then Kapanina fly via the cavern.

Fortunately, the common sense pre-

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vailed, and the Russian pilots decided against risking their lives for nothing. Besieged by reporters and friends excited by the rumours, Anatoly Kvochur said before departing for China that in technical terms, flying a Su-27 through the cavern was feasible (the Su-27's 14.7 m wingspan was twice as little as the cavern's minimum width) and he was ready to accomplish the mission if it were given to him. By this, he made it clear that such an adventurism was not planned for China. As far as the Russian Knights are con-

cerned, they are servicemen, and there is no commander who would risk the lives of his subordinates just for the hell of it.

In Zhangjiajie, the Knights completed their traditional five-ship, two-ship and solo performance, having routinely won the hearts of the public with a tight formation of rather heavy large fighters (this picture from the Chinese media shows five Knights against the backdrop of the Tianmen cavern in question; however, according to expert opinion, it is a trivial photo imposition produced by placing the

image of the fighters on that of the terrain). Even the weather that was not too conducive to the show managed to ruin the effect the Russian Knights' performance in China.

In addition to his breathtaking aerobatics and simulation of taking up from the Il-78, Anatoly Kvochur could not resist his favourite jumpy trick – a high-speed flypast several metres over the tarmac with landing gear up (see the picture).

Svetlana Kapanina on her Su-26M sporting a fancy paintjob and the inscription 'Born in USSR' (see the picture) pulled off impressive aerobatics as well.

According to the Xinhua news agency, the live performance of the Russian pilots on Sukhoi planes was watched by over 100,000 people, with live broadcast of the event giving tens of millions of Chinese to appreciate the flying skills of the Russian Knights, Kvochur and Kapanina.

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New record in Russian arms exports The results of 2005 Russian arms exports have recently been summed up. The overall profit, derived from 2005 arms exports, has exceeded $6 billion for the first time in Russian history. The lion's share of arms exports ($5.2 billion) was enjoyed by Rosoboronexport, while the remaining sum was shared by other defence cooperation entities such as RSK MiG Corp., the Tula-based KBP Instrument-Making Design Bureau, the Kolomna-based KBM Machinebuilding Design Bureau, etc.

The main feature of 2005 exports consisted in the fact that naval materiel exports had exceeded aircraft exports for the first time in the past few years. For instance, not a single Sukhoi Su-27/Su-30 family fighter was exported in 2005 (the

Irkut Corp. only continued shipping off Su-30MKI sets to India for licensed assembly).

Last year RSK MiG Corp. delivered 12 Mikoyan MiG-29SMT fighters to Yemen (four new aircraft and eight upgraded Yemeni MiG-29s), and upgraded two Eritrean MiG-29s into MiG-29SMTs. The Ulan-Ude Aircraft Plant (UUAZ) exported 16 Mil Mi-171Sh helicopters to the Czech Republic, and Rostvertol exported seven Mi-35s. Small batches of Mi-17 family helicopters were also delivered to Burkina Faso, China, Iran, Sudan, Venezuela, Vietnam and some other states. The first upgraded Ilyushin Il-38SDs were prepared for shipment to the Indian Navy: the fist aircraft was delivered to the customer in January 2006, while the

other one is being prepared for delivery at the present time.

In 2005 the Sukhoi Company and RSK MiG also developed the Su-30MKM and the MiG-29K/KUB under contracts with Malaysia and India respectively. Their prototype tests are expected to start in 2006. In addition to that, both companies fulfilled a great number of contracts on delivering spare parts and providing maintenance to aircraft, exported earlier. In 2005 Sukhoi derived in excess of $240 million from this work, and RSK MiG received over $90 million.

A number of new contracts on arms and materiel exports, worth over $9 billion, were signed last year.

Besides the Algerian contract, ratified at the top level in 2006, the biggest

aerospace deals of 2005 included contracts on exporting 34 Ilyushin Il-76MD transports and four Il-78MK tanker planes, as well as large batches of AL-31F, AL-31FN and RD-93 turbofan engines to China, and a contract on developing, exporting, and establishing licensed production of the AL-55I engine with India.

Experts believe that contracts on delivering new batches of Su-27SK and Su-30MK aircraft to Indonesia, Su-33K and Su-27KUB to China, Su-30MK to Thailand, upgrading MiG-29 in India and Malaysia, establishing licensed production of the MiG-29M/M2 (MiG-35) in India, and delivering MiG-29SE to Egypt, as well as MiG-29 fighters to a number of other African states may be signed in 2006 or the near future.

President Putin brings $7.5 billion from Algeria

Piotr Butowski

Russian President Vladimir Putin paid the long-awaited visit to Algeria on 10 March to adopt big-ticket contracts on delivering arms and materiel to Algeria, signed in late 2005 - early 2006, in exchange for writing off the Algerian state debt. According to Rosoboronexport Director General Sergey Chemezov, $7.5 billion's worth of contracts on delivering arms had been signed with Algeria within three months preceding President Putin's visit, and other agreements, worth $2–3 billion, are expected to be signed in the near future. Negotiations

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between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika resulted in Russia agreeing to write off the entire Algerian debt, amounting to $4.7 billion, and Algeria to make contracts on delivering Air Force, Air Defence, and Army arms and materiel to Algeria, signed in late 2005 - early 2006, irreversible. Aircraft deliveries account for the lion's share of contracts, endorsed by the two presidents.

Russia will export to Algeria 34 upgraded MiG-29 fighters (28 MiG-29SMTs and six

MiG-29UBTs), 28 Su-30MKI fighters (according to experts, the aircraft to be exported to Algeria could be designated Su-30MKA), and 16 Yak-130 combat trainers for a total of $3.5 billion. At the same time Algeria will transfer 36 early-series MiG-29s, procured from Ukraine and Belarus, to Russia for it to overhaul, upgrade and export them to other states. In addition to aircraft, Algeria will also receive T-90S main battle tanks, S-300PMU2 and Tunguska air defence systems, Metis and Kornet ATGMs, while Algerian T-72 tanks and ships

will be handed over to Russia for overhaul and modernisation. The contract signed envisions an option of procuring additional batches of MiG-29SMTs and Yak-130s.

The arms will be paid for in compliance with a complicated scheme, envisioning writing off part of the Algerian state debt to the USSR. In a nutshell, Russia will write off the Algerian state debt in exchange for real money for big-ticket deliveries of new materiel, which allow Russian defence contractors to secure a sufficient workload and derive good profits. According to mass media, just the contract on delivering MiG-29SMT fighters (see photo) alone may cost about $1.6 billion.

Trade-in is another feature of the contracts signed. For instance, Algeria will offset part of the MiG-29SMT payment by returning MiG-29s, procured from Ukraine and Belarus in 19992002, to Russia. Ukraine delivered five MiG-29s to Algeria in 2000, and Belarus exported a total of 31 MiG-29s to Algeria in 1999-2002. All of them are in a satisfactory condition with quite a long remaining service life of the airframe, which will allow RSK MiG to upgrade them into MiG-29SMTs and export once again.

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contracts and deliveries | in brief

Leonid Priadka

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outside Moscow. The upgraded aircraft also tested its new armament at firing ranges of the Russian Defence Ministry. For instance, the Tactical Missiles Corporation press-service said that on 14 November 2005 the Il-38SD successfully tested the new Kh-35E anti-ship missile (right photo).

After the work was completed in December 2005, the first Il-38SD was delivered to the customer and prepared a ferry flight to India. It took off Moscow's Domodedovo airport on 11 January (see photo below). On the following day the aircraft refuelled at the Kyiv-based Borispol airfield, and on 15 January it arrived at its home base in Goa. Il-38 (side number IN303) was the next to undergo upgrade in Russia. It was upgraded and tested in 2005. At the moment the aircraft is completing its final tests (see photo above), and

will soon return to India as well. The third aircraft (IN301) was delivered to Russia in June 2005.

Unfortunately, the remaining two Il-38s from INAS 315 (IN302 and IN304) were lost in a mid-air collision with each other just outside the Dabolim airfield on 1 October 2002. In order to fulfil the contract the Russian side has agreed to replenish the loss, suffered by INAS 315, with two Russian Il-38s in the inventory of the Russian

Alexey Mikheyev

On 15 January 2006 the first Indian Air Force Ilyushin Il-38SD multi-role patrol aircraft, modernised in Russia, arrived at the Dabolim airfield in the Goa State (Indian Navy Hansa airbase).

The aircraft had been overhauled and upgraded by the Russian Ilyushin Company and the Leninets Holding Company. The aircraft was fitted with the cutting-edge Sea Dragon sighting system and new weapons.

Under the contract, signed by Rosoboronexport and the Indian Defence Ministry in September 2001 (according to the Interfax Military News Agency, the cost of the contract amounts to $205 million), Russia was to have upgraded all five Il-38s in service with Indian Navy Air Squadron 315 (INAS 315). India procured three of them from the USSR in 1977, and another two in 1983. The first of them (side number IN305) arrived in Russia on 29 March 2002. The aircraft underwent the first upgrade stage directly at the Ilyushin Company in Moscow, and on 3 July 2002 the first Indian upgraded Il-38SD, piloted by test pilot Vladimir Irinarkhov, made its maiden flight from the Moscow Central Airfield (Khodynka), situated almost in downtown Moscow (though, the aircraft still lacked certain nose-mounted systems, for instance, the electronic intelligence system, mounted inside a box over the forward fuselage).

Follow-up refinements and tests were conducted at the Ilyushin Company base in Zhukovsky, and then at the Leninets Holding Company and the Pushkin airfield of the 20th Aircraft Repair Plant outside St. Petersburg.

The aircraft was painted by the ATDesign company at the Bykovo airport

Alexey Mikheyev

India receiving upgraded Il-38SDs

naval aviation. They will also be upgraded into Il-38SDs. At the same time western mass media report that India intends to diversify its fleet of maritime patrol aircraft. For instance, India has shown great interest in the US P-3C Orion aircraft, which the US is ready to lease. Air Forces Monthly reported in January 2006, that US Congress had already been asked to grant permission to transfer the first two Orions to India.

In the meantime Russia continues the state tests of the first upgraded Il-38N anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft, equipped with the Novella sighting system. The tests have been conducted since November 2002, and the aircraft made its maiden flight in spring 2001. In fact, the Indian Il-38SD is the export version of the Russian Il-38N, though it differs in its equipment and armament.

Ilyushin Director General Viktor Livanov told the Red Star newspaper on 23 January that the company expected the customer to draft a preliminary report on the first stage of the Il-38N state tests in the near future, after which Russian naval aviation Il-38s might be upgraded in compliance with the pattern. Most Il-38s still in service with the Northern and the Pacific Fleets are expected to undergo the same upgrade.

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The Russian-Indian contract of 1996 on delivering 40 Sukhoi Su-30MKI multi-role fighters envisioned that when the customer received the final batch of aircraft, previous batches would be refined and upgraded to the level, specified by the contract. As is known, given the large amount of work, aimed at developing, testing, and refining Su-30MKI avionics, the aircraft were delivered to Indian in several stages. In 1997 Indian received the first eight Su-30Ks, which considerably differed from Su-30MKI in avionics, armament, airframe, and power plant.

Under an option, India received another ten Su-30Ks in 1999, while the first batch of ten Su-30MKIs arrived in India only in 2002. Another 12 Su-30MKIs were delivered there the following year, and the final ten aircraft arrived in 2004. Unlike aircraft from the first two batches (designated Su-30MKI Mk1 and Su-30MKI Mk2), final Su-30MKI Mk3 aircraft had their weapons control system capabilities capitalised on to the full extent. For instance, aircraft of the first batches did not enjoy all modes of operation of the Bars radar and could not use a number of weapon systems. When the final ten aircraft,

Piotr Butowski

India to upgrade first Su-30MKIs and sell Su-30Ks

meeting contract requirements to the full extent, were delivered to the customer, the issue of upgrading aircraft delivered earlier loomed high on the agenda.

According to the Indian press, officials from the Indian HAL Corporation and the DRDO Agency met Russian experts on 6 January 2006 to discuss upgrade of Su-30MKIs, delivered to India earlier. The negotiations resulted in agreeing to carry out such upgrade at HAL facilities in India. All 22 Mk1 and Mk2 aircraft (delivered in 2002 and 2003 respectively) are expected to be upgraded into Su-30MKI Mk3s until the turn of 2006.

At the same time, upgrade of the first 18 Indian Su-30Ks, which had

seen wide mass media coverage, has been deemed inexpedient, as they differ from the Su-30MKI too much. In this light it has preliminary been decided that India will return all 18 Su-30Ks, delivered in 1997 and 1999, to Russia in exchange for new Su-30MKIs to be exported to India by Irkut. Provisions of the deal and the number of aircraft to be delivered to India are yet unknown.

However, the press has already published information on a possible fate of Indian Su-30Ks. According to certain sources, they may be procured by Belarus, with the preliminary agreement to this end reached last December. The fact that one of the Su-27UB fighters in service with the Belarussian Air Force was upgraded at

the 558th Aircraft Repair Plant in Baranovichi, assisted by the Russian Avionics Design Bureau, operating as part of Irkut, in early 2004 is another argument for such a scenario. The upgraded aircraft, designated Su-27UBM1, is an exact match for the Su-30KN multi-role fighter, manufactured by Irkut in 1999, which in its turn is an upgraded version of the production Su-30K. Thus, given the fighter fleet modernisation, announced by the Belarussian Air Force, the chances are that Indian Su-30Ks will be sold to Belarus and upgraded at the 558th Aircraft Repair Plant. The aircraft may be delivered to their new customer by the turn of the year, if a corresponding contract is signed in the near future.

SAAB to deliver avionics for Su-30MKMs

Andrey Fomin

Certain details on avionics to be mounted on Su-30MKM multirole fighters, developed for the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF), were made public at the LIMA 2005 show, held in Malaysia in late 2005. As is known, the airframe, the power plant, and major aircraft systems, mounted on the Su-30MKM will be the same as those of Su-30MKIs in

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service with the Indian Air Force.

However, avionics will feature a number of considerable modifications, first and foremost, pertaining to replacing Israeli-produced systems. For instance, the electronic countermeasures (ECM) suite, fitted on the Su-30MKM, will comprise Russian- and South Africanmanufactured systems.

The South African SAAB Avitronics, operating as part of the Swedish SAAB Group, demonstrated system prototypes to be mounted on the Su-30MKM, including the MAW-300 missile approach warning system (the Su-30MKM will carry six MAW-300 sensors), the LWS-310 laser illumination warning system (four sensors), and the EWC electronic warfare controller. A SAAB Avitronics official told Take-off that mock-ups of the aforementioned systems were transferred to Sukhoi in 2005 to place them onboard the Su-30MKM. The South African company is ready to deliver operational versions to the Russian flagship contractor to conduct flight tests. The official also noted that other Su-30MKM ECM components (elint system, jammer and chaff/flare dis-

pensers) would be of Russian make.

It is worth mentioning that until now not a single Su-27/Su-30 family aircraft has been equipped with similar ultraviolet and laser equipment.

A Sukhoi official said that despite a certain lag in the Su-30MKM development, caused by the customer's delay in adopting the final set of aircraft systems, the Su-30MKM research and development were conducted in compliance with the timeframe, agreed on by both parties. Su-30MKM prototypes are to be submitted for flight tests later in 2006, with deliveries to Malaysia expected to be started in 2007 and to be completed in 2008.

Under the $1 billion contract, signed in August 2003, Malaysia is to receive a total of 18 Su-30MKMs. They have already been launched into production at the Irkut Corp.

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contracts and deliveries | in brief

RSK MiG Corp. summed up the results of its activities in 2005 and outlined short-term priorities at a pressconference, held in Moscow on 19 April. Just like before, export contracts account for the lion's share of the corporation's revenue, equalling about $230 million. In 2006 RSK MiG has delivered four new MiG-29SMT fighters to Yemen and upgraded eight MiG-29s, exported to Yemen earlier, into MiG-29SMTs. In addition to that, another two MiG-29 fighters, delivered to Eritrea, have been converted into MiG-29SMT in a similar way. RSK MiG has also supervised upgrade of the first four Slovak Air Force MiG-29s under NATO and ICAO standards (see article in this Take-off issue). Another eight aircraft, envisioned by the contract, will have been upgraded by the turn of 2006.

Besides, in 2005 the corporation secured contracts on delivering weapons for MiG-29SE fighters, exported to Sudan earlier, and KSA-2 APUs for Indian Air Force MiG-29s. It also continued fulfilling the contract on developing MiG-29K and MiG-29KUB aircraft to India. The first MiG-29KUB prototype was handed over to the RSK MiG's Zhukovsky-based Fedotov Flight Test Centre in April 2006. The aircraft may make its maiden flight this May. The first MiG-29K single-seat shipborne fighter, developed for the Indian Navy, is expected to be submitted for tests by the turn of the year.

Under the recently launched re-branding programme, new-generation

Piotr Butowski

RSK MiG sums up foreign trade results

MiG-29K and MiG-29KUB shipborne fighters will be designated MiG-33.

Several new big-ticket contracts were signed in early 2006. The biggest one envisions delivering 28 MiG-29SMT fighters and six MiG-29UBT twin-seaters to Algeria. In addition to that the corporation signed a contract on delivering aircraft weapons to India within the framework of the MiG-29K/KUB (MiG-33) programme option. It also secured a contract on providing maintenance to Slovak MiG-29s, and on 1 March 2006 RSK MiG and Bulgaria signed $48 million's worth of a contract on overhauling 16 MiG-29 fighters in service with the Bulgarian Air Force and extending their service lives until 2015. A separate agreement could n be reached to provide modernisation of their avionics in compliance with NATO standards. Five Serbian MiG-29 fighters will also be overhauled in Russia in the near future.

The contract with RSK MiG has recently been announced by the Defence Minister of Serbia and Montenegro.

Serbia will allocate 10 million euros for

the project, which may start as early as 2006.

In 2006 RSK MiG Corp. continues promoting baseline MiG-29 fighters in a number of African states, and pursuing upgrade of MiG-29s, delivered to India and Malaysia. According to RSK MiG Deputy Director General/Designer General Sergey Tsivilev, the corporation stands a good chance of fulfilling largescale deliveries of MiG-29M/M2 (MiG-35) fighters to India, and MiG-29SE aircraft to Egypt and a number of other states in the near future.

At the present time MiG-29 fighters are in service with 29 foreign states. A total of 800 of 1,600 MiG-29s produced have been exported. Many countries operating MiG-29s start showing increasing interest in upgrading their fighters, manufactured in 1986-1996, which are currently at their mid-service life point. Sergey Tsivilev believes that major MiG-29 markets include solvent Asian, Middle East, and North African states, requiring multirole fighters, solvent European NATO member-states, needing to have their MiG-29s adapted

to NATO and ICAO standards, and Asian and African states solvent on a limited basis, requiring cheap multirole fighters.

RSK MiG focuses considerable efforts on improving the after-sale services of MiG-29 fighters, including operating aircraft depending on their state and improving spare parts deliveries and maintenance. The corporation is getting ready to introduce the integrated logistic support system, combining service centres and automated aftersale services and resource management systems. In 2005 a total of 42 MiG-29s shifted to a state-based operation, and spare parts for MiG fighters were delivered to 23 foreign states within the framework of over 200 contracts and agreements. RSK MiG revenues, derived under these ventures, exceeded $90 million in 2005. In addition to that, the corporation signed 57 new contract on providing after-sale services to MiG aircraft and delivering spare parts with Eritrea, Hungary, India, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Poland, Slovakia, Sudan, Yemen, Zimbabwe, etc.

Be-103 to appear in China soon

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negotiations with the China Aero Technology Import and Export Corporation (CATIC) on delivering a batch of five Be-103s to China in the near future. China expects to procure a total of 20 Be-103 amphibious aircraft from KnAAPO in 2006-2007.

China has become the third foreign state to certify the Russian light amphibian. In 2003 the Be-103 was certified by the US Federal Aviation Administration, and in September 2005 it received a Brazilian airworthiness certificate.

Andrey Fomin

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) issued Type Certificate No. VTC173A to the Russian Beriev Be-103 amphibious aircraft in late 2005. The official certification ceremony took place on 14 January 2006, when an official KnAAPO delegation, headed by Sergey Drobyshev, head of the KnAAPO Be-103 and Su-80 programmes department, and Zufar Shaymardanov, chief of the KnAAPO sales office, arrived in Beijing. The Russian delegation also conducted

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Ukraine delivers four An-32Ps to Libya

by Aviant earlier, and delivered to the customer by the Antonov ASTC Company.

Aviant has produced An-32 air transports since 1983. As of the present time, the plant has manufactured 363 aircraft of various versions, with most of them exported to hot-climate states. At the moment the plant is fulfilling a contract on manufacturing five An-32B transports for the UAE. The aircraft are to be delivered to the customer by the turn of the year.

Aviant

Final acceptance reports on all four Antonov An-32P fire-fighting aircraft, fielded with the Libyan Arab Cargo air carrier, were signed in January. Two aircraft, which received Libyan registration numbers 5A-DRE and 5A-DRF, were manufactured by the Kyiv-based Aviant aircraft plant last year. The aircraft were delivered to Libya in late December 2005. The other two An-32Ps (registration numbers 5ADRC and 5A-DRD) were converted from An-32 air transports, produced

UUAZ delivers more helicopters to Asia

Andrey Fomin

The Malaysian BOMBA Fire and Rescue Air Operation Unit has recently been equipped with a pair of new Mil Mi-171 helicopters, delivered to Malaysia by the Ulan-Ude Aircraft Plant (UUAZ) in September 2004.

Prior to that BOMBA had already operated two Russian Mi-17-1Vs, manufactured by the Kazan Helicopters and exported in 1998-1999. Malaysian engineers converted the two helicopters into fire-fighting ones. Malaysian authorities, satisfied with Russian helicopters, decided to procure another batch of Mi-17s, with UUAZ selected as the contractor. The agreement on delivering two Mi-171Sh armed helicopters to the Malaysian Interior Ministry was signed in July 2003. At the same time the two sides cleared major issues pertaining to exporting a

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larger batch of ten UUAZ Mi-171Sh combat transports to the Malaysian Defence Ministry. The contract was officially signed by Rosoboronexport and the Malaysian AIROD state company at the Langkawi-based LIMA 2003 show on 1 October 2003.

UUAZ Mi-171Sh helicopters differed from Mi-17-1Vs delivered by the Kazan Helicopter Plant in their aft ramp and weather radar nose fairing. In addition to that, they were to be equipped with foreign-produced avionics and South African optronics. Part of the foreign equipment was expected to be mounted on helicopters directly in Malaysia.

However, in 2004 Malaysian authorities decided against handing over the two new helicopters to the police in favour of fielding them with the BOMBA, which was done after UUAZ

had delivered two Mi-171s with refined airframes. On arriving in Malaysia, helicopters were fitted with certain special search-and-rescue systems, but unlike the Mi-171Sh they did not have any armament or foreign avionics.

Commenting on the fate of ten follow-up helicopters, UUAZ Director General Leonid Belykh told Take-off that the customer had yet to decide on specification requirements. Thus, the contract has been suspended for the time being.

As far as the two UUAZ helicopters, already delivered to the BOMBA, are concerned, Malaysian flight and ground crews are satisfied with both rotary-wing aircraft. Ground personnel, maintaining Mi-171s, told a Takeoff correspondent that the helicopter featured a number of advantages as

compared with the Mi-17-1V. In late 2004 - early 2005 BOMBA helicopters actively participated in a disaster relief operation in South East Asia in the wake of tsunami and lived up to their reputation.

Helicopters, produced by the UlanUde Aircraft Plant, have recently made their appearance in Vietnam.

Vietnamese mass media quoted the Vietnamese Defence Ministry as saying that UUAZ exported four Mi-171s to Vietnam in late 2005, with all of them entering service with the Vietnamese Air Defence Forces. It was the first delivery of the Ulan-Ude Aircraft Plant to Vietnam. The Vietnamese Defence Ministry noted that the Mi-171s received would conduct search-andrescue operations and enforce security of regional and international conferences in the country.

In early 2006 the Ulan-Ude Aircraft Plant embarked on fulfilling the contract on delivering 24 Mi-171 utility helicopters to China. The contract was signed in late 2005. In addition to that, according to the UUAZ pressservice, the plant has recently delivered a passenger version of the Mi-171 and corresponding aircraft equipment to the Chinese Fuavu Aviation air carrier. The 24 helicopters, envisioned by the new contract, are expected to be shipped off to China in 2006. According to UUAZ Director General Leonid Belykh, the Chinese aircraft market demand for the Mi-171 is assessed at at least 80 helicopters for the next few years.

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contracts and deliveries | in brief

The Kazan Helicopters delivered another two Ansat helicopters to South Korea last December. It was the second batch of brand-new helicopters, delivered by Kazan Helicopters to South Korea under the contract, signed in 2004. The first three Ansats were shipped off in December 2004. One of them entered the inventory of the Korean police, while the other two were fielded with the South Korean Forestry Aviation Office. The latter had also received another two new helicopters just before the 2006, and is bound to get another Ansat in the near future. It is worth mentioning that South Korea had been the first to order and field Ansat helicopters even before they became operational in Russia.

The Ansat programme is one of Kazan Helicopters' most rapidly developing projects. Last year the plant manufactured the Ansat-LL flying test-

Kazan Helicopters

Five Ansat helicopters operate in South Korea

bed and delivered it to the Russia's Radar-MMS Company. It also started testing the Ansat-2RTs two-seat reconnaissance and target designation helicopter prototype. The Kazan Helicopters has manufactured and submitted for tests the first Ansat-U

wheeled landing gear training helicopter, and is developing the Ansat-3 version with a longer fuselage. The plant's contracts portfolio includes contracts on delivering several dozen Ansat helicopters to Russian and foreign customers.

Venezuela mastering Mi-17V-5s The Venezuelan Armed Forces have embarked on mastering new Mil Mi-17V-5 helicopters. The first three helicopters, built by the Kazan Helicopters, were delivered to Venezuela in late February, and the official handing-over ceremony took place on 3 April at San-Felipe airbase. Under the contract, signed in March 2005, Russia is to export 15 Mi-17V-5, Mi-35M, and Mi-26T helicopters, worth a total of just over $200 million. The contract also covers training Venezuelan flight crews to man the helicopters in Russia. Venezuela plans to procure at least three dozen Russian rotary-wing aircraft, including several dozen Mi-17V-5s, ten Mi-35Ms, and three Mi-26Ts.

Kamov JSC

The Kamov Ka-226 and the Mil Mi-26, displayed by the Kamov Company and the Rostvertol Plant, operating as part of Oboronprom Company, were probably the most outstanding Russian exhibits at the SOFEX 2006 international show, held in Amman, Jordan, on 28-30 March.

The show saw participation of over 300 companies, specialising in devel-

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oping and manufacturing special purpose means, in particular, those employed for combating terrorism.

A heavy Mi-26, spotting UTair air carrier markings, flew from Rostovon-Don to Amman, carrying a Ka-226 helicopter and its second removable cabin onboard. Visitors of the show could see demonstration flight of both Russian helicopters during the

three days' show. Ka-226 aerobatics, displayed by Kamov test pilots Vitaly Lebedev and Oleg Krivoshein, generated considerable interest among participants in the show. The applause of King Abdullah II of Jordan and Prince Feisal and the fact that the Kamov Company was awarded for the best demonstration flights at the closing ceremony are a proof

Kamov JSC

Ka-226 to be assembled in Jordan?

of the outstanding performance of Russian pilots.

The Jordanian show saw the passenger version of the Ka-226, while its second removable cabin was fitted with medical equipment. Defence, special forces, and emergency management officials from various foreign states examined the Russian helicopters with great interest. The Ka-226 generated a special interest of the UAE Civil Defence Ministry delegation.

In the course of the show Oboronprom Director General Denis Manturov and Orangeville Consultants Inc. CEO Majdi Al Yacoub signed a protocol on establishing a RussianJordanian joint venture, Oboronprom Middle East, tasked with assembling Ka-226s in Jordan. The joint venture is expected to assemble and overhaul Ka-226s, as well as promote the helicopter in the Middle East aircraft market.

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SUKHOI A v i a t i o n

H o l d i n g

C o m p a n y

2 3 B P o l i k a r p o v a s t r . , M o s c o w , P. O . B o x 6 0 4 , 1 2 5 2 8 4 , R u s s i a Tel.: + 7 (495) 940-26-63, 940-26-64, Fax: + 7 (495) 945-68-06 w w w. s u k h o i . o r g

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On 18 March 2006 the NPO Saturn Association embarked on bench tests of the first AL-55I turbofan prototype, designed to be mounted on the Indian HJT-36 training aircraft. In fact, it is the first time the national aircraft engine-building industry has developed a new power plant especially for a foreign customer.

However, AL-55I designers are not going to stop at that. They plan to design a whole family of AL-55 engines with a thrust of 1,700–3,500 kgf, which may be mounted on a wide range of trainers, combat trainers, and light combat aircraft. The tests of the first AL-55I are timed with the 90th anniversary of the NPO Saturn and the 60th anniversary of the Lyulka Scientific Centre, Saturn's Moscow affiliate office.

Andrey FOMIN

RUSSIAN AL-55I ENGINE FOR INDIAN TRAINERS Saturn started developing the new AL-55 turbofan in 1998. The new engine was based on the worldwide popular AL-31F afterburning turbofan, mounted on all versions of the Su-27-family aircraft. The engine was developed by scaling down the air-gas channel of its well-refined combat prototype. But the AL-55 is by no means a scaled down version of the AL-31F: it is quite clear that it is impossible to simply scale down dimensions of a successful power plant to achieve high characteristics, since the two engines differ 3.5-fold in their maximum thrust! Nevertheless, contemporary mathematical modelling methods reduced both the time and the cost of developing a new turbofan considerably.

Many proven design solutions, tested on a considerably larger power plant, were used as a basis. The baseline AL-55, featuring a thrust of 2,200 kgf, was expected to be mounted on new training aircraft and combat trainers, while future light combat aircraft were to be fitted with the AL-55F afterburning version, boasting a thrust of 3,200–3,500 kgf. If necessary both the AL-55 and the AL-55F could be equipped with a thrust vector control nozzle, once again based on that of the AL-31F, refined by that time.

AL-55 models and mock-ups had repeatedly been displayed at air shows since the late 1990s, however, no one had expressed

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much interest in the engine until 2004. It was India, rather than Russia to become the first customer of the AL-55. At that time India was looking through options for powering the future HJT-36 training aircraft.

Saturn's AL-55I won the tender against the famous French Larzac engine, mounted on the Franco-German Alpha Jet trainers.

Larzac versions are also mounted on the first prototypes of the Russian MiG-AT and the Indian HJT-36 training aircraft. Cunning Indian authorities chose a promising, if hard approach: why fit the new training aircraft, expected to constitute the mainstay of the Indian Air Force training fleet in the near future, with an obsolete power plant, if new technologies can be acquired? The technologies in question were to help boost the Indian aircraft engine-building industry as well, since the AL-55 was expected to be manufactured in India from the very outset.

As a result, in late June 2005 Delhi signed a contract on developing the AL-55I for the HJT-36 trainer, and the agreement on the AL-55I licensed production in India was signed at the MAKS 2005 air show two months later. The importance of the contract was emphasised by the fact that the signing ceremony was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The contract became a powerful incentive for stepping up the development of the engine, since the delivery of the first produc-

tion engines to the customer was only two years away, an unprecedented timeframe for contemporary engine-building. However, Saturn was positive that it would cope with the task, especially given the fact that the engine development was already in full swing.

As a result, the AL-55I mock-up was manufactured and handed over to the customer as early as December 2005 for the Indian side to try and fit it in the HJT-36's engine nacelle. Separate units and modules of the new engine simultaneously progressed through bench tests. Combustion chamber tests were conducted in November 2005, the low-pressure compressor was tested in December 2005, and the high-pressure compressor in March 2006.

In order to step up the AL-55I development Saturn decided to team up to the Ufa Engine Industrial Association (UMPO), with the two companies agreeing to finance the development and split risks 50/50.

Saturn was responsible for developing the gas generator, and UMPO for the so-called cold part of the engine.

The first AL-55I development stage envisions manufacturing five engines, with two of them to be employed for bench tests, and the other three for flight tests. T2 and T4 test benches are being refined at Saturn's Lytkarino-based affiliate to facilitate the first development stage. www.take-off.ru

NPO Saturn

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contracts and deliveries | project Areas of responsibility for manufacturing AL-55I modules and assemblies

By the turn of 2005 all strength, gasdynamic, and thermodynamic calculations had been completed, performance characteristics had been determined, positive assessment of the CIAM Central Institute of Aviation Motors had been obtained, contracts with aircraft power plant designers had been signed, and a contract on delivering a 12 kW starter, original bearings for the power train, filters and heat exchangers for the oiling system had been signed. The Moscowbased NPO Saturn affiliate worked out a set of design documentation for two manufacturers: the NPO Saturn's Rybinsk-based plant was provided with drafts of the highpressure compressor, the high-pressure turbine, and the combustion chamber, while UMPO received drafts of the low-pressure compressor, the low-pressure turbine, the intermediate casing, the bypass duct, the jet nozzle, the central reduction gear, and the power plant and oiling system gear box.

At the present time the Rybinsk and the Ufa plants have carried out preproduction preparations and received compressor and turbine disk billets. They have also moulded combustion chamber diffusers, low-pressure turbine blades, and embarked on treating compressors, etc. In addition to that Saturn has developed special benches for testing separate engine modules, for instance, the low-pressure duct, the combustion chamber, the high-pressure duct, the gas generator, and the engine proper.

The AL-55I is a two-shaft turbofan engine with a subsonic jet nozzle. The three-stage fan and the five-stage high-pressure compressor with an adjustable intake at medium peripheral velocities feature an overall pressure ratio of 22.9 at efficiency coefficients of 0.83 and 0.857 respectively. The wide-chord compressors, boasting high aerodynamic www.take-off.ru

characteristics, are based on the BLISK technology (Blade plus Disk fabricated in one piece). The engine features a light lowcapacity multi-chamber annular combustion chamber with a combustion ratio of over 0.99, with a total pressure loss of about 6%, and a low level of exhaust radial and peripheral inequality. High-efficiency single-stage high- and low-pressure turbines with an open cooling system boast improved gas-dynamics, moderate gas temperatures, and high differential pressure. The efficiency coefficients of high- and low-pressure turbines total 0.849 and 0.89 respectively.

The thrust loss for both ducts in the subsonic non-controlled jet nozzle does not exceed 1%. The engine is controlled by a digital electronic control system.

The AL-55I operational efficiency is achieved by its modular design, allowing its damaged units or units with an exhausted service life to be replaced directly in the field. The engine comprises the following seven major modules: the low-pressure compressor, the high-pressure compressor, the combustion chamber, the high-pressure turbine nozzle, the low-pressure turbine nozzle, the high-pressure turbine rotor, and the gearbox.

The AL-55I development programme progresses at a high rate. The first full-scale engine has been assembled and submitted for tests by early spring 2006, i.e. just eight months after the contract was signed. The first start-up of the engine took place on 18 March. A total of six AL-55I engines are expected to be assembled in 2006. In addition to that, the gas generator is to undergo bench tests in May 2006. The first AL-55I will be submitted for flight tests next year.

The flight tests will be conducted either on the Russian Yak-130 combat trainer (in this

UMPO 1. Engine body 2. Exhaust unit 3. Low-pressure turbine 4. Power plant gearbox 5. Low-pressure compressor NPO Saturn 6. Combustion chamber 7. High-pressure turbine 8. High-pressure compressor Saturn is also responsible for assembling and testing the engine

case one of its standard AI-222-25 engines will be replaced with the AL-55I prototype), or the Indian HJT-36. The first engine is to be delivered to India only 24 months after the contract was signed. "The programme is unique, as far as the timeframe is concerned.

If we manage to comply with the timeframe, we will set a milestone in the national aircraft engine-building industry," Saturn's Designer General Alexander Sarkisov says.

On completing the flight tests, the AL-55I will be launched into series production at NPO Saturn and UMPO as well as into licensed production in India.

Under the contract, India will receive 200 AL-55I engines, though, the number of engines to be exported may increase considerably later on: India is looking into a feasibility of mounting a modified AL-55I on its future HJT-39 twin-engine combat trainer.

Meanwhile, Saturn hopes that the Russian aviation will acknowledge the engine as well: the concept of developing a wide range of modifications with a thrust of 1,700 to 3,500 kgf, based on the same gas generator, allows the AL-55 to be fitted on the Yak-130, the MiG-AT, etc. on short notice. Besides, the Indian contract allows such engines for Russian aircraft to be launched into production at low cost and on short notice. take-off may 2006

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industry | in brief

Decree on United Aircraft Corporation signed

Almost a year sharp after the historical session of the Russian Sate Council's Presidium at TsAGI Central Aero-hydrodynamics Institute in Zhukovsky on 22 February 2005, at which President Putin voiced the concept of a Russian integrated aircraft-making organisation, a year of protracted negotiations, Vladimir Putin signed Presidential Decree No 140 titled 'On the United Aircraft Corporation JSC' on 20 February 2006. The decree has been published by the president's official web site www.kremlin.ru.

Given its special importance to the future of the Russian aircraft industry, its main part is quoted hereinafter in full: “To preserve and develop the research and production capabilities of the Russian aircraft industry, ensure national security and defence, pool intellectual, production and financial resources in support of cutting-edge aircraft development programmes, I decree the following: 1. The following proposals of the government of the Russian Federation shall be approved: - establishment by the Russian Federation and stockholders of Russian aircraft manufacturers of the United Aircraft Corporation JSC in Moscow; the stock of open joint stock companies owned by the federal government be introduced into the corporation's authorised capital as the contribution of the Russian Federation in

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line with the list in Addendum 1; the share of the Russian federation in the authorised stock of the newly established joint stock company be equal to at least 75%; - transformation of the state unitary companies MiG Russian Aircraft Corporation (Moscow) and Kazan Aircraft Production Association named after S.P. Gorbunov into open joint stock companies, with 100% of their stock owned by the federal authorities; later on, 100% of the stock of each company be introduced into the authorised capital of the United Aircraft Corporation JSC as the contribution of the Russian Federation aimed to pay for additional stock issued by the new joint stock company due to the increase in its authorised stock; - establishment of the governmental commission on integration of the aircraft industry of the Russian Federation.

The introduction of the stock of the joint stock companies in line with the list in Addendum 2 to the authorised stock of the United Aircraft Corporation JSC as the contribution of private stockholders be approved.

2. Development, production, selling, operational support, maintenance, upgrade, repair, overhaul and disposal of military and commercial aircraft in support of governmental and other customers, including foreign ones, as well as introduction of high technologies and solution to this sphere of aircraft development and manufacture, be the priority of the United Aircraft Corporation JSC, its subsidiaries and affiliated companies.

3. The Government of the Russian Federation shall: - take measures stipulated by Para.1 of this decree until 1 April 2007 to determine private stockholders of the United Aircraft Corporation JSC and their shares in the authorised stock of the joint stock company;

- establish the board of directors of the open joint stock companies mentioned by Addendum 1 to this decree prior to introducing the stock of these joint stock companies into the authorised stock of the United Aircraft Corporation JSC, having ensured the interests of the Russian federation on the boards of directors of the above joint stock companies based on their shares of the stock owned by the federal authorities; - submit proposals about amending the laws and regulations of the Russian Federation, governing the military technical cooperation with other countries and providing for the joint stock companies to retain the right for foreign sales of military materiel in case the president of the Russian Federation decides to have the federally-owned stock of the above joint stock companies introduced into the authorised stock of other joint stock companies; - submit a proposal for putting the United Aircraft Corporation JSC following its official registration on the strategic-company and strategic joint stock company list approved by Presidential Decree No 1009 'On Approval of the List of Strategic Companies and Joint Stock Companies' dated 4 August 2004; - bring its legal documents to conformity with this decree.�

Paragraph 4 of the decree amended the list of strategic companies and joint stock companies.

KAPO and MiG Corp. were struck from Part 1 of the list approved by Presidential Decree No 1009, while the Sukhoi company with the government's authorised stock share of 100%, Ilyushin (51%), KnAAPO (25.5%), Sokol (38%), NAPO (25.5%) and Tupolev (65.8%) were deleted from Part 2.

Paragraph 5 declared Presidential Decree No 135 'On the Aviation Complex named after S.V. Ilyushin JSC' dated 3

February 2004 null and void.

Paragraph 6 stated that the decree would come into force on the day of its signing, i.e. on 20 February 2006.

Decree No 140 has two addenda. Addendum 1 sets the list of public corporations owned by the federal government, whose stock is to be introduced the authorised stock of UAC. The list includes Sukhoi (100% of its stock), V/O Aviaexport (15%), Ilyushin Finance Co. (38%), KnAAPO (25.5%), Ilyushin Interstate Aircraft Company (86%), Sokol plant (38%), NAPO (25.5%), Tupolev (90.8%) and Finance Leasing Co. (58%).

Addendum 2 specifies the list of joint stock companies whose stock can be introduced into UAC's authorised capital as a private stockholder contribution.

Aviastar-SP, Ilyushin, V/O Aviaexport, VASO, IFC, Irkut, Sokol, the Sukhoi design bureau, Yakovlev design bureau, TAVIA, Beriev, Tupolev and FLC are on the list.

In early March, Russia's Premier Mikhail Fradkov nominated MiG Corp.'s Director General/Designer General Alexey Fyodorov for Director General of the United Aircraft Corporation.

President Vladimir Putin has supported the nomination. Alexey Fyodorov is going to be approved as Director General of the UAC after the corporation has been registered.

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industry | in brief

Maiden flight of third Yak-130 The third preproduction Yakovlev Yak-130 aircraft conducted its maiden flight at the Sokol plant's airfield in Nizhny Novgorod on 27 March. It was flown by Yakovlev's senior test pilot Oleg Kononenko, commander of the crew, and the State Flight Test Centre's test pilot Col. Sergey Shcherbina who had already logged eight missions on Yak-130 No 01 under the official test programme.

The 43min. first flight was aimed at checking the plane's basic systems and gauging its controllability and stability. The aircraft developed a speed of 700 km/h at 6,000 m. The crew praised the outcome of the mission, noting the aircraft's preparedness for further testing.

The Yak-130 completed another three flights under the factory test programme within the three ensu-

ing days and then hopped to LII's airfield in Zhukovsky to kick off the official trials, in which the first and second LRIP aircraft of the type had been involved since May and October 2005 respectively.

The official tests are to wrap up in the end of this year, with the Air Force to start taking delivery of the early production aircraft. Under the deal between Yakovlev and RusAF, the first 12-ship batch of Yak-130 combat trainers is to be delivered from 2006 to 2008.

The combat trainer's quick fielding with RusAF has paved the way for it to the global market. Earlier this year, the first export deal for 16 Yak-130s for the Algerian Air Force was struck. Deliveries are going to begin in 2008. The aircraft will have the same power plant and avionics suite as the Yak-130 to enter in service with the RusAF.

An-70 gets its first certificate The Aircraft Register of the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) issued the Antonov ASTC company with the type certificate for noise compliance for its An-70-100, a commercial version of the An-70 airlifter.

The certificate confirms the plane's compliance with the noise requirements of Stage 3, Addendum C, AP-36 Air Regulations and Chapter 3, Vol. 1, Addendum 16 to the ICAO Convention with the 3,4 EPNdB. The certificate entitles the An-70-100 to operate without restriction on all international services.

Today, the An-70 airlifter prototype carries on with its official trials that are expected to be completed this year. In 2006, the Aviant plant in Kiev is to make the first two produc-

tion aircraft ordered by the Ukrainian Defence Ministry.

The military might order a total of 20 such aircraft over the decade. There is no information on any other firm orders for the An-70, including its commercial derivative, the An-70-100.

To spur the work under the programme, Antonov National Aircraft-building Corporation's Director General Anatoly Myalitsa late last year suggested Ukraine tycoons should invest in the An-70 programme “to contribute to improving the image of the country�.

When the aircraft is ready for full-rate production, new customers could crop up, because several countries are known to have shown interest in the An-70.

Kamov gearing up for certification in Europe

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tors, Kamov has launched negotiations to work out a joint procedure for EC-wide certification of its helicopters. With that, Kamov could become the first Russian aircraft manufacturer to certificate its aircraft for compliance with EASA's norms, having set standards for further programmes of certificating Russian aircraft in EU. Mention should be made that the Kamov company is the Russian pioneer in promoting its helicopters on the global commercial aircraft market. Thus, as far back as 1969, the Kamov Ka-26 proved to be the first Soviet aircraft certified for compliance with the FAR-29 standard. Another Kamov machine, the Ka-32A11BC, again was the first Russian aircraft certified in Canada.

The talks in Cologne resulted in a joint memorandum defining further action to be taken for Kamov's helicopters to be certified for compliance with EASA regulations.

Kamov JSC

On 30-31 March, the German city of Cologne hosted a routine meeting of representatives of Kamov Company, EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) and IAC's Aircraft Registry, who came to discuss certificating Kamov Ka-32A11BC, Ka-26 and Ka-226 helicopters in Europe. As is known, all aircraft lacking an EC type certificate will be banned from the EC skies since 28 March 2007 in line with the European Parliament's resolutions EC1592/2002 and 1702/2003. Proceeding from this, EC users of Russian helicopters have expressed a grave concern with the feasibility of their further operation beyond the deadline.

There are over a dozen of Kamov machines operated in EC. Thus, six Ka-32A11BC helicopters have been bought by Spain, two

by Switzerland (see one in the picture) and several Ka-26s have been in service with Hungarian, Romanian and Bulgarian operators. To accommodate the opera-

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industry | interview

ALEXANDER NOVIKOV: “NEW ENGINE-MAKING ASSOCIATION IS NEEDED” Commercialisation of the Klimov RD-33MK turbofan engine to fit the Mikoyan MiG-29K (MiG-33) carrierborne fighter under development for the Indian Navy and development of the first examples of the Klimov TV7-117ST turboprops to power the future Ilyushin Il-112V airlifter are high on the Russian aircraft engine industry's priority list. The modified RD-33MK has begun its long-time endurance tests. A TV7-117ST mockup has been approved and the trials of its gas generator have kicked off. The Chernyshev Moscow Machine-Building Enterprise, which is about to celebrate its 75th anniversary, is productionising the engines. Chernyshev's Director General Alexander Novikov was kind enough to talk with Take-Off's Andrey Yurgenson on the status of the programmes and other advanced efforts pursued by the plant.

Mr Novikov, what are your company's priorities this year?

Today, Chernyshev operates to plan.

Speaking of dynamics, its annual growth stands at 33–34% in terms of sales and financial showings. Our 2006 orderbook is

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full, being worth about $230–240 million.

Taking into account that the company employs only 6,700 personnel, such an orderbook is not bad at all.

Let us start with what we have got in fullrate production. The Klimov RD-33 family

of engines powering MIG-29 fighters remains the backbone of Chernyshev's production programme. At present, we mostly make Series 3 engines of the type. We overhaul earlier-built RD-33 Series 1 and 2 engines, but Series 3 products have started arriving for overhaul as well.

Currently, a large volume of work falls on the advanced engine, the RD-33MK, designed to fit the MiG-29K shipborne fighter under the deal with India. Another RD-33 version ordered by foreigners is the RD-93.

We are to deliver 21 of them to China in 2006 to equip Chinese FC-1 fighters.

In addition, we have been running fullrate production of the Klimov TV7-117SM turboprops powering the Ilyushin Il-114.

The programme has picked up pace, which is a cause for optimism. Our company is www.take-off.ru

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industry | interview Alexander Novikov was born in Alma-Ata in 1949. He graduated from the Rybinsk Aircraft Technology College and started his career as a fitter with the Rybinsk Engine Plant (now NPO Saturn) where he climbed all rungs of the career ladder all the way to Designer General of the

with such engines. Compared with its predecessor, the RD-33MK features a 700kgf increase in thrust, a longer life and an automatic control unit, while retaining the same size and virtually the same weight. It is designed for on-condition operation.

This is good progress.

RKBM Rybinsk Engine-Building Design Bureau.

On the verge of the new millennium, he was given a job with MiG Corp. as deputy Director General for strategic planning and headed the engine-making division. He assumed the office of Director General of the Chernyshev JSC in 2001. Alexander Novikov has a Ph.D. in engineering and is a professor and a member of the Russian Transport Academy. He has authored numerous scientific works and inventions and holds an Order of Friendship and Russian MoD's medal For Bolstering Combat Camaraderie.

gearing up for commercialising its advanced derivatives, the TV7-117ST, designed for the Ilyushin Il-112V. We have placed heavy intellectual and production emphasis on making and debugging a novelty of ours, the RD-1700 lightweight turbofan, to power the MiG-AT trainer. And, finally, a few words on another thing we have never done before. We are on the verge of productionising the Klimov VK-2500 helicopter engine, had all relevant paperwork approved and devised a productionising schedule. We will launch production of the VK-2500 in late 2007.

What is the status of the RD-33MK programme, given that the MiG-29K is to begin its tests this year and its deliveries are to start in 2007?

As far as the RD-33MK is concerned, the Klimov plant devises the documentation and we make all what has to be made at the drop of a hat. The engines assembled are given to Klimov for testing. Since the engine's design has been determined, we are going to start conducting the bulk of the tests ourselves, e.g. cyclic and endurance tests. The first RD-33MK was put on a test bench in late March. Thus, the developer and us work concurrently. The schedule is tight, and there is no other way out.

The task the customer set to us is difficult – making the engine repairable on site: at an aircraft's workshop or even on deck. This called for a considerable enhancement of its modularity, and Klimov resolved the problem. By the way, the MiG-29K is not the only plane the RD-33MK could power in the future. RSK MiG Corp. is pondering the fitting the land-based MiG-35 fighters www.take-off.ru

What is peculiar about commercialising the TV7-117ST? The engine differs from the TV7-117SM we make in a centrifugal stage with the socalled 'above-rotor' disc. In addition, it has somewhat different laws of control and different 'maths'. The degree of commonality between the TV7-117ST and TV7-117SM is going to be about 80%. No drastic change in technology to make the TV7-117ST will be needed, but manufacture of the centrifugal wheel will call for advanced production we have been working on that and are going to order the equipment soon. This year we are to make four TV7-117STs, with all of them to be shipped to Klimov for tests.

When is the long-awaited RD-1700 going to fly?

The fifth RD-1700 is undergoing endurance tests now. It has logged 25 hours.

We have gauged its basic characteristics, with its thrust and combustion characteristics being very close to the design ones. I am certain the engine is a success.

Another engine, No 6, has been given to MiG Corp. to fit the MiG-AT. It is going to be a so-called 'sloped' plane because one of its engines is going to be French Larzac and another one the RD-1700 that will be tested on the aircraft. This year, we are to do a lot under the RD-1700 official test programme. The schedule has been approved, and we have been sticking to it. The official trials are to wrap up in late 2007.

The RD-1700 was designed to power the MiG-AT, but fitting it to unmanned aerial vehicles is being looked into as well. We hope that the MiG-AT powered by our engines will be in demand with the Russian Air Force, even more so because a decision has been made that MiG-ATs fitted with Russian-made engines and avionics will make up to 30–40% of the Russian trainer fleet. MiG Corp. has been developing such a version in earnest.

It is known that Russian aero engine manufacturers get a hefty chunk of their revenue from overhauling the engines they made.

How high is overhaul on Chernyshev's priority list?

Indeed, we receive a sizable part of our income from overhauling engines and mak-

ing spares for them. This concerns both the RD-33 and previous-generation engines we used to make to fit the MiG-23 and MiG-27 (we are overhauling about 20 engines like that at the moment). We have customers in about 40 countries. There is no problem with spares to fit these engines, which production was discontinued many years ago, since we have retained the relevant equipment and tooling.

In all, we overhaul 90–100 engines annually. Chernyshev-made engines are in service throughout the world. Therefore, overhaul is a good and regular component of the company's income. We mostly overhaul engines of our foreign customers. Unfortunately, we have not made a single new engine for Russia for the past eight years, and only four to six engines arrive for overhaul every year, though the Russian Air Force operates about 900 RD-33s, of which only 21 are covered by warranty maintenance.

India is among the major RD-33 users.

The country learnt to overhaul it on its own, fixing about 45 units a year. In its day, Chernyshev assisted the Indians in building the overhaul factory in Karaput. Nowadays, we exercise follow-on supervision, with our experts going to India twice a year for a month to check if technological processes are complied with. Nonetheless, we, too, overhaul Indian-operated RD-33s – 25 engines a year.

The president has recently signed the decree on setting up the United Aircraft Corporation. What is your stance on integrating the aircraft manufacturers and aero engine makers, in particular?

I think it is the right decision. However, UAC is to consist of aircraft manufacturers, including MiG Corp. comprising now four engine manufacturers – Chernyshev, Klimov, TMKB Soyuz and Krasny Octiabr.

We have an issue of how to retain the experience we have gotten. Therefore, we, the four companies I have mentioned, believe an aero engine association has to be set up.

There are sufficient relevant conditions for doing this.

The four of us do our best to maintain good relations; we run many joint programmes and share common interests.

Klimov and TMKB Soyuz work with our company under long-term contracts. I believe Chernyshev has good relations with the both design bureaus, and all of us are ready for integration, because we cover a whole line of work in the aircraft engine industry – engines to power helicopters, commuter planes, light transports and light fighters. We have well-coordinated plans until 2020 in this field. take-off may 2006

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industry | report Last November Rosoboronexport signed a $550 million contract on delivering 180 AL-31F engines to be mounted on Sukhoi Su-27SK and Su-30MKK aircraft to China. The contract was awarded to the Salut Moscow Machine-building Production Plant (MMPP Salut), the traditional exporter of AL-31F engines to China. The new contract allowed Salut to reach the all-time high production rate in the past 15 years: the 2006 production plan envisions manufacturing about $600 million's worth of products, which amounts to about 90% of Salut's production output in 1991. At the present time MMPP Salut derives 83% of its profits from exports, but its management is positive that sooner or later the trend will be reversed and upgraded AL-31Fs, developed and manufactured by Salut, will be fitted on the Russian Air Force fighters.

Take-off's correspondents Piotr Butowski and Viktor Drushlyakov have recently visited MMPP Salut and examined priority programmes of the enterprise.

Salut benefiting from Chinese contracts AL-31F-family engines are manufactured

by MMPP Salut and the Ufa Engine Industrial Association (UMPO). As is a tradition, Salut deals with Chinese exports, while UMPO cooperates with the Indian Air Force.

Contracts with other states are fulfilled jointly by both enterprises. The Chinese Air Force has fielded about 280 Sukhoi fighters since 1992, including 76 Su-27SKs and Su-27UBKs, 76 Su-30MKKs, and 24 Su-30MK2s, exported from Russia, as well as up to 105 J-11 (Su-27SK) fighters, licence produced in China. China received the first batches of Su-27SKs and Su-27UBKs in 1992 and 1996, and the new engines to be produced by Salut under the

SALUT ARMS CHINESE AIR FORCE recently signed contract will be mounted on these very aircraft. The matter is that the service life of AL-31Fs, manufactured in the 1990s, amounts to 900 hours, and given intensive operation of Su-27s in China, the engines have to be replaced with new ones. It is worth mentioning that though China has bought the Su-27SK production licence, it is not entitled to manufacture its own engines.

Although China is developing its own WS10 engine, new big-ticket contracts on delivering AL-31Fs and AL-31FNs, placed with Russian enterprise, mean that the Chinese

engine is still a long way from being launched into mass production.

The November contract on delivering 180 AL-31Fs was preceded by another big-ticket deal, signed in July 2005. Under the deal, Salut is to deliver 100 AL-31FN engines to be mounted on new Chinese J-10 fighters.

The first batch was shipped off last October, while the last batch of AL-31FNs is expected to be delivered in late 2006. In addition to that, in early 2005 Salut signed a three-year contract, worth $100 million, with China.

Under the contract, Salut is to overhaul

Top: the AL-31FN engine with lower accessories gearbox is specially designed and produced at MMPP Salut to be mounted on the J-10 Chinese fighters

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AL-31Fs delivered earlier and export necessary spare parts.

The AL-31FN (designated “izdeliye 39”) is specially designed to be mounted on the J-10 aircraft. It differs from the baseline AL-31F (“99V”) in the lower layout of the accessory-gear box, but main characteristics remain intact. China procured nine AL-31FN prototypes from the Lyulka-Saturn company as far back as 1997. The engines were fitted on the first J-10 prototypes. The mass-produced AL-31FN made its appearance in 2000. It was designed by LyulkaSaturn and refined by the Salut Design Bureau.

China ordered another 54 AL-31FNs for follow-up prototypes and www.take-off.ru

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AL-31F and AL-31F-M1 comparative characteristics AL-31F AL-31F-M1 Increased afterburner thrust Thrust, kgf 13,500 Specific fuel consumption, kg/kgf•h 1.96 Turbine inlet temperature, K 1,690 Air consumption, kg/s 119 Full throttle afterburner thrust Thrust, kgf 12,500 12,500 Specific fuel consumption, kg/kgf•h 1.96 1.97 Turbine inlet temperature, K 1,665 1,630 Air consumption, kg/s 113 114 Increased thrust without afterburner Thrust, kgf 8,250 Specific fuel consumption, kg/kgf•h 0.77 Maximum thrust Thrust, kgf 7,670 7,670 Specific fuel consumption, kg/kgf•h 0.78 0.77 Bypass ratio Maximum diameter, mm Length, mm Dry weight, kg First overhaul period, hours Specified service life, hours

0.56 1,280 4,990 1,547 500 1,500

0.61 1,280 4,990 1,557 1,000 4,000

MMPP Salut AL-31F engines low pressure compressor characteristics Production LPC Stages 4 Diameter, mm 905 Pressure ratio 3.55

Piotr BUTOWSKI Photos by Viktor Drushlyakov

AL-31F upgrading stages, developed by MMPP Salut

first production J-10s. All 54 engines were delivered to China by Salut in 2001–2003.

The Chinese J-10 fighter programme progresses at a rapid pace, thus, Salut may soon secure new contracts from Russia's Oriental neighbour.

AL-31F-M1

Developed for Russian Air Force

AL-31F-SM

On 23 June 2000 the Russian government appointed the NPO Saturn flagship designer and manufacturer of the power plant for the future tactical fighter. Saturn was tasked with development of an engine, now designated “117S”. The engine is also expected to be mounted on new versions of Su-27-family fighters.

Under the programme, Salut was only to manufacture units and assemblies of the new engine, which was basically a deep modernisation of the AL-31F. Salut management was

AL-31F-M3 www.take-off.ru

KND924-4 4 924 3.68

KND924-3 3 924 4.2

not satisfied with the enterprise's role in the project, thus in summer 2000 Salut embarked on a gradual upgrade of the production AL-31F on its own initiative in order to develop an option to “117S”. The initiative became a possibility after Salut established its own design bureau in early 2000.

The first-stage upgrading engine, designed

by Salut, was designated AL-31F-M1 (“99M1”). Unlike the production AL-31F, it is fitted with the modified 924-mm KND-924-4 four-stage low pressure compressor (LPC), and the new KRD-99Ts integrated digital engine controller. The higher output of the AL-31FM1 compressor results in the following two advantages: on the one hand, it increases the thrust by 6–15%, and on the other hand, it reduces the turbine inlet temperature by 35 K while maintaining the same thrust, which considerably extends the engine's service life.

The ninth AL-31F-M1 prototype started flight tests on Su-27 flying testbed c/n 37-11 (side No 595) at the Flight Research Institute on 25 January 2002. Later on the aircraft was fitted with two such engines. Su-27 No 595, powered by AL-31F-M1 engines, carried out a total of 27 test flights. In addition to that, it take-off may 2006

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industry | report had conducted six of ten state test flights by the turn of 2006. The AL-31F-M1 state tests are to be completed in 2006, after which the engine could be launched into production and mounted on Su-27 fighters in service with the Russian Air Force in the course of their overhaul and upgrade.

Prospects In early 2006 Salut embarked on testing the next upgrading stage engine, the AL-31F-M2

compressor is manufactured in compliance with the “BLISK” technology (Blade plus Disk fabricated in one piece). The innovations will increase the thrust of the AL-31F-M3 up to 15,000 kgf.

It is common knowledge that new versions of Su-27-family aircraft, first and foremost, the Su-34 attack aircraft, recently launched into production in Novosibirsk, and the Su-35 future multirole export fighter to be tested in 2006–2007, need more powerful

so-called special mode of operation, envisioning a short-term increase in turbine inlet temperature by 75 K. However, this mode reduces the service life of the engine considerably: AL-31F Series 3 has a service life of only 700 hours (the first such engines had a service life of only 300 hours), current AL-31F Series 2 engines have a service life of 1,500 hours, while future AL-31F-M1s are expected to have a service life of 4,000 hours.

In addition to that, the recent aircraft crash

Right: the KND-924-3 three-stage wide-chord blade compressor, developed by Salut and based on the BLISK technology, will be mounted on the AL-31F-M3 engine Bottom right: the thrust vector control nozzle, developed by MMPP Salut and based on the KLIVT technology (developed by the St. Petersburg-based Klimov Plant), for upgraded AL-31F engines, features a fully variable thrust vectoring Bottom: the first upgrading stage AL-31F-M1 turbofan is to complete the state tests this year

(“99M2”), recently designated AL-31F-SM (“99SM”), with its new designation emphasising that the engine may be mounted on upgraded Su-27SM fighters. There are two main features, inherent in the second-stage modernisation: new turbine discs and modified KND-924-4 compressor vanes. The modifications introduced resulted in increasing the AL-31F-SM afterburner thrust up to 14,000 kgf. It is also quite important that the AL-31F-M1 and the AL-31F-SM are fully interchangeable with the production AL-31Fs, mounted on Su-27s. It only takes a single retainer to fit a larger fan. Moreover, earlier AL-31Fs can easily be upgraded up to the level of AL-31F-M1 and AL-31F-SM by a simple replacement of separate modules in the course of overhauls.

Salut expects to start testing the third upgrading stage engine, the AL-31F-M3 (“99M3”), in December 2006. The new engine differs in the brand new KND-924-3 low pressure compressor, new combustion chambers, and new turbine blades. The KND-924-3 three-stage wide-chord blade

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engines. The first Su-34s are powered by production AL-31Fs for the time being, but their thrust is obviously insufficient for capitalising on all capabilities of the 45-ton aircraft. At the present time the aircraft may be fitted with either “117S”, designed by NPO Saturn, or the AL-31F-M1 (or AL-31F-SM), developed by MMPP Salut. However, Salut stands little chance of securing a contract on retrofitting Su-34s with new engines, as the Air Force has vested the right to select the power plant with Sukhoi, which is known to prefer working with Saturn for a number of quite obvious reasons. Unfortunately, Salut should not cherish an illusion to participate in upgrading RusAF's Su-27s either, since the Russian Air Force does not yet plan to fit the aircraft with upgraded engines.

Salut stands a better chance of mounting its new engines on aircraft in service with the Russian Naval Aviation. At the moment all Su-33 shipborne fighters are powered by AL-31F Series 3 (“99A”) engines, produced

by Salut. Unlike AL-31F Series 2 (“99V”), they have a thrust of up to 12,800 kgf at the

on the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier, which took place in the Atlantic on 5 September 2005, clearly shows the advantages of increasing the thrust-to-weight ratio of Su-33 fighters. Salut is negotiating a feasibility of retrofitting Navy's Su-33s with AL-31F-M1 engines with the Russian Naval Aviation authorities.

However, even in this case it may be difficult for Salut engines to make their way to Russian shipborne aircraft. The circumstances being what they are, it will not be surprising if they are mounted on Chinese aircraft first. The work is already being done to this end. Salut offers the AL-31F-M1 for Chinese Su-27SK, J-11, Su-30MKK and Su-30MK2 fighters as well as Su-33K carrierborne fighters, which China may procure in Russia in the near future to equip its first aircraft carrier.

Another option consists in mounting the AL-31FN-M1 with an increased thrust and a fully variable thrust vector control nozzle on new Chinese J-10 fighters. Salut manufactured the upgraded AL-31FN-M1 (“39M1”) www.take-off.ru

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industry | report prototype in 2005, and this year it expects to complete its tests.

In 2000 Salut manufactured a pilot batch of ten AL-31FP (“96”) engines, fitted with the thrust vectoring system, designed by Lyulka-Saturn. Later on the AL-31FP for Indian Su-30MKI fighters was launched into series production at UMPO, while Salut embraced an approach of introducing the fully variable thrust vector control nozzle.

The new system was based on the KLIVT technology, developed by the St. Petersburgbased Klimov Plant for upgrading RD-33 engines, mounted on MiG-29 fighters and Chinese FC-1 aircraft. Generally, the oneplane thrust vectoring system, inherent in the AL-31FP, is quite sufficient for the twinengine Su-27 and Su-30 aircraft. However, the single-engine J-10 boasts greater capabilities when fitted with a fully variable thrust vector control nozzle. Thus, Salut purchased the KLIVT system documentation from the

Klimov Plant, but considerably modified it later on. Mock-ups of the AL-31F-M1 with the fully variable thrust vector control nozzle have repeatedly been displayed on Su-27 No 595 and 598 flying testbeds in Zhukovsky since 2002. The real thrust vector control nozzle mounted on the AL-31F power plant has been undertaking long-term bench tests at MMPP Salut in Moscow. Salut states that the confirmed service life of the thrust vector control nozzle totals 750 hours, and is expected to increase up to 1,000 hours in the near future.

Sukhoi and then some

Not by AL-31F alone

The AL-31F Series 30S (“53”) turbofan, designed to retrofit Indian MiG-27M fighterbombers, is another version of the AL-31F, developed by MMPP Salut. The enterprise offered India to equip upgraded MiG-27Ms with this engine in June 2003, and the programme has recently received a new incen-

In addition to fulfilling big-ticket Chinese contracts on delivering AL-31F and AL-31FN engines and developing their new versions, MMPP Salut participates in a number of other engine-building programmes as well. Jointly with its Ukrainian counterparts the enterprise is getting ready to launch into series production the new Ivchenko-Progress AI-222-25 engine to be mounted on the Russian Air Force Yakovlev Yak-130 combat trainers. It has also been involved in manufacturing IvchenkoProgress D-436-family turbofans for Beriev Be-200 amphibious aircraft, Tupolev Tu-334 airliners, and new Antonov An-148 regional jets since 1993. If Salut wins the power plant tender for the future Yakovlev/Ilyushin MS-21 short/medium-haul airliner, it will manufacture yet another Russian-Ukrainian AI-436T12 turbofan. In 2003 the enterprise planned to have manufactured a number of units and assemblies of the IvchenkoProgress D-27 propfan for the future Antonov An-70 military transport, but the work was suspended given the current stance of the Russian Air Force.

In addition to that, Salut also overhauls AL-21F-3A engines, employed on all versions of the Russian Su-24 tactical bomber, and offers the upgraded AL-21F-3M version with a 300 kgf greater thrust. It also overhauls R15B-300 engines, mounted on MiG-25RBs. The Salut Design Bureau has designed the 630 hp TV-500S turboprop engine for the SM-92T aircraft to be submitted for bench tests this summer. It is also worth mentioning that Salut derives 20% of its profits from civil projects, first and foremost, industrial power plants, based on written-off aircraft engines.

However, no matter how vast the scope of MMPP Salut's activities may be, there is no doubt that manufacturing, overhauling, and upgrading AL-31F-family engines constitute the backbone of its production programme. It would be unfair, if the company's experience in this field were in demand only abroad.

AL-31F engine, fitted with the fully variable thrust vector control nozzle, being bench tested at MMPP Salut

www.take-off.ru

tive: MMPP Salut and RSK MiG Corp. agreed to jointly finance retrofitting a demonstration aircraft to test the AL-31F Series 30S. In September 2003 the mock-up of the engine was mounted on MiG-27M c/n 01-01, and in March 2004 Salut embarked on bench tests of the first and the second full-scale AL-31F Series 30S engines.

The enterprise has recently assembled the third engine of this type, designed to undergo flight tests. The upgraded MiG-27M, powered by this engine, is expected to make its maiden flight in the second quarter of 2006.

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commercial aviation | in brief

Russian civil aviation in 2005 Russia's civil air fleet (as of early 2006)

Alexey Mikheyev

Mainline passenger airliners Il-62M Il-86 Il-96-300 Tu-154B, Tu-154M Tu-204-100, Tu-204-300 Tu-214 Yak-42, Yak-42D

39 45 14 242 13 8 66

A310-200, 300 A319-100 A320-200 A321-200 B737-200, 300, 400, 500 B747-200 B757-200 B767-200, 300

4 8 7 3 29 3 14 19

Total

514 Regional passenger airliners

On 6 March 2006 the board of the Federal Air Transport Agency (FATA, Rosaviatsiya) held its annual meeting in Moscow to review the 2005 performance of domestic civil aviation and set key tasks for the current year. Transport Minister Igor Levitin and FATA head Alexander Yurchik delivered reports at the meeting.

Despite 2005 having been a challenging year for the industry, Russia's 185 airlines secured a combined growth of 3.4% in passenger kilometres and 3.9% in passenger traffic on the 2004 figures.

Russian carriers transported 35.1 million passengers, indicating a 1.9% year-on-year growth in passenger kilometres for domestic routes and 4.8% growth for international routes. The volume of regional passenger traffic remained unchanged from 2004; most passengers were transported between Moscow and other Russian cities.

Cargo traffic declined for the second consecutive year, dropping 3.7% on 2004 to 25,000 t. The most possible reason is that the sector has not yet found an equal replacement for the Chinese cargo market recently lost by Russian carriers.

Total profits of Russian airlines grew by 10% to 180 billion roubles (about $6.5bn), but carriers were spending more than earning. Air transport costs increased by an average of 20.2% across all segments. Analysis shows that airlines' swelling expenses are direct-

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ly dependent on the growing aircraft fuel prices, which averaged 16,300 roubles (about $580) per tonne in 2005 and sent fuel surcharges up to nearly 40% of the air transport costs.

The soaring fuel prices affected the air fares. Prices for air tickets increased by 13.7% in 2005, outstripping the inflation rate for the first time in several years.

Additional expenses reduced the aggregate profit of Russian airlines to about 2.2bn roubles (about $80 million), 50% down on 2004.

Almost 50% of the carriers are reportedly in poor financial standing. Profitability or at least lossfree performance is only attainable by those few airlines which enjoy a healthy traffic. Last year, 49.9% of all passengers in Russia were carried by four major carriers: Aeroflot (24.1%), S7 Siberia Airlines (12.8%), Pulkovo Airlines (6.7%) and KrasAir (6.4%). The top 15 carriers each flew more than 1bn passenger kilometres in 2005 and together handled 81.4% of the entire workload; the top 30 airlines together accounted for 94.4% of the total passenger kilometres, while the remaining 155 companies were left with a scanty 5.6%.

The competitiveness of Russian airlines is impossible to improve without a large-scale fleet overhaul.

This is the most urgent task of national civil aviation. Deliveries of new Russian-made aircraft did not intensify significantly in 2005 as compared to the previous years. A

total of 17 aircraft were delivered, including five helicopters. Only six new-generation mainline airliners found their customers: two Tupolev Tu-214s and four Tu-204-300s. The remaining six aircraft were general aviation, trainer and utility types: two Antonov An-3s, two Beriev Be-103s and two Myasishchev M-101Ts. Given the massive obsolescence of Russia's passenger aircraft, this slow rate of fleet renovation is only exacerbating the crisis. Of a total 5,500 passenger aircraft, only 2,500 (or 46%) were serviceable in 2005 (see table). Russian carriers currently operate 42 new-generation domestic airliners, which accounts for just 1.7% of the total passenger fleet. This is obviously far from enough.

The recent strengthening of international restrictions on operating obsolete types has moved many Russian airlines to seek equipment abroad, even despite the high import duties. More than 30 foreign-made aircraft were purchased or leased in 2005, including over 20 mainline airliners. Russian airlines operate a total of 85 foreign-made mainline passenger aircraft; this is almost 2.5 times the number of Russian-made new-generation passenger airplanes currently in operation, and 16% of the country's entire mainline fleet.

Airlines that once had all-Russian fleets are starting to switch to Western types, and this trend will continue.

An-24 An-38 Il-114 Tu-134A, Tu-134B Yak-40 DHC-8-100

118 5 2 165 137 3

Total

430 Cargo aircraft

An-12 An-26 An-30 An-32 An-74 An-124-100 Il-76T, Il-76TD

26 56 14 3 18 21 72

B747-200, B747-300 DC-10-40F Total

3 4 217

General aviation aircraft An-2 An-3 An-28 Il-103 M-101T L-410

387 11 9 3 2 10

Total

422 Business jets

BAe-125 Cessna 208B Falcon 20 Falcon 900 Gulfstream

6 3 2 3 1

Total

15

Total fixed-wing

1,598 Helicopters

Ka-26 Ka-32 Mi-2 MI-8T, P, MT, MTV Mi-10K Mi-26T W-3 AS-355N BK-171 Total Grand total

31 28 124 692 1 27 1 7 7 890 2,488

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commercial aviation | in brief

Late last year the Russian Regional Jet (RRJ) programme led

by Sukhoi's subsidiary Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company (SCAC) passed a milestone equally awaited by the proponents and opponents of one of the most controversial aerospace development efforts in the newest history of Russia. On 7 December Russia's leading carrier Aeroflot named the winner in its regional jet tender launched back in 2004. The RRJ's primary rival in the tender was the Russo-Ukrainian Antonov An-148 airliner, which is being promoted by the IlyushinFinance leasing company and actively lobbied by National Reserve Corporation, a minority shareholder in Aeroflot. The carrier's eventual choice was for the RRJ. Aeroflot has agreed to buy 30 aircraft of the RRJ-95 95-seat base model, to be powered by the SaM146 engines currently under development by Russo-French company PowerJet. The contract is reportedly valued at about $820m in list prices, or about $27m per aircraft. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in November 2008.

Aeroflot says the RRJ family fully meets the existing and future reliability, safety and operating efficiency standards, and will stimulate Russian carriers into introducing new domestic and international routes. Aeroflot Director General Valery Okulov says the RRJ's key advantage is that it will enjoy global demand: "Aeroflot is the Russian flag carrier, the trendsetter of Russia's air transport industry, and we are glad to make the RRJ-95, a Russian aircraft, an integral part of our plan to build a modern fleet."

The terms of the contract are not being revealed, but Aeroflot is believed to be targeting financial and operating lease schemes. The principal provisions and price of the contract were unanimously approved by the Aeroflot board at a 29 March 2006 meeting. An extraordinary general meeting of Aeroflot shareholders will be held on 16 May to vote on the deal.

Although Aeroflot chose the RRJ over the An-148, it has not closed

www.take-off.ru

Andrey Fomin

RRJ receives first firm orders

the door on the losing bidder.

Okulov said shortly after the announcement of the tender results that the carrier's regional subsidiaries such as Aeroflot-Nord and Aeroflot-Don might order An-148s.

Meanwhile, the RRJ secured its first foreign customer at the recent Dubai Air Show. On 22 November 2005 the little-known Dubai-based leasing company Concord Aviation placed a firm order with the SCAC for 20 SaM146-powered RRJ-95s with an option for a further 20. The estimated value of the deal is about $1bn (about $27m per aircraft in list prices). Deliveries should begin in 2009 and run until 2013. "Having signed the launch contract today, we are pleased to welcome our first customer outside Russia," SCAC Director General Viktor Subbotin said after the signing ceremony.

"This means a true breakthrough into new markets for the RRJ programme. We do believe the Middle East to be a very promising niche for the new RRJ family." Despite sceptical remarks by certain journalists concerning the customer's unknown track record, the CSAS expresses confidence that Concord Aviation will be a reliable partner in

promoting the RRJ to the Gulf, the Middle East and northern Africa.

"We have no doubts that Concord Aviation will fulfil the obligations it has undertaken. The company's staff have a strong background in aviation industry and a good understanding of the market," says SCAC commercial director Svetlana Isayeva, adding that the customer is backed by UAE and UK capital.

The SCAC views Southeast Asia as another major market for the RRJ. Regional sales manager Anatoly Mezhevov said at the Asian Aerospace exhibition in Singapore in early 2006 that Chinese, Indonesian, Indian and Filipino carriers are among the most likely regional customers for the type. Mezhevov said he was hoping to announce the first orders from a Southeast Asian country (most probably Indonesia) before the end of 2006, and added that unnamed US carriers could also order the type. He noted however that deliveries to the USA would not begin until 2009–11. In the early spring of 2006 the SCAC said it had 134 orders for the RRJ including options and MoUs. Mezhevov said in this connection

that the company is continuing negotiations with SAS Scandinavian Airlines over having the RRJ shortlisted for the carrier's tender to replace its regional fleet.

In the meantime, work continues to build the first RRJ prototypes. In February 2006 the KnAAPO plant began assembling the first centrewing section. This phase is to be completed by May, after which the centre-wing will be mated to the centre fuselage section (F2).

Simultaneously with that the F3 and F4 fuselage sections will be built.

The first airframe will be assembled after the Novosibirsk-based NAPO plant delivers the F1 nose section and F5 tail section in September 2006.

The first flight is tentatively set for September 2007. Under the SCAC's current schedule, certification should be completed in October 2008; service entry is to follow in November same year. If the SCAS and PowerJet meet these deadlines they will set a world record for the fastest development of a new passenger aircraft complete with a new powerplant.

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commercial aviation | in brief

The first preproduction Su-80GP advanced turboprop commuter plane (c/n 01-05) is undergoing final tests

by KnAAPO prior to beginning its flight trials. By early spring, tests of its avionics suite and fuel system had been completed. The flight tests are slated for May. One the first five missions have been flown, the aircraft will kick off its certification tests to be joined by the other two LRIP planes (c/n 01-06 and 01-07) that have been almost competed. The first prototype of the Su-80 (c/n 01-02, reg. number RA-82911) has been tested in Zhukovsky since September 2001.

At the same time, KnAAPO is manufacturing the first production aircraft of the type. There are two production planes (c/n 02-01 and 02-02) in the assembly shop. To date, the launch customer for the Su-80GP was found in the form of the PetropavlovskKamchatsky Aircraft Company interested in buying four aircraft of the type to replace its Yakovlev Yak-40s. The heavily sued Yak-40s no longer suit the airline. To cap it all, their high fuel

consumption drives the price of tickets up, which is an obstacle for the Kamchatka Peninsula's native willing to fly more. In this respect, the Su-80GP has a considerable advantage. With roughly the same flight characteristics and seating capacity, it burns an average of only 340 kg of fuel per hour against the Yak-40's almost 1,100 kg/h. Its fuel efficiency totals 26.2 g/pass.-km while that of the Yak-40 is almost 70 g/pass.-km. given the current avgas prices that exceed $800 per tonne in the Russian Far East, the Su-80GP will enable the airline to slash the fare by far.

However, the Su-80GP's price, which is high enough, is a stumbling block for the Kamchatka-based airline's transition to the advanced aircraft. The plane costs 205 million rubles, or almost $7.5 million. The Kamchatka Region's parliamentarians and KnAAPO's representatives discussed various purchase options. If the funding is secured, the first two production Su-80GP would be delivered as early as 2007.

Aviakor to deliver three An-140s to Yakutiya

Andrey Zhirnov

Su-80GP gearing up for maiden flight

Early in March, the Aviakor plant (Samara), Yakutiya airline and Financial Leasing Company (FLC) made a tripartite contract for three Russian-made Antonov An-140-100 aircraft. The planes are to be delivered during the third and fourth quarters of 2006. FLC is to buy them from Aviakor within the year and lease them to Yakutiya for 15 years.

The deal provides for the government to subside part of the leasing payments at the federal and regional levels. The contract was made in line with the agreement on

launching operation of the An-140 regional aircraft with the Republic of Sakha (Yakutiya). The agreement was made at the MAKS 2005 air show in August 2005.

The three An-140-100s will become the first airliners of the type in service with a Russian air carrier and the first production An-140 built in Russia (prior to that, aircraft of the type have been made only in Ukraine and Iran). Once they have entered operation, four more An-140-100s are to be delivered to Yakutiya in 2007, with another five to follow further down the road.

The first Myasishchev M-101T aircraft made by the Sokol plant (Nizhny Novgorod) under the Dexter air taxi programme run by Russia's Avia Management Group (AMG) was handed over to the customer in a ceremony held at the Cosmos business terminal of Moscow's Vnukovo Airport on 3 March. The acceptance report was signed by AMG Chairman of the Board Yevgeny Andrachnikov and Sokol's Director General Mikhail Shibayev.

Russian new-generation M-101T turboprop is the only certified plane in its class. It can hop at 1,100 km.

Its pressurised cockpit allows flying at an altitude of over 7,000 m outside turbulence. The controllable five-blade propeller and enhanced sound insulation prevent too loud noise in the cabin. This provides passengers with comfort compara-

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ble to that on bizjets. The aircraft is powered by a Czech-made Walter M601F-32 and Honeywell avionics.

According to Yevgeny Andrachnikov, the first Dexter aircraft “entering service is a milestone in the evolution of Russian commercial aviation. From then on, Russia launches development of a national system of direct inter-city air communication”. In support of the Dexter programme, the Russian Ministry of Transport issued the Avia Management Group in December 2005 with Operator Certificate No 481 giving the green light to air services by means of M-101T aircraft.

At the first stage slated to end in late 2007, the Dexter programme is to cover the Central, Volga and Northeast Federal Districts, with the company focussed on setting up a

Sergey Sergeyev

First M-101T delivered to Dexter

nationwide direct air communication system among Russian cities as its strategic goal. Therefore, up to 250 aircraft are to be involved in the endeavour.

The Avia Management Group was established in October 2004 by Industrial Investors and Kaskol groups (75% and 25% respectively) to implement the Dexter national air taxi programme. To date, the AMG has made a $67.5-million deal with Sokol plant for 45 M-101T aircraft.

The Dexter air taxi start-up provides for passenger and cargo services in the scheduled taxi mode with flights out of hubs every 1.5–2 hours. Both scheduled and charter flights are intended. On scheduled operations, the fare is to cost 15–23 rubles/km ($0.5–0.8 per km) per seat and on charter services, it is to cost 120–140 rubles/km ($4–5 per km) for the whole plane. Initially, the Avia Management Group plans to expand its M-101T fleet to 250 planes.

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commercial aviation | in brief

The Ilyushin Il-96-300 airliner (registration No CU-T1251) built

by VASO Voronezh-based aircraft plant on order by the Cubana de Aviacion air carrier arrived to Cuba on 7 March. It is the second aircraft of the type made for export.

The first Il-96-300 (CU-T1250) had been delivered to the Cubana on the verge of the New Year – 30 December 2005. The construction of the planes was paid for by the Ilyushin Finance Co. leasing company (IFC) as well as by means of short-term loans it had obtained and by a short-term loan of a Russian bank syndicate issued to Cuba for buying the Russian aircraft. For the deal to succeed, the government for the first time guaranteed the long credits provided

by Russian banks to foreign buyers of the Russian aircraft. In December 2005, the syndicate of major Russian banks (Vnesheconombank, Vneshtorgbank and Roseximbank) and Cuban company Aviaimport S.A. signed an agreement for a $94 million syndicated credit. The credit was for Cuba to buy two Il-96-300 airliners worth $110 million.

Now, the Island of Freedom has two brand-new Russian-made Il-96-300 long-range airliners. In addition, Domodedovo Airlines' Il-96-300 (RA-96006) has been wetleased by Cuba since last year. The second Cuban aircraft, CU-T1251, can be used both for routine passenger services and as a VIP plane for top national leaders.

Meanwhile, Cuba is not about to limit itself to the two airliners it has received. Ilyushin Finance Co., Cuba's Aviaimport S.A. and Cubana de Aviacion signed a contract for another five Russian airliners to be delivered to Cuba on 10 April 2006. The ceremony was attended by Boris Aleshin, head of Russia's Federal Agency for Industry and IFC's chairman of the board. Under the contract, the Cubana air carrier will take delivery of two Il-96-300 long-range and two Tu-204-100 medium-

www.take-off.ru

Oleg Panteleyev / AviaPort

IFC's export breakthrough

range aircraft as well as a Tu-204C cargo plane in 2006–07.

Under the contract, IFC is the supplier of the Russian-made aircraft. It is to bankroll their construction by the VASO (Voronezh) and Aviastar (Ulyanovsk) plants.

The planes are to be delivered under the Russian government's industrial exports support programme, with the government to provide a $500 million worth of guarantees to this end in 2006.

The guarantees are intended for the banks providing long-term credits to buyers of Russian products. Guarantees worth $325 million, including the interest, have been provided for the 12-year loan under the contract for the five Russian planes for Cuba.

The basics of the deal were agreed on in March this year during a meeting of IFC's Director General Alexander Rubtsov and Ilyushin's Director General Victor Livanov, on the one hand, and Cuban President Fidel Castro, on the other, in the wake of Cuba's acceptance of the second Il-96-300 under last year's contract. The delivery of the first two Il-96-300s kicked off the development of the Russian aircraft

export financing system established by IFC and the syndicate of Roseximbank, Vnesheconombank and Vneshtorgbank.

However, IFC is not about to limit itself to the Cuban market alone. On 8 April 2006, IFC's leaders, Zimbabwe's minister of transport and Zimbabwe's reserve bank chief signed in Moscow a memorandum of intent of this African country to buy five Il-96-400 longrange wide-body aircraft from IFC. The memorandum covers technical and financial terms, including the timeframe of delivering three Il-96-400T freighters and two Il-96-400M airliners in 2008.

A firm order for the aircraft is to have been issued until 1 July 2006 and fulfilled under the current governmental industrial exports support programme in a manner similar to the Cuban contracts.

The cargo and passenger versions of the Il-96-400 are a derivative of the Il-96-300 long-range wide-body airliner. They feature the fuselage stretched by 9 m, Perm Engine Company's enhanced-thrust reduced-noise PS-90A1 engines and latest Russian-made avionics ensuring full-automatic control of the plane

by a crew of two throughout the world in any weather.

However, this is not the end of the story. Early in April, IFC and Chinese cargo operator Silk Route Cargo Airlines Company Ltd signed a memorandum of understanding on two Ilyushin Il-96-400T cargo aircraft with an option for three more. A firm contract is to have been signed until mid-2006. The planes are to be delivered through the use of an export credit scheme (15% as the customer's advance payment, 85% as the syndicated credit from Russian banks guaranteed by the Russian and Chinese governments in a manner similar to the Cuban deal). The planes are planned for delivery within 20 months after the advance payment for each of them is made.

Thus, over the past year, IFC has penetrated the international aircraft market. This became feasible due to launching the customer export crediting guaranteed by the Russian government. Cuba, Zimbabwe and China could soon be followed by other nations of Latin America, Africa and the Middle East, with whom proactive negotiations have been under way.

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commercial aviation | modernisation

PS-90 GIVES IL-76 A NEW LIFE Ilyushin Il-76 air transports started to be fitted with new power plants a year ago. At that time the first Il-76TD-90VD was being equipped with new PS-90A-76 engines under a contract with the Volga-Dnepr Group in Tashkent, and the modified D-30KP-3 Burlak engine was undergoing bench tests in Rybinsk. The programme of retrofitting Il-76s with new power plants has made much progress over the past year: the Il-76TD-90VD has undergone most flight tests and has recently been certified by the Aviation Register of the Interstate Aviation Committee with regards to noise-abatement requirements; Il-76TD-90s have been fitted with PS-90A-76 engines under a contract with an Azerbaijani air carrier; and the flagship Il-76MD-90 in service with the Russian Air Force has been re-engined with PS-90A-76 turbofans and submitted for flight tests in Voronezh.

Viktor Osipov tells our readers about the progress, made in retrofitting Il-76s with new power plants in the past year.

Given tougher noise-abatement requirements in Europe and a number of other states in the past few years, one of the major requirements facing airliners consists in complying with ICAO noise-abatement standards. As is known, the existing fleet of Il-76s, which are the main type of transport jets in Russia and a number of other states, has been powered by D-30KP engines, designed in Perm and massproduced in Rybinsk, for over 30 years. At the present time Russia operates almost 500 such aircraft, and another 300 Il-76s are in service with foreign states. However, Il-76s, powered

by D-30KP engines, can no longer operate in a number of countries as they turned out to be too noisy for Europe and fall short of ICAO Chapter 4 26 EPNdB requirements effective as of 1 January 2006. Retrofitting Il-76s with new power plants is the only way for them to continue flying in European skies. It takes a power plant, comparable to the D-30KP as far

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as efficiency characteristics are concerned, and at the same time capable of meeting contemporary and future international environmental standards, to achieve the goal.

The PS-90A-76, developed by the Permbased Aviadvigatel Company, is one of the power plants capable of replacing the D-30KP. The engine is based on the fourth-generation PS-90A turbofan, produced for Tu-204, Tu-214, and Il-96-300 airliners since 1989. Four PS-90A-76 engines had undergone flight tests on the new Ilyushin Il-76MF military air transport since 1995. The Il-76MF, developed under a contract with the Russian Air Force, features an increased lifting capacity, but has not been fielded so far. It was decided to mount similar power plants, upgraded to meet tougher environmental standards, on Il-76TD and Il-76MD transports, manufactured earlier.

The PS-90A-76 successfully completed state bench tests in late 2003, and on 10 February 2004 its designers received the State Bench Tests Report and a Supplement Type Certificate, enjoyed by the PS-90A since 3 April 1992. The documents enabled the Perm Engine Company to launch the new version of the PS-90A into mass production.

The contract on upgrading the fist two Il-76TD-90VDs, awarded by Volga-Dnepr, gave a powerful incentive to the programme of retrofitting Il-76s with new power plants.

The first of the aircraft embarked on flight tests on 5 August 2005.

The Il-76TD-90VD underwent acoustic tests at the Gromov LII Flight Research Institute in August–September 2005. The results achieved demonstrated that the aircraft, fitted with the PS-90A-76 engines with an integrated noise suppressing system, met www.take-off.ru

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commercial aviation | modernisation memorandum of understanding signed on 16 August 2005, it is to procure eight PS-90A-76 engines for two Il-76TD-90s, being upgraded in Tashkent. The contract on delivering the first four engines to the Azerbaijani air carrier was signed in Baku on 29 July 2005. As of the present moment all of them have already been transferred to the Tashkent plant (the first two were shipped off

the aircraft to call at any international airport without any limitations.

It is worth mentioning that the Perm Engine Company has decided to move on and continue refining the baseline PS-90A and its versions with regards to noise level.

According to experts, the Il-76TD-90VD is expected to have a noise-abatement margin of 12 dB with respect to ICAO Chapter 4 requirements in the near future. At the same time, Alexander Inozemtsev, Perm Engine Company Director General/Aviadvigatel Designer General, says that the most valuable feature of the PS-90A-76 is that it may be mounted on both new aircraft, and existing Il-76s to be retrofitted with new power plants.

Silk Way Airlines, Azerbaijan's largest air carrier, operating as part of the state-owned Azerbaijan Airlines Consortium, has expressed considerable interest in the power plant, manufactured in Perm. Under the

last year, and the remaining two in January 2006) and are undergoing ground tests as part of the power plant of the flagship Azerbaijani Il-76TD-90. The aircraft is expected to make its maiden flight in the near future. PS-90A-76s for the second Silk Way Airlines aircraft, which may make its maiden flight by the turn of the year, are being prepared for delivery.

At the moment the Perm Engine Company develops an engine service maintenance programme, ensuring a failure-free operation of engines. By the way, Azerbaijani officials point out that a high level of service maintenance, provided by the Perm Engine Company, played a considerable role in awarding the contract to the plant. "Many air carriers want to procure western aircraft, first and foremost, due to the well-established maintenance network. Service maintenance, offered by the Perm Engine Company, is

Viktor Drushlyakov

requirements of the AP-36 Aviation Regulations and complied with ICAO Chapter 4 Annex 16, with the noise-abatement margin amounting to over 7 dB. The Ilyushin Company, the designer of the Il-76TD-90VD, received the Interstate Aviation Committee Aviation Register noiseabatement certificate for the Il-76TD-90VD on 12 January 2006. The certificate enables

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comparable to that of Rolls Royce or Pratt & Whitney," Silk Way Airlines CEO Zaur Akhundov says.

In addition to meeting noise-abatement requirements, substituting the PS-90A-76 for the D-30KP cuts back the engine operational costs 1.7-fold. An upgraded Il-76 features totally new advantages, such as an increased lifting capacity, a greater flight range, and a higher fuel efficiency. For instance, according to the GosNII GA State Civil Aviation Research Institute, the fuel efficiency of the Il-76TD-90, powered by PS-90A-76s, amounts to 193 g/ton-km, as compared with 217 g/ton-km of the Il-76TD, fitted with D-30KPs. In addition to that, the PS-90A-76 has unlimited maximum mean time between failures and service life. Only separate parts, replaced during overhauls, have limited cycle service life. The mean time between failures of the PS-90A-76, mounted on the Il-76, will amount to 7,000–8,000 hours, thus, minimising air carriers' expenditures on backup engines.

However, the PS-90A-76 will not be employed in civil aviation only. The Russian Defence Ministry has shown a special interest in the engine. According to Russian Deputy Prime Minister/Defence Minister Sergey Ivanov, the Perm Engine Company will be awarded a contract on manufacturing four PS-90A-76 engines for Il-76MD-90 military air transports in 2006. "The Perm Engine Company's high production rates and vast experience in refining and maintaining aircraft power plants ensure the future of the Il-76 aircraft fleet," Russian Air Force Commander-in-Chief General of the Army Vladimir Mikhailov says. General Mikhailov and Perm Engine Company Director General Alexander Inozemtsev signed the first PS-90A-76 acceptance report at the MAKS 2005 air show on 18 August 2005. The first upgraded Il-76MD-90 aircraft had been submitted for flight tests in Voronezh by the turn of the year. It made its 22-minute maiden flight in Voronezh on 27 December 2005.

Shortly afterwards General Mikhailov said that the Russian Air Force intended to procure at least 12 upgraded Il-76MD-90s over the following few years.

The upgraded D-30KP-3 Burlak engine, developed by NPO Saturn, is the closest rival of the PS-90A-76 in the Russian aircraft market. However, it only exists as a prototype and is now undergoing bench tests. It remains to be seen how long the PS-90A-76 will remain the only option for retrofitting the national Il-76 aircraft fleet. However, for the time being the Perm Engine Company has enabled Il-76s to fly throughout the world freely, meeting the toughest contemporary environmental requirements. take-off may 2006

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cosmonautics | in brief

New ISS crew to celebrate 45th anniversary of Gagarin's spaceflight

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Roskosmos

the Discovery space shuttle, which will bring a new crew member, ESA astronaut Tomas Reiter.

The launch of Discovery is slated for early June. Besides docking with Discovery, Williams and Vinogradov are to dock with and unload two Russian Progress cargo vehicles. Their scientific programme also includes 43 experiments and four extravehicular missions (one in accordance with the Russian programme and three with the American one).

During one such EV mission Williams and Vinogradov will play golf, which will be the first time somebody played golf in outer space. “We will try to send the golf ball in outer space using an

in August 1997 – February 1998 and carrying out five extravehicular (EV) missions. Expedition 13 mission will last six months.

For Marcos Pontes this is the first space flight. For Brazil it all started back in 1998, when its Space Agency signed a contract with NASA on the ISS project.

Under this contract Brazil was allowed to carry out scientific research onboard the ISS, but in return it undertook to develop some equipment for the space station. Later that year Pontes took a training course in the USA, and his flight onboard one of the shuttles was slated for 2004. As it turned out later, Brazil didn't have enough money to develop equipment for the ISS, which raised concern over Pontes's flight. Worse, the issue was put on ice until at least 2008

Roskosmos

Roskosmos

The 13th ISS expedition and the 9th visiting expedition took off from the 1st launch site of the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 6.30 Moscow time on 30 March 2006.

In about nine minutes the booster burned out and the spacecraft entered the orbit. At that moment several data transfer channels got lost, which caused a certain degree of uneasiness in the Mission Control Centre. Although there were no problems with radio and TV signals, flight telemetry data were unavailable because of faulty ground control equipment.

Fortunately, some time later the problems were solved. Docking took place early on 1 April (see photo).

To make room for the Soyuz spacecraft, expedition 12 crew Valery Tokarev and William McArthur re-docked Soyuz TMA-7 on 20 March, moving it from the Zarya module docking adapter to the axial adapter of the Zvezda service module, where the Progress M-54 cargo vehicle had been docked before. This was the eighth re-docking procedure in the history of the ISS. The autonomous flight of Soyuz TMA-7 lasted for 22 minutes, and it flew as far as 35 metres away from the ISS while moving from one docking adapter to the other.

Expedition 13 crew comprised Russian cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov and US astronaut Jeffrey Williams. They were accompanied by Brazil's first astronaut Marcos Pontes, who will return to earth in ten days together with expedition 12 crew, William McArthur and Valery Tokarev. Among expedition 13 members only Jeffrey Williams, 48, is familiar with the ISS, since he participated in its construction as a crew member of Atlantis in May 2000. His Russian counterpart, Pavel Vinogradov, 52, worked only at the Mir orbital station, staying there for 197 days

after the Columbia accident. In the long run Brazil opted for a paytrip. It signed a preliminary agreement with Russia in the autumn of 2005, which was converted into a full-fledged contract during Brazilian President Lula da Silva's visit to Russia.

One of the main missions facing expedition 13 is docking with

ordinary golf club. I have never played golf, but Jeffrey showed me how to do it a couple of times in near-zero-G conditions,” said the Russian cosmonaut. He didn't mention, though, that 'space golf' was a promotion gimmick of the Russian Space Agency and Element 21, a Canadian producer of golf equipment.

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cosmonautics | in brief

Giants to tender for Clipper Invitations to tender for the construction of a new generation space shuttle to replace Soyuz spacecraft were officially announced on 18 January 2006.

With all the applicants present, the tender committee included the invitations to tender in the official protocol and sent them to working groups for analysis.

By 3 February experts and officials were to announce the winner, whose bid suited the Russian manned space navigation and the national budget best of all and who would, therefore, get the government order.

The mission was next to impossible, given the list of participants in the tender, which included leaders of the Russian manned space navigation such as Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Centre, co-designer of all Russian-made orbital stations, NPO Molniya, designer of the aircraft components of the Soviet Buran space shuttle, and RKK Energia, designer of Soyuz vehicles that take cosmonauts to the ISS. Actually, the Russian Space Agency invited them for close tender back in mid-November 2005 as soon as the Federal space programme for years 2006–2015 had been launched.

Although they never openly voiced their preparations for the tender, their official bids came as no surprise.

Re-entry vehicle by the Khrunichev Centre. The decision to take part in the tender was voiced by then Director General Alexander Medvedev back in September 2005. Although Khrunichev Centre hadn't shed light on the issue since then, it was obvious that nobody should expect some revolutionary breakthrough. Their idea was to upgrade the existing VA re-entry vehicle, a derivative of the TKS space transport vehicle. This project dates back to the 1970s, when it was converted into an

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unmanned module of the Salyut-7 and Mir orbital stations, unable to compete with Soyuz spacecraft. The current bid is a VA upgraded version featuring greater dimensions and advanced onboard systems that could be launched into the orbit by a large LV, which can be either Angara, designed by the Centre, or Proton.

Molniya's MAKS. Similarly, NPO Molniya's bid is a wellknown project called MAKS or Multipurpose Aerospace System. The project was launched in the early 1990s and was headed by Gleb LozinoLozinsky, chief designer of the Buran space shuttle. The only disposable element of the vehicle design is the external fuel tank – MAKS is launched from the mother aircraft, the Antonov An-225 Mriya, their operating life amounting to 100 space flights and 800 launches respectively. According to the designers, if the project is revived, it will not only allow to continue with spaceflights, but also make it commercially profitable. The overall cost of the project is $3.5bn, but the actual cost will drop to US $1.7bn, given that a lot of work has already carried out and there are only some adjustments necessary. But no matter how technically sophisticated or economically attractive the project is, it has a huge 'political' drawback.

Would any compos mentis person in Russia risk using the Ukrainian mother aircraft to launch Russian shuttles? And what would make anybody think better of it is the fact that only one An-225 has been produced so far and it happened nearly 18 years ago.

Energia's Clipper. Unlike its rivals, Clipper, designed by RKK Energia, is known not only to experts. It enjoys greater public attention and has the full backing of the Russian Space

Agency or Roskosmos. In their promotion campaign since September 2004 Clipper designers have tried to convince the public that their spacecraft is a combination of the best features the disposable Soyuz and the Buran space shuttle could offer.

Furthermore, unlike Soyuz, Clipper can take six people onboard, can manoeuvre during landing and can participate in the future expedition to Mars.

According to Energia estimates, Clipper will cost some $1bn, which is nothing compared with world prices (for instance, upgrade of the Space Shuttle programme after the Columbia crash cost NASA roughly the same).

No matter how cheap Clipper might be, there's no such money in Russia. That is why the Russian Space Agency leant over backwards last year trying to find foreign investors: head of the agency Anatoly Perminov and Energia President Nikolay Sevastyanov personally campaigned to highlight technological and economic advantages of Clipper, while the models and mock-ups of the shuttle moved from one international exhibition to another. So far it was to no avail. Roskosmos hoped to get 51m euros from the ministers of the ESA member-nations within two years to carry out research on the project but they said no.

Noteworthy is the fact that the Russian Space Agency managed to get a third of the necessary sum from the government for Energia's project – 10bn rubles (some $350m) for a period of 10 years, that is why R&D activities on the space shuttle in the Federal space programme are codenamed 'Clipper'. Obviously, Roskosmos announced the tender only because a state order cannot be placed without a tender, according to the Russian legislation. It looked, therefore,

that on the face of it one didn't have to be a prophet to say who will win the tender before it was officially over.

Well, 3 February came and went, but no winner has been announced yet. The Rusian Space Agency has extended the terms of the competition, because the documentation that had been submitted was not enough to choose the winner.

“The tender committee has come to a conclusion that none of the bids satisfies the requirements of the tender as regards safety and technical and economic feasibility of the project within the set terms,” said the Press Service of the Russian Space Agency. Headed by the agency deputy head Viktor Remishevsky, experts asked the participants to render additional feasibility evaluation of the technological design solutions.

The final results of the tender are believed to be officially announced no sooner than this summer.

Major requirements placed by the Roskosmos are as follows: the new generation shuttle should be able to take a crew of six people, deliver to and return from the orbit at least 500 kg of cargo with the crew at full strength, be at least 80% reusable, and perform at least 20 flights. Nikolay Moiseyev, deputy head of Roskosmos, noted that “important also is the time of self-contained operation of the shuttle.” “We think that this time should be at least one month. In the future the shuttle should be able to reach the moon and come back,” said Moiseyev. According to the Russian Space Agency, the shuttle is to be built by 2013.

Development of Clipper will cost the agency about 11.5bn rubles (some $400m), while another 5bn rubles (roughly $180m) should come as extrabudgetary resources.

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President, Defence minister to give boost to GLONASS

Andrey Fomin

The Russian Space Agency (Roskosmos) and the Defence Ministry are speeding up the renovation of the orbital component of the GLONASS Global Navigation Satellite System. If the government appropriates funding in due time, the national SATNAV system may become operable by 2008, which is later than had been planned in the early 2000s on the one hand, but sooner than one could hope for, given poor financing on the other.

Trial performance of GLONASS began in 1993, and two years later it was fully operable. With eight satellites in each of the three orbital planes flying circular orbits, the system was able to provide Russian users such as vehicles, aircraft and ships with continuous position finding and other navigation parameters.

However, due to poor financing in the late 90s the system started to shrink, and in 2001 there were only seven satellites in orbit.

Willing to remedy the situation, the government adopted in 2001 the federal target programme for the period 2002–2011 called 'The Global Navigation System', aiming to restore and upgrade GLONASS. The programme, however, could not solve the problem of financ-

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ing; for instance, in 2002–04 GLONASS received only 72.5 per cent of the earmarked amount; in 2005 as few as 2.552bn rubles ($90m) were allocated instead of 2.896bn rubles (about $100m).

As a result, modernisation ran behind schedule. According to the federal target programme, GLONASS was to have had a minimum of 18 satellites in orbit in 2005, whereas their actual number amounted to only 14. Even the launch of three satellites on 25 December last year gave only a slight improvement in the system's efficiency. Given that a number of satellites are beyond their active operation limits, experts say no more than 15 satellites will remain operational in 2006. With such rate of renovation the system's 24 satellites will be upgraded no sooner than 2010, while the target programme set the deadline for 2008.

Mind you, that modernisation of GLONASS' rival, GPS, is in full swing in the USA, and the EU has started testing satellites for its future Gallileo navigation system.

Roskosmos and producer of Glonass satellites Reshetnev NPO PM Scientific And Production Association of Applied Mechanics located in Zheleznogorsk,

Krasnoyarsk Area, have repeatedly expressed concerns about poor financing. If the programme is underfinanced, argue the experts, the country will not be able to efficiently defend itself, for one thing, and, for the other, the deficient navigation system, as we have in Russia, will never be able to compete with GPS in either the international or the domestic market.

Their concerns were in vain until the president came to know about it. Advocating the national SATNAV system in the international market, President Putin signed in early December last year a Russian-Indian agreement on the development, operation and uses of GLONASS for peaceful purposes. This made him take a closer look at the problems faced by GLONASS. After a while, the government was tasked with stepping up the renovation to have an operable system earlier than 2008.

Formally, the issue was settled during Putin's meeting with the ministers on 26 December 2005.

Defence Minister Sergey Ivanov was just speaking about the launch of three Glonass satellites when the president interrupted him and ordered that the system should be upgraded as soon as possible. “You should hurry up

because the system is much needed,” said Putin, adding that some companies and even regions were already signing contracts with GPS. Roskosmos and Defence Ministry were fast to respond, and on 15 January they had a number of proposals on how to improve the system ahead of schedule. During his meeting with the president on 18 January, Ivanov said that it was possible to speed up the process and that it would not require a lot of money: as much as 1.5bn rubles (a bit more than $50m) in 2006 would be enough to catch up with the schedule.

Despite the triumphant rhetoric, having 24 operational satellites in orbit by 2008 seems very much unrealistic. Even with due financing, in 2006 NPO PM will build four Glonass-M satellites with active operational life of seven years (three will be launched), and another five upgraded satellites will be produced in 2007 (six will be launched). Therefore, given the present condition of the system, only 18 satellites will be orbited by 2008. But even such minimum required number of satellites can ensure continuous positioning.

Defence Minister Ivanov, touring the Siberian Federal District, visited NPO PM on 21 March and was briefed on the progress of the GLONASS programme. After his meeting with the company's management, Ivanov said that GLONASS would offer its services to Russian customers, both military and civilian, in late 2007, while in 2009 it would approach the international market. NPO PM Deputy Designer General Vladimir Bartenev added that the schedule had been shifted a couple of days before Ivanov's visit. In particular, the new Glonass-K satellite, which is more lightweight, boasts better performance and has a guaranteed service life in orbit of 10–12 years, will be tested in 2008 rather than in 2010.

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cosmonautics | in brief

The ISS astronauts placed an unusual satellite into Earth's orbit in February this year.

SuitSat is actually an old Orlan-M space suit full of special radio equipment. Hundreds of radio fans across the globe were able to receive its signals.

The Orlan-M-14 suit was delivered to the ISS on 16 September 2001. The ISS-4 crew commander Yuri Onufrienko was the first to try it on for extravehicular missions on 14 and 25 January 2002. Later that year on 16 and 26 August Russian astronaut Valery Korzun, a member of the ISS-5 mission, used it for EV missions, too. The fifth, and the last time the suit was used was only six months later, when the ISS-8 mission commander Michael Foale carried out an extravehicular mission on 27 February 2004. The suit was clocked a total of 20 h 45 min in outer space. Although the suit had been designed for 12 spacewalks and could be used several times more, its shelf life expired in August 2004 and it was to be scrapped.

When spaceflights were carried out by means of Salyut spaceships, cosmonauts used to leave suits in the space vehicle and these would burn together with the vehicle during the atmospheric entry. The destiny of space suits didn't change much with the appearance of orbital stations Mir and ISS: this time they would burn together with Progress cargo spacecraft. Actually, there was a possibility to avoid incineration by bringing them back with the help of American space shuttles and even earn some money at auctions, where they were pretty popular. But after the February 2003 tragedy of Columbia this option was out of the question for the Orlan-M-14. Nevertheless, a brilliant plan of scrapping it in a most useful way was developed.

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NASA

A space suit or a satellite?

RKK Energia Corp. designers and students of Bauman Moscow State Technical University and Moscow Aviation Institute suggested that the suit should be used as a satellite. Both the Russian Space Agency and NASA favoured the idea, and the ball started rolling in mid-2004. A year later, in September 2005, Progress delivered equipment for the future satellite to the ISS, whose crew, Valery Tokarev and William McArthur, got down to the assembly. The astronauts filled the old suit with batteries and equipment that could send radio (145.99FM) and video signals (in SSTV format). The satellite was named RadioSkaf in Russian and SuitSat in English.

But RKK Energia gave it another name Ivan Ivanovich. It had been a tradition to give such names to the mock-ups of cosmonauts that 'manned' Vostok spaceships for test purposes before Yury Gagarin flew into space.

During an extravehicular mission on 4 February 2006 Valery

Tokarev and William McArthur switched on the equipment and pushed SuitSat away from the ISS. Many experts in space industry agreed that the view of the 'astronaut' drifting away from the ISS was an astronaut's worst nightmare. Tokarev, however, didn't seem horrified at all when he softly said good-bye to Ivan Ivanovich.

After a while, still working in outer space, the astronauts wondered if there was a contact with SuitSat. The Mission Control Centre said that there was.

Although the signal was not as strong as planned, more than a hundred radio fans in Japan, Russia, Great Britain, Spain, France and the USA received it during the first several days.

SuitSat sent pre-recorded messages in five languages and different images.

Despite killjoy estimates of some experts, SuitSat managed to stay in orbit for more than 10 days. Of course, the suit will burn in the atmosphere following some

weeks of free flight, but as the project technical director Sergey Samburov said in mid-February, the experiment was a success, especially in terms of attracting public attention to space technology. For instance, SuitSat was a unique training aid for students of Russian technical educational establishments. If the Russian Space Agency backs the idea, old space suits can continue their service as satellites. “The year 2007 will see three space-related anniversaries – 100 years since Sergey Korolev was born, 150 years since Konstantin Tsiolkovsky's birthday, and 50 years since Sputnik 1 was launched into outer space. It would be symbolic to time the launch of another SuitSat to coincide with these remarkable dates,” said Samburov.

As of mid-February, Ivan Ivanovich was still in orbit, but its signal was getting weaker. Radio fan Bob King was the last one to receive signals from SuitSat, which happened on 18 February.

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cosmonautics | project

Alexander Velovich

RIDING MiG TO ORBIT Andrey FOMIN, Igor AFANASYEV

A novelty unveiled by Kazakhstan's Kazcosmos company at the Asian Aerospace 2006 show in Singapore late in February was a project of the Ishim air-launched space rocket system designed to quickly orbit small spacecraft by means of a LV launched from the Mikoyan MiG-31I aircraft. The Ishim is a joint Russian-Kazakh programme (the Ishim is a river flowing in both countries) pursued by Kazcosmos in cooperation with Russia's RSK MiG Corp. and MIT Moscow-based Institute of Heat Technology.

Kazakh initiative On 22 August 2003, the Kazakh media reported a routine trip of Premier Danial Akhmetov to the Aktyubinsk region.

According to Kazinform, Akhmetov paid a visit to the Sary Shagan proving ground on the western bank of Lake Balkhash and the town of Priozersk. Kazinform reported that Danial Akhmetov also visited “the hangar of the MiG-31 planes” situated at the proving ground. Since the early 1990s, the hangar has been housing the two mothballed MiG-31D prototype aircraft designed to turn into a formidable weapon system but proving not needed in the wake of the change in the international situation and the collapse of the Soviet Union. A decision has been taken to use the aircraft for peaceful purposes. Kazakh and Russian scientists and designers suggested the planes be easily converted for air launch of an advanced LV able to orbit smallsize communications, weather, remote sounding and cell phone repay satellites.

For this purpose, Kazakhstan has both the aircraft and a most sophisticated proving ground in the world, featuring complex telemetry, tracking and spacecraft control infrastructure. Conversion of the MiG-31Ds to MiG-31I standard (I standing for Ishim) is to be handled by the aircraft's developer, MiG Corp. The Institute of Heat Technology

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(MIT) is to develop the LV. The institute is known for its top-notch Topol-M and Bulava intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM).

The news of Kazakhstan and Russia's intent on developing the Ishim system was unveiled soon after Kazakh Premier Danial Akhmetov met MIT's Director General Yury Solomonov on 23 March 2005. During the meeting, it was stated that Kazakhstan and Russia have all they need to develop the Ishim system – carrier aircraft and airfields.

Yury Solomonov stressed MIT could quickly develop and make the new solid-propellant launch vehicle, which will “guarantee its operating safety and allow the booster to do without toxic fuel components”.

The Kazakh government issued resolution No 989 specifying the programme 'Space Exploration in the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2005–07' pursued inline with presidential decree No 1513 dated 25 January 2005.

Chapter 2 of the programme was beefed up with Paragraph 2: “The Ishim air-launched space rocket system shall be derived from the MiG-31D aircraft.” The cost of deriving the Ishim was set at 18.4 billion tenge (about $144 million) for 2005–07. The Kazakh prime minister tasked all those concerned, including national oil and gas producer Kazmunaigaz, to ensure timely financing of the programme.

Carrier Having entered service exactly 25 years ago, on 6 May 1981, the MiG-31 supersonic interceptor spawned off several upgrades and dedicated derivatives, one of which is the MiG-31D as part of the Contact preorbit air-launched rocket system from the Almaz design bureau (now the NPO Almaz Research And Production Association named after A.A. Raspletin). In 1983, Mikoyan's technical proposal on such an aircraft was approved, with the government's resolution released on 27 November 1984 giving the green light to the programme. The preliminary design of the MiG-31D was approved by the customer in 1985. Technical records for making prototypes were completed and handed over to the aircraft plant in the city of Gorky (now Nizhny Novgorod) in the same year.

The MiG-31D was developed in response to US programme ASAT, under which an F-15 derivative was to launch two-stage solid-propellant missiles to take out spacecraft in orbit. The MiG-31D was derived from the production MiG-31 and embodied some of the innovations featured by the MiG-31M upgrade. To enable the aircraft with a large rocket under its belly to maintain its directional stability, its wingtips were fitted with large triangular winglets. The first prototype (side number 071) was built in late 1986 and flight-tested by Mikoyan's test pilot Aviard Fastovets and test navigator Leonid Popov on 17 January 1987. The second prototype (side number 072) was completed a year later and flight-tested by Anatoly Kvochur and Leonid Popov on 28 April 1988. www.take-off.ru

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cosmonautics | project Ishim small-size launch vehicle general layout 1 – rear section with foldable grid-type empennage 2 – first stage 3 – second stage 4 – third stage engine

5 – jettisonable parts of the third stage body 6 – booster and payload adapter 7 – payload 8 – payload nose cover

5 8 6

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4 3

PROGRAMME The development testing stage had been over by the early 1990s, and both aircraft were redeployed for further tests to the Sary Shagan proving ground on the west bank of Lake Balkhash (Kazakhstan) where all advanced air-defence and missile-defence missile systems had been tested. However, the trials remained incomplete due to the collapse of the Soviet Union in late 1991, with the MiG-31Ds inherited by the newlyindependent republic of Kazakhstan. The planes had been mothballed in an airfield hangar at Sary Shagan for over a decade until they proved to be needed again under the purely commercial Ishim programme.

Mention should be made that the Ishim programme is not the only attempt at converting the MiG-31 for orbiting commercial payloads. As far back as 1998, Mikoyan proposed to use the MiG-31 interceptor for deriving the MiG-31S capable of launching a LV from an altitude of about 17,000 m at a speed of 3,000 km/h. The LV then was to loft 40–200kg commercial spacecraft in orbit. The first experimental launch was slated for as early as 1999–2000.

About the same time, a group of scientists with the Moscow Aviation Institute (MAI) suggested the use of the MiG-31S for launching the two- or three-stage Micron LV powered by hybrid rocket motors and able to orbit small satellites weighing up to 200 kg. Another MAI proposal provided for using the MiG-31S as a carrier of a versatile multipurpose rocket plane for suborbital research missions. The rocket plane was designated as ARS (Aerospace Rally System).

Another way of commercial use of the MiG-31 was proposed by EADS. At the www.take-off.ru

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5 KazKosmos

ISHIM 1

MAKS 2003 air show, RSK MiG Corp. and EADS signed a memorandum of understanding on 22 August 2003 to derive a suborbital aircraft from the MiG-31. “An Arabic investor” was supposed to be involved in the project. The joint MiGEADS programme dubbed MiG-bas was intended for bringing up to 12 space tourists on suborbital flights. The tourists were to be seated in a special capsule carried by a MiG-31.

However, whatever advantage were promised by each of the projects, none was destined to come true. Neither MiG Corp. nor MAI – not even EADS – could find investors. It looks like only the joining of Kazakhstan interested in developing its space industry to the space-oriented MiG-31 programme made the latter to get out its hibernation again.

What can Ishim do?

According to the information released by Kazcosmos in Singapore in this February, the Ishim system comprises two MiG-31I platforms, an underbelly three-stage launch vehicle and an airborne command post derived from Ilyushin Il-76MD transport.

The takeoff weight of a MiG-31I carrier with a LV booster on board is to be 50 t and the range to the launch point 600 km. The launch is to take place at an altitude between 15,000 m to 18,000 m at the carrier aircraft's speed of 2,120–2,230 km/h.

All of the stages of the three-stage LV under development by MIT include solidstate non-toxic rocket motors. The LV weighs 10,300 kg and measures 10.76 m in length and 1.34 m in diameter. Its rear end

features lattice-type control surfaces. The payload bay under the nose shroud is 1.4 m in length and 0.94 m in diameter.

The missile blasting off from a MiG-31I is to insert 160kg spacecraft into circular 46deg. 300km orbit or 120km spacecraft into 600km orbit. The orbital parameters can vary widely, including elliptical, heliosynchronous, equatorial, polar, 115-deg.inclided and other orbits.

The Ishim system can be operated from an airfield in Kazakhstan and from Class 1 airfields in the country of the customer.

According to Kazcosmos's spokesman, the Ishim can orbit a spacecraft within only 20 days after a request is received and an advance payment is made, which enables the customer to beef up its satellite constellation quickly in case of its disruption.

According to MIT, the work on the launch vehicle for the Ishim system are on schedule, with the rockets to be ready for trials as early as 2007. By then, RSK MiG Corp. is to have converted its MiG-31Ds to MiG-31I standard. Thus, the Ishim will be able to start lobbing microsatellites in orbit very soon.

A number of UK, Israeli and Italian companies have shown their interest in the programme. Talks are underway between the Kazakh government and foreign companies interested in effective and inexpensive space exploration and specialising in inserting small commercial satellites into low orbit.

In addition, the Ishim is slated to orbit two remote-sensing spacecraft and six oil-andgas infrastructure monitoring satellites in the near future in support of the Kazakh government financing the programme. take-off may 2006

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airshows | in brief

Katsuhico Tokunaga

The interagency government working group is preparing project documents to carry out large scale reconstruction of the MAKS Moscow Aerospace Show site at the Gromov Flight Research Institute (LII) airfield in Zhukovsky, near Moscow. The work was initiated in 2005 by a report of Sergey Chemezov, Director General of Rosoboronexport State Corporation, to the Russian President Vladimir Putin. By the order of the Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov a working group was established of representatives of all involved government ministries and agencies as well as LII and Aviasalon JSC. The group is chaired

by Deputy Director of Federal Service for Military Technical Cooperation Vladimir Paleshchuk.

During the recent Engines 2006 exhibition held in Moscow in April the Aviasalon JSC staff told journalists

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about the ambitious plans for MAKS reconstruction (see photo above showing Aviasalon JSC new staff at Engines 2006 news conference, from left to right: Chief Advisor to Avisalon JSC Director General Yury Nagaev, first Deputy Director General Vassily Akhrameyev, Financial Director Anton Zdunkevich, Deputy Director General Nikolay Zanegin).

According to Yury Nagaev, Chief Advisor to Avisalon JSC Director General, the first phase of reconstruction will include building of a new pavilion of 6,000 sq.m, and this will have been completed in time for the next edition of the show in 2007. The first phase will be financed by Aviasalon, the MAKS executive organising company, and the investment is estimated at 80–100 million roubles ($2.9–3.6 million). Further and much more ambitious phases intro-

Andrey Fomin

Ambitious reconstruction plans for MAKS venue

ducing profound developments in the venue infrastructure are intended to be financed through invited investors and government support.

Nagaev says that after MAKS-2007 half of the existing metal arch-type shelter pavilions will be knocked down, clearing the way for the second phase of reconstruction programme. This will concentrate on building a new 30,000 sq.m exhibition hall and new entrance to the show site on the south-east edge of the airfield. This new building will have all the facilities needed for a modern international exhibition venue, including press conference rooms, a new press centre etc. The new hall will have been completed in time for MAKS-2009, after which the third phase of reconstruction is planned to begin with knocking down the remaining arch-type metal shelter pavilions. Nagaev says that when these were built in 1992, nobody could imagine that they would last that long.

In the third phase yet another hall of 20,000 sq.m is to built, and that one will be suitable for all-year-round exhibition activities. It will be surrounded by warm chalets also usable in winter, unlike the ones existing now. The new hall is intended to house a permanent exhibition of weapons systems offered to foreign customers by Rosoboronexport.

The Russian arms sales corporation is keen to have a demonstration site for visiting high-ranking foreign delegations, and considers Zhukovsky a preferable location for this purpose. The new hall will have capacity for demonstrating indoor exhibits up to 12 m high, that means large radars and missile systems.

The mobility demonstration range for wheeled and track vehicles will be built during the third phase comparable to that existing in Abu Dhabi, but larger.

That would include a water basin of

0.75 hectare (1.85 acres) area with depth up to 5 m for demonstration of floating vehicles and fording qualities. A firing range for firearms up to high caliber machine guns will be built at the airfield, and a berth for river vessels will be arranged on the Moskva river flowing right along the southern border of the airfield. The third phase is to be completed by 2011.

Traffic jams, much complained about and considered to be one of the worst problems of MAKS, will have to be resolved by a new road leading to the south-east edge of the airfield where the new main entrance to the site is planned. There are two variants of the new road under consideration, one along the existing road to Ramenskoye, but bypassing the city of Zhukovsky, and another being a more radical one that would connect Novo-Ryazanskoye highway with the show site via a new bridge across the Moskva river. Nagaev says that the road construction plan is included in the overall development programme of both the Moscow region and the City of Zhukovsky administrations.

Naturally, new parking sites will be arranged near the new entrance to the site sufficient for the number of vehicles flooding Zhukovsky during the public days of the MAKS show.

The reconstruction programme is planned to be endorsed by a presidential decree which must be ready for approval by the end of 2006. The subsequent order of the Russian government would provide government financial support for the plan. Nagaev says that in any case Rosoboronexport state corporation intends to invest in the reconstruction project simply because it was initiated by that arms sales agency, and so far both Rosoboronexport and the Federal Service for Military Technical CoOperation show strong commitment.

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