Take-Off
Content
Recent aerospace news from Russia & CIS [p.2,14, 20, 26, 32]
december 2009 • Special edition for LIMA 2009
MiG-29K
back on deck
[p.16]
MMRCA
trials
[p.10]
Tikhomirov’s
AESA
[p.30]
MC-21
programme
[p.24]
Su-30MKM
in RMAF service
[p.4]
Moscow Machine-Building Enterprise
CHERNYSHEV jsc
7, Vishnevaya Street, Moscow, 125362, Russia
Phone: +7 (495) 491-58-74, Fax: +7 (495) 490-56-00
e-mail: [email protected], http://www.avia500.ru/ aero engines
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Manufacturing, after-sale service,
aero engines overhaul
• RD-33 (MiG-29, MiG-29UB, MiG-29SMT fighters)
• RD-33MK (MiG-29K, MiG-35/MiG-35D fighters)
• TV7-117SM (IL-114 regional airplane)
Overhaul, spare parts delievery
• R27F2M-300 (MiG-23UB fighter)
• R29-300 (MiG-23M, MiG-23MS, MiG-23MF fighters)
• R-35 (MiG-23ML, MiG-23MLD, MiG-23P fighters)
TBO and TTL expansion of the overhaul engines
SU 30MK
ONLY THE BEST
www.sukhoi.org
IRKUT
Corporation
www.irkut.com
UNITED INDUSTRIAL CORPORATION “OBORONPROM”
27 Stromynka st., 107076 Moscow, Russia
e-mail: [email protected]
www.oboronprom.ru
Moscow
Rybinsk
Kazan
Perm
Samara
Ufa
Ekaterinburg
Novosibirsk
Ula-Ude
St.Petersburg
“Russian Helicopters” Company, a whole subsidiary of OBORONPROM Corporation,
is the leading Russian designer and manufacturer of rotary-wing aircraft equipment
“United Engine Corporation”, a whole subsidiary of OBORONPROM Corporation,
is the leading Russian industrial group producing engines for aircraft, aerospace industry,
gas compression stations and power plants
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OBORONPROM Corporation, a Russian Technologies State Corporation
company, is a diversified industrial-investment group in the engineering and
high technologies sectors. The Corporation integrates more than 25 leading
Russian companies in helicopters and engines manufacturing.
The enterprises of the Corporation produced goods and provided services
worth over $4 billion in 2008
Rostov-Don
Arseniev
Kumertau
Dear reader,
You are holding the latest issue of the Take-off magazine, special
English-language supplement to VZLET Russia’s national aerospace
magazine, dedicated this time to LIMA 2009 airshow.
LIMA aerospace exhibition on Malaysian island Langkawi is one of the
most respectable international airshows in South East Asia, so it gathers
potential customers not only from Malaysia but from all over the region.
Russian participants’ interest in it is owing to the country and South East
Asia returning as the leaders in importing Russian-made aircraft and
cooperating with Russia in the aerospace field. For example, this year
the Royal Malaysian Air Force has received its last Sukhoi Su-30MKM
supermanoeuvrable multirole fighters under the contract for 18 aircraft
of the type signed in 2003. The inaugural demonstration of the first
Su-30MKMs delivered to RMAF by Russia’s Irkut Corporation in 2007
took place at previous LIMA 2007 and had a great success. This time
Malaysian Su-30MKMs are going to become the main participants of
the LIMA airshow again. No doubt, unique supermanoeuvrability of the
Sukhoi fighters and excellent skills of RMAF pilots will together produce a
great show within LIMA 2009 flight demonstration programme.
Although earlier this year Irkut Corp. successfully fulfilled the whole
contract on 18 Su-30MKMs delivery to RMAF, more fighters of the
type could be in demand in Malaysia soon as it decided to withdraw in
the future its MiG-29N aircraft fleet delivered by Russia’s MiG Corp. in
1990s. In such case Su-30MKM, possibly in further upgraded version, for
example armed by BrahMos super-long range air-to-surface missiles or
fitted with a brand-new AESA radar, could become the best choice for
Malaysia in terms of RMAF fighter fleet combat efficiency and operational
logistics.
Apart from Su-30MKM topic in this issue we have focused on the
other most important novelties and recent events in Russian aerospace
industry, with preference given to those of them that could be of special
interest to the current and potential customers of Russian aircraft in
Malaysia and South East Asia in a whole.
I wish you fruitful work at the LIMA 2009 air show, useful contacts and
lucrative contracts!
Sincerely,
Andrey Fomin,
Editor-in-Chief,
Take-off magazine
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
© Aeromedia, 2009
P.O. Box 7, Moscow, 125475, Russia
Tel. +7 (495) 644-17-33, 798-81-19
Fax +7 (495) 644-17-33
E-mail: [email protected]
http://www.take-off.ru
december 2009
Editor-in-Chief
Andrey Fomin
Deputy Editor-in-Chief
Vladimir Shcherbakov
Editor
Yevgeny Yerokhin
Columnist
Alexander Velovich
Special correspondents
Alexey Mikheyev, Vladimir Karnozov,
Victor Drushlyakov, Andrey Zinchuk, Valery Ageyev,
Alina Chernoivanova, Natalya Pechorina,
Marina Lystseva, Dmirty Pichugin, Sergey Krivchikov,
Sergey Popsuyevich, Piotr Butowski,
Alexander Mladenov, Miroslav Gyurosi
Design and pre-press
Grigory Butrin
Web support
Georgy Fedoseyev
Translation
Yevgeny Ozhogin
Cover picture
Sergey Kuznetsov
Publisher
Director General
Andrey Fomin
Deputy Director General
Nadezhda Kashirina
Marketing Director
George Smirnov
Director for international projects
Alexander Velovich
Items in the magazine placed on this colour background or supplied
with a note “Commercial” are published on a commercial basis.
Editorial staff does not bear responsibility for the contents of such items.
c o n t e n t s
CONTRACTS AND DELIVERIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Mi-35M gearing up for shipping to Brazil
This summer, the last two Sukhoi Su-30MKM twinseat supermanoeuvrable
multirole fighters from the batch of 18 aircraft ordered in 2003 entered service with
the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF). With this delivery which took place on 17
August 2009, Irkut Corporation fulfilled completely the contract signed six years
before providing RMAF with the most modern and combat effective multirole
fighters. Now all of 18 superagile Su-30MKMs are in service with the 11th
squadron of the Royal Malaysian Air Force stationed at Gong Kedak air base in
the Kelantan province, on the coast of the South China Sea, 300 km north of the
national capital, Kuala Lumpur. The international debut of the advanced Malaysian
fighters took place two years ago, at LIMA 2007 airshow at the island of Langkawi.
This time, three Su-30MKMs are also the participants of the international
aerospace and marine exhibition at Langkawi and, no doubt, will become the main
stars of the demonstration flight programme at LIMA 2009.
MILITARY AVIATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
December 2009
An-74TK-300D delivered to Laotian government
Su-30MKM
In service with RMAF
Two advanced MiG-35 multirole fighters made by the MiG corporation this year
were headed for India on 7 October to take part in the trials as part of the MMRCA
(Medium MultiRole Combat Aircraft) tender. Starting from mid-August, US fighters
F/A-18E/F and F-16E/F and French Rafale had completed their trials in India as
contenders under the MMRCA tender providing for the Indian Air Force (IAF) to
buy 126 multirole fighters worth upwards of $10 billion. Swedish Gripen and
European Typhoon will be last to join the flight evaluation by the tender’s
organisers. Although the rivalling planes’ developers and IAF keep mum on how
the current flight trials unfold, the Indian media and Internet forums keep tabs on
what is going on at Bangalore airbase and other Indian airfields where MMRCA
contenders are flown under the conditions set by the organisers. Based on the
media and Internet reports, let us try and look into how the flight evaluation of the
contenders is going on.
MMRCA tender
Trials kick off in India
Phazotron-NIIR ready for Indian tender
Sukhoi to deliver 64 brand-new fighters to RusAF
The first Irkut-built Yak-130 has flown
In later September, the MiG Corporation conducted successful flight trials of the
advanced MiG-29K and MiG-29KUB multirole carrierborne fighters ordered by the
Indian Navy (IN). The trials took place on board the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft-
carrying cruiser of the Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy. The first deck landing
on the Admiral Kuznetsov in the Barents Sea was conducted on 28 September by
MiG Corp. chief test pilot Pavel Vlasov flying the MiG-29K prototype serialled 941.
MiG Corp. test pilots Nikolay Diorditsa and Mikhail Belyayev followed him on the
production MiG-29KUB twinseater painted in the customer’s colour scheme. In the
course of two days, both aircraft performed several takeoffs and deck landings that
proved the feasibility of safe operation of advanced fighters from aircraft carriers.
Interestingly, the MiG-29K/KUB’s flight tests on board the Admiral Kuznetsov had
taken place on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the first deck landings of
Russia’s fourth-generation supersonic fighters and had become a kind of MiGs’
comeback to the deck. On 1 November 1989, a prototype MiG-29K of the previous
model touched down on and then took off from this ship that was designated as
Tbilisi at the time. Several more series of tests were conducted over several years
afterwards, but for a number of reasons a decision was taken to have the Sukhoi
Su-33 (Su-27K) shipborne fighter enter inventory of the Russian Navy’s air arm.
History has made another twist, and now advanced MiG-29K/KUB being in full-rate
production for a foreign customer could be used by the Russian Navy in the near
future.
MiG-29K
Back on deck!
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CIVIL AVIATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
First Russian-built An-148 delivered
Sukhoi SuperJet seeking type certificate
IFC sells 26 more Tu-204s
Polyot receives new Il-96-400Ts
Transaero flies three Tu-214s
Yakutia started operating its third An-140
Once the programme on developing the advanced Sukhoi SuperJet 100 airliner
came into the straight, and the aircraft made its debut at home and abroad,
designers turned to another promising Russian civil aviation project – the
development of a family of MC-21 short- and medium-haul airliners. According to
the developer, the airliners will have a wide range of operation capabilities, tailored
to the Russian and foreign markets and capable of facilitating airlines’ reaching a
radically new level of economic efficiency, including doing so by slashing the direct
operating costs by 15% compared the current aircraft in the same class. The MC-
21 programme is at the pre-design and key systems supplier selection stage. The
results of several tenders on selecting first-tier suppliers for the MC-21 were
announced on 20 August, but the final competitions on the powerplant, avionics
and control systems have been put off until year-end.
MC-21 programme
Engine makers go around
INDUSTRY . . . . . . . 26 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ka-32 certificated in EU
Turbomeca to supply engines to fit Mi-34
Ansat-U expected by the military
Ka-226T gearing up for certification
Ka-62 on Russian Helicopters priority list
Russia and Ukraine agreed to pursue An-70 programme together
PS-90A2 enters flight trials
Large order for engines to power Su-35
The active electronically-scanned array (AESA) radar being developed by the
Tikhomirov-NIIP joint stock company to fit a new-generation fighter was among the
head-turners of the MAKS 2009 air show. At the show, Tikhomirov-NIIP unveiled a
full-scale X-band AESA radar that had logged many bench tests in laboratories.
The AESA radar is expected to begin its flight tests next year. Owing to its design
commonality and technical solutions selected, it could spawn active electronically-
scanned arrays to upgrade various radars equipping the fighters of the Su-27/Su-
30 and MiG-29 families also. The Take-off editor met with Tikhomirov-NIIP Director
General Yuri Bely and asked him to tell about the AESA radar development
programme.
Tikhomirov’s AESA in trials
Debut of advanced air-to-air missiles
WEAPONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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In mid-October, Brazilian Air
Force pilots started the practi-
cal stage of converting to a new
type of aircraft, the upgraded Mil
Mi-35M attack helicopter made by
Rostvertol JSC. The contract for 12
Mi-35Ms was signed in November
last year during Russian President
Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to Brazil,
paving the way for Russian combat
aircraft to the country.
The upgraded Mi-35M is far
superior to the Mi-24V and Mi-35
previously built by Rostvertol in that
it has day/night surveillance and tar-
geting systems, cutting-edge navi-
gation aids, composite-blade rotor
system and is powered by more
powerful VK-2500 engines. The
upgrade enhanced the machine’s
flight performance considerably,
especially its high-and-hot char-
acteristics. The first 10 produc-
tion-standard Mi-35Ms were export-
ed to Venezuela in 2006–08, with
the company now fulfilling the sec-
ond export order. Mention should
be made that the Venezuelan and
Brazilian orders enabled Rostvertol
to resume the production of the
Mi-35 helicopter family suspended
as far back as 1989 when the last
production-standard Mi-24P and
Mi-35P helicopters were completed
(in the following decade and a half,
the plant had only overhauled and
upgraded the aircraft of the type).
Rostvertol launched the manufac-
ture of the first Mi-35M batch for the
Brazilian Air Force late last year. As
many as four aircraft had sat in the
assembly shop by the time the plant
celebrated its 70th anniversary in
early July this year. The first Brazilian
Mi-35M took to the sky on its maiden
flight on 15 August and several days
later was inspected by a delegation
of the customer, led by Brazilian
Air Force Commander-in-Chief Juniti
Saito, with 27 August seeing the
machine’s first night-time demon-
stration flight. With the factory trials
complete, the first Brazil-destined
Mi-35M was painted in the custom-
er’s colour scheme that it sported
on its 8 October flight. A week later,
Brazil pilots started flying it under
their conversion programme. The
second production machine had
been flying by then.
The first Mi-35M batch is to be
delivered to Brazil before year-end,
once the first team of the custom-
er’s pilots has completed the con-
version. The whole of the contract
could be fulfilled in 2010. However,
the Brazilian media have reported
that in addition to the Brazilian Air
Force with its 12 Mi-35Ms, the
Brazilian Army Aviation has shown
interest in the helicopter as well,
indicating its willingness to order
four Mi-35Ms.
Mi-35M gearing up for shipping to Brazil
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The Russian Helicopters joint
stock company, a subsidiary of
Oboronprom JSC, made an offi-
cial statement on 9 October that
its subsidiary Kumertau Aircraft
Production Plant (KumAPP) had
built and been completing the
tests of the first three Kamov
Ka-28 antisubmarine warfare
(ASW) helicopters under a new
Rosoboronexport contract on nine
aircraft of the type for the People’s
Republic of China.
“The shipping of the first batch
of Ka-28 helicopters is a confi-
dent, albeit small, step towards
intensifying the cooperation with
our Chinese partners”, said Andrey
Shibitov, Director General of the
Russian Helicopters. “Today and
in the future, Russian Helicopters
manufacturers are ready to make
any up-to-date helicopters for the
air forces and navies of most of the
countries, including for our part-
ners in China”. KumAPP Managing
Director Sergey Mikryukov, in turn,
said, “The global market is showing
an obvious tendency towards the
growth of demand for Russian heli-
copters. KumAPP is ready to fully
meet the requirement of our Asian,
Middle Eastern, South American
and other partners for both medium
(Ka-28, Ka-32) and light (Ka-226T)
helicopters”.
The new Ka-28s designed for
delivery to the PLANAF are an
export version of the Ka-27 in serv-
ice with the Russian Navy. They
are powered by TV3-117VMAR
high-altitude engines featuring
enhanced power in the maximum
continuous power and cruising
modes. The ASW machine is fit-
ted with RF sonobuoys and, while
in the seek-and-destroy variant,
with antisubmarine bombs and tor-
pedo-missiles, including APR-2E
Orlan high-speed homing air-to-un-
derwater missiles.
The Ka-28 is known well in
China. The first order for eight
aircraft of the type was placed as
far back as 1997, and the Chinese
Navy started operating its first
coaxial-rotor Kamov machines a
year later. The service took deliv-
ery of five ASW machines that it
serialled 9144, 9154, 9164, 9174
and 9184, and three SAR aircraft
serialled 9114, 9124 and 9134.
The Ka-28s are in service with the
Chinese Navy on board the Project
956 Sovremenny-class destroyers
procured from Russia and indige-
nous Luhai destroyers as well as at
land-based airfields. In addition to
China, the Ka-28 had been exported
to India, Vietnam, Yugoslavia, Syria
and Cuba since the mid-1980s.
33 aircraft had been built by the
early 2000s, after which only Ka-31
airborne early warning (AEW) heli-
copters and civilian versions of
the Ka-32 helicopters have been
exported. With the signature of the
new Chinese contract, KumAPP has
resumed production of the Ka-28
baseline military export variant.
On 15 October, the airfield
of the Kharkov State Aircraft
Manufacturing Company (KSAMC)
hosted the handover ceremony of
the new Antonov An-74TK-300D
aircraft in the VIP configuration to
representatives of the customer,
the government of Laos. The air-
craft, serialled RDPL-34020 by the
customer, made its maiden flight on
17 September 2009. It is the sec-
ond KSAMC-built plane delivered
this year, with the An-74TK-300D
delivered to Libya on 23 April being
the first one.
Thus, the return of Anatoly Myalitsa
into the office of KSAMC’s Director
General has resulted in a hope for
progress. As is known, for several
years the plant was unable to make
and deliver a single new plane, though
it had firm orders for at least 10 aircraft
of the An-74 family and its assembly
shop was crammed with unfinished
airframes and assemblies. Now, the
work has picked up. According to
Anatoly Myalitsa speaking at the
Laotian An-74TK-300D’s handover
ceremony, three more aircraft are to
be completed this year. “There are
three planes undergoing final assem-
bly in shops. We are working on them.
We will complete the aircraft intended
for Egypt in November and then the
one for Libya’s air medical service,”
he told the media.
KSAMC spokesman Andrey
Platonov told the Take-off corre-
spondent that in the near future,
the Kharkov-based company was to
deliver two An-74TK-200S air ambu-
lances to Libya and two upgraded
An-74T-200A transports to Egypt
(the first of the three ordered aircraft
of the type was delivered to Egypt
as far back as four years ago, in
September 2005). As far as the rest
of the signed but unfulfilled contracts
are concerned, “talks are underway”,
and any concrete information will
be unveiled later, as “the clinched
deals are taken off ice, current con-
tracts are extended and new ones
are awarded”.
An-74TK-300D delivered to Laotian government
New Ka-28 deliveries to China begin
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Worth about $900 million, the contract
for 18 Russian-made Su-30MKM aircraft to
be delivered to RMAF was signed on the top
governmental level in August 2003, with the
Rosoboronexport state corporation to fulfil
it. The aircraft were to be developed by the
Sukhoi company and built by the Irkut Corp.
Under the deal, in addition to delivering the
fighters, Russia was to train RMAF flying and
ground crews and provide weapons and other
This summer, the last two Sukhoi Su-30MKM twinseat supermanoeuvrable multirole fighters from the batch of 18 aircraft
ordered in 2003 entered service with the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF). With this delivery which took place on 17 August
2009, Irkut Corporation fulfilled completely the contract signed six years before providing RMAF with the most modern
and combat effective multirole fighters. Now all of 18 superagile Su-30MKMs are in service with the 11th squadron of the
Royal Malaysian Air Force stationed at Gong Kedak air base in the Kelantan province, on the coast of the South China Sea,
300 km north of the national capital, Kuala Lumpur. The international debut of the advanced Malaysian fighters took place
two years ago, at LIMA 2007 airshow at the island of Langkawi. This time, three Su-30MKMs are also the participants of the
international aerospace and marine exhibition at Langkawi and, no doubt, will become the main stars of the demonstration
flight programme at LIMA 2009.
Su-30MKM
IN SERVICE WITH RMAF
Andrey FOMIN
Malaysian leaders examine the RMAF
Su-30MKM’s cockpit after its inaugural demo
flight at LIMA 2007. The then PM of Malaysia
Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (in the center), the
then Deputy PM – Minister of Defence, now –
the Prime Minister of Malaysia Dato’ Seri Mohd.
Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak (right), and
the then RMAF Chief (now – Chief of Defence
Forces) Gen Tan Sri Azizan Ariffin (left)
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equipment relevant to the effective operation
of the fighters. A decision was taken to have
Malaysia’s personnel trained in their country.
RMAF had taken delivery of the first two
aircraft in June 2007 and four more by the
year-end, with the next six in March 2008.
The remaining six Su-30MKMs were deliv-
ered this summer.
The Su-30MKM fighter is a derivative
of the proven Su-30MKI that has been in
service with the Indian Air Force (IAF) since
2002. Under the contracts fulfilled or still
under way, IAF is to take delivery of as many
as 230 Su-30MKI fighters by the middle of
next decade, of which 90 are to be built by
Russia’s Irkut Corporation and 140 are to be
licence-produced by Indian aircraft manu-
facturer HAL under a licence programme.
To date, Irkut has shipped more than 50
fighters of the type to India, continuing
to make and deliver both ready-for-service
aircraft and licence production kits. The
first Indian-assembled Su-30MKIs have
been check-flown and handed over to IAF
in November 2004. Since then, the number
of Indian-produced Su-30MKIs in IAF’s
inventory has been on the rise. As for today,
more than hundred Su-30MKIs – both
delivered from Russia and assembled by
HAL – are in service with IAF. One more
derivative of the fighter, the Su-30MKI(A),
is developed by Sukhoi and now being deliv-
ered by Irkut Corp. The customer is Algerian
Air Force wich ordered 28 fighters of the type
in 2006. Deliveries began in late 2007 and
by August 2009 a total of 22 Su-30MKI(A)
fighters have been built by Irkut according
to the statement of Irkut’s president Oleg
Demchenko made at MAKS 2009 airshow.
Algerian contract is planned to be fulfilled by
the end of this year.
“The Su-30MKM is another step in
developing the Su-30 platform further,” the
Sukhoi design bureau’s First Deputy Designer
General Alexander Barkovsky told Take-off.
The Malaysian version is wrapped around the
Su-30MKI design, differing mostly in avi-
onics but retaining its airframe, AL-31FP
thrust vector-controlled (TVC) engines and
fly-by-wire control system. Still, “there have
been a number of radical modifications to
the Malaysian aircraft”, Alexander Barkovsky
said.
They included, first and foremost, modifi-
cations to the IFF transponder, self-defence
suite, display system and podded optron-
ic systems. For instance, the Su-30MKM
mounts an advanced French-made IFF sys-
tem, with its ‘plates’ situated on top the nose
section fore of the cockpit.
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However, the main difference featured
by the Malaysian variant is its laser warning
systems and missile approach sensors. They
were developed and in production by South
African company Avitronics, a member of
the SAAB group, and are placed in various
parts of the airframe. Two front-hemisphere
laser-illumination sensor sets are under the
nose section and the other two, which keep
an eye on the rear hemisphere, sit on the
sides of the air intakes. Between the former,
there is a UV three-sensor set to spot incom-
ing missiles in the lookdown mode. The
second such set of UV sensors is on top the
spine fairing aft of the air brake. It operates
in the lookup mode.
In addition to the South African systems,
the Su-30MKM’s self-defence suite comprises
an upgraded Russian radar-warning receiver,
Russian electronic countermeasures (ECM)
system in two pods mounted on wingtips, and
Russian passive IR dispensers in the tail sec-
tion (98 cartridges with flares and chaff).
Actually, the share of Russian-made com-
ponents is larger than that on the Indian
variant due to Russian components replac-
ing some of the Indian and Israeli ones.
Particularly, the Su-30MKI has two different
digital computers (the main one is Russian
and the backup is Indian), while both of the
Su-30MKM’s computers are Russian-made.
In addition, the Su-30MKM has more
French-made systems. The Thales wide-an-
gle HUD has ousted the Israeli ElOp
HUD mounted by the Su-30MKI. The
Su-30MKM’s colour multifunction LCDs are
French-made as well. Like the Indian fighter,
its Malaysian counterpart houses three 5x5”
MFD55 displays at each combat station in the
cockpit, with the rear station also fitted with
the fourth, larger display – the 6x6” MFD66.
Another novelty implemented in the Malaysian
version is the Thales podded optronic systems
(the Su-30MKI can carry the Israeli-made
Litening electro-optical pod). There are two
such systems: the LDP Damocles pod ensures
round-the-clock air-to-surface attack while day
and night flight and navigation is ensured by the
NAVFLIR system housed by the pylon being
the hardpoint for the Damocles.
According to the official data at the Thales
web site, the Damocles podded optronic sys-
tem (the pod weighs 265 kg and is 2.5 m long)
handles the surface search, target acquisi-
tion, identification and tracking, laser spot
detection and target ranging and designation
for laser-guided weapons, including smart
bombs. To this end, it has the thermal imaging
capability with the 3–5 micron wavelength
as well as two laser channels: a 1.5 micron
eye-safe ranging laser and a target illumina-
tion laser. The thermal imager’s extra-wide
field of vision in the navigation mode meas-
ures 24x18°, wide one – 4x3° and narrow
one – 1x0.75°. The twofold electronic magni-
fication (zoom) is possible.
The 3–5 micron infrared NAVFLIR navi-
gation system has the front-hemisphere look-
down/lookup capability with the 24x18° opti-
cal field of view (the electronic zoom with
12x9° angle of view) and shows the result-
ant imagery on the HUD and/or MFDs.
The acquisition and identification range for
objects measuring 20x20 m is 10–12 km and
those for 100x100m objects is 22.5–50 km.
The system, except the pod and cooling sys-
tem, weighs mere 20 kg.
The rest of the Su-30MKM’s search and
targeting systems are Russian-made and most-
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ly similar to those on the Su-30MKI. They
include, first and foremost, the Tikhomirov
NIIP Bars phased-array radar capable of simul-
taneously tracking at least 15 aerial threats at a
high spatial angle and engaging four of them at
a time, effectively attacking ground targets and
operating in the air-to-air and air-to-surface
modes concurrently. The passive phased array
of the Bars radar is fitted with the addition-
al hydraulic horizontal turn mechanism and
offers ±70° total scan in azimuth and ±40°
in elevation. The assured acquisition range
for aerial threats with a radar cross-section of
3 sq.m equals at least 140 km.
In addition, the Su-30MKM’s surveillance
and targeting gear includes the OLS-30I IRST
from the Ural Optical & Mechanical Plant
named after E.S. Yalamov (UOMZ) and the
Sura helmet-mounted target designator from
the Arsenal plant in Kiev. The infrared segment
of the IRST tracks aerial targets out at 90 km
in the rear hemisphere and 50 km in the front
hemisphere. The airspace scan zone measures
±60° in azimuth and -15/+60° in elevation.
The OLS-30I’s wide field of view account for
60x10° and the narrow one is 20x5°, with the
field of view being 3x3° in the lock-on mode.
The laser rangefinder ranges ground targets out
at 5 km at the least and aerial ones out at 3 km
at the least.
The Su-30MKI’s navigation aids include
the TACAN short-range radio navigation
system, LINS-GPS inertial/satnav system
and VOR/ILS/MRK landing equipment. To
ensure safe formation manoeuvring, the air-
craft also is fitted with formation flight lights
on the sides of the fuselage nose section and
air intakes, fins and wingtips. The avionics
was integrated with the use of multiplex data-
bus meeting the MIL-STD-1553B standard.
As far as its weapons suite is concerned,
the Su-30MKM is close enough to IAF’s
Su-30MKI. The types of weapons used remain
virtually unchanged and include up to ten
RVV-AE medium-range active radar homing
air-to-air missiles, up to eight R-27ER1 (R1)
semiactive radar homing and R-27ET1
(T1) heat-seeking AAMs (including up
to two R-27ET1/T1 AAMs), up to six
R-73E dogfight missiles, Kh-59ME air-to-sur-
face missiles (two missiles with TV command
guidance), Kh-31A or Kh-31P (six ASMs
with active or passive radar homing heads),
six TV-guided Kh-29TE missiles and five
Kh-29L semiactive laser beam-riding ASMs.
Guided bombs include KAB-500Kr (OD) and
KAB-1500Kr TV-guided bombs and advanced
KAB-1500LG laser-guided bombs. The use of
Kh-59ME missiles is supported by means of the
APK-9E pod carried on the hardpoint under
the port air intake and that of Kh-29L missiles
and KAB-1500LG bombs by the Damocles pod
mounted on the hardpoint under the starboard
air intake. Advanced French missile MICA
may make its way on board the Su-30MKM, if
the feasibility of integrating it with the fighter’s
weapons suite, being looked into at the request
of RMAF, is confirmed.
The non-guided weapons carried by the
Su-30MKM are virtually the same as those
hauled by other aircraft of the Flanker fam-
ily. The Su-30MKM carries up to eight HE
gravity bombs or 500 kg disposable cluster
bomb units, up to thirty-two 250 kg or 100
kg blast/fragmentation bombs and 80, 122
and 266/340 mm (420 mm) folding-fin aerial
rockets (80 S-8, 20 S-13 or four S-25 FFARs
in various versions) in four rocket pods or
launchers. The maximum payload mounted
on 12 hardpoints totals 8,000 kg. To cap it all,
the fighter packs a 30 mm GSh-301 automatic
cannon with the 150-round ammo load.
In conclusion, a few words about one other
feature of the Su-30MKM. The aircraft is fit-
ted with the integral oxygen generator from
the Zvezda company in the town of Tomilino,
Moscow Region. Zvezda is known as the
developer of the unique K-36D-3,5E ejection
seat the Su-30MKM is fitted with.
The Su-30MKM has a long flying life –
6,000 flight hours or 25 years of operation as
far as the airframe is concerned. Heavy main-
tenance is required after the aircraft logs 1,500
flight hours or 10 years of operation. The
AL-31FP engines from UMPO in Ufa have
an assigned life of 2,000 flight hours and a
time before first overhaul of 1,000 flight hours,
with their TVC nozzles have an assigned life of
500 flight hours.
In 2006 the Sukhoi design bureau furnished
two prototype aircraft to test the Su-30MKM’s
advanced electronic systems and integrate it
with the avionics suite. Two preproduction
Su-30MKIs serialled 05 and 04 were con-
verted to this end, becoming the prototypes
of the Su-30MKM. One of them was first
flown by Sukhoi’s test pilots Sergey Kostin
and Vyacheslav Averyanov in Zhukovsky on
23 May 2006. The other prototype completed
its maiden flight in Irkutsk on 9 June 2006
with Vyacheslav and Yevgeny Averyanovs at
the controls. The bulk of the tests conducted
at LII’s airfield in Zhukovsky and at the
Defence Ministry’s State Flight Test Centre
(GLITs) in Akhtubinsk were complete in
late spring 2007, with the assembly of the
first several production Su-30MKMs being in
full swing at the Irkutsk Aircraft Plant. Both
Su-30MKM prototypes will remain in Russia
for use under various test programmes to keep
on refining the Su-30MKM and other aircraft
of the family.
The ceremony of acceptance of two first
production-standard Su-30MKMs took place
at the airfield of the Irkutsk Aircraft Plant, a
subsidiary of the Irkut Corp., on 24 May
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2007. The Malaysian delegation attending
the acceptance ceremony was led by the then
RMAF commander, Gen. Dato’ Sri Azizan
bin Ariffin. Less than a month later, on 18
June, an Antonov An-124 Ruslan airlifter
flew both aircraft to RMAF’s Gong Kedak
air base in the Kelantan province, on the
coast of the South China Sea, 300 km north
of the national capital, Kuala Lumpur. Two
more Su-30MKMs joined them in August.
The Subang air base vic. Kuala Lumpur
hosted the ceremony of the Su-30MKM’s
RMAF service entry on 10 August 2007. The
importance of the event was highlighted by
the presence of Malaysian Deputy Prime
Minister and Defence Minister (now –
Prime Minister of Malaysia) Dato’ Sri Mohd
Najib Tun Haji Abdul Razak and Malaysian
Chief of Defence Forces General (Army)
Tan Sri Dato Paduka Seri Abdul Aziz Hj
Zainal. Rosoboronexport Deputy Director
General Victor Komardin, who represented
Russia during the ceremony, handed the
documentation on the delivered aircraft over
to RMAF Commander.
By then, the fighters delivered had been used
by the first group of RMAF pilots for conver-
sion to the aircraft of a type new to them, with
Russian test pilots Yevgeny Frolov, Sergey
Bogdan and Sergey Kostin of the Sukhoi
design bureau acting as instructor pilots.
Already on 31 August, three Su-30MKMs
flown by Malaysian pilots participated in the
air parade dedicated to the 50th anniversary of
Malaysia’s independence.
The international debut of the advanced
Malaysian fighters took place at LIMA 2007
airshow at the island of Langkawi in December
2007. Lt. Col. Norazlan Aris and Maj. Azman
Jantan from RMAF’s 11th squadron became
the heroes of the show due to their fantastic
Su-30MKM flight display over Langkawi.
By then two more RMAF pilots were fly-
ing the new type of Malaysian fighter, Maj.
Fadzli Sabirin and Maj. Choy Swee On. All
of them previously flew RMAF’s MiG-29N
or F/A-18D fighters or Hawk trainers and
were high-skill military pilots with a flight
backlog of 2,000–3,000 hours. Later on more
and more Malaysian pilots passed conversion
for flying Su-30MKM and attended the 11th
squadron headed by Col. Suri Daud.
With introducing the Su-30MKM into
service, RMAF became the second air force
in the world to operate supersonic multirole
supermanoeuvrable fighters capable of thrust
vector control and the world’s second air force
flying Russian fighters fitted with phased-array
radars. Mention should be made that all neigh-
bouring nations in the region have to put up
with less sophisticated aircraft carrying ordi-
nary mechanically-scanned array radars. The
Bars radar enables the Su-30MKM’s crew to
fire missiles on four targets at a time within a
wide solid angle. With air crews given relevant
training, they will be able to use dogfight
missiles in the supermanoeuvrability mode as
well. As a result, the combat capabilities of the
Malaysian Su-30MKMs could far exceed those
of the fighters operated by other air forces in
the region.
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Lt. Col. Norazlan Aris (left) and Maj. Azman
Jantan (right) from RMAF’s 11th squadron, the first
Malaysian pilots to fly Su-30MKM, after their
fantastic flight display over Langkawi at LIMA 2007
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Length, m .......................................................................................................... 21.9
Wing span, m ..................................................................................................... 14.7
Height, m ............................................................................................................. 6.4
Wing area, sq.m ................................................................................................. 62.0
Maximum takeoff weight, kg .......................................................................... 34,000
Limit takeoff weight, kg .................................................................................. 38,800
Full fuel capacity, kg ........................................................................................ 9,600
Combat load, kg ............................................................................................... 8,000
Maximum speed, km/h:
- at high altitude ............................................................................................... 2,000
- at sea level .................................................................................................... 1,400
Maximum Mach number ...................................................................................... 1.9
Service ceiling, m .......................................................................................... 17,300
Maximum g-load ..................................................................................................... 9
Take-off run (normal take-off weight), m ............................................................ 550
Landing roll length (normal landing weight), m ................................................. 750
Max range on full tanks with missiles attached, km:
- without refuelling ........................................................................................... 3,000
- with one refuelling ......................................................................................... 5,200
- with two refuellings ........................................................................................ 8,000
Maximum combat radius, km:
- in maritime AO, with 4xR-73E & 4xKh-31A ...................................................... 980
- in land AO, with 2xR-73E, 2xKh-29TE & 2xKh-31P ....................................... 1,010
Time on station without refuelling, hr:
- 200 km away from base..................................................................................... 2.6
- 400 km away from base..................................................................................... 2.1
- 600 km away from base..................................................................................... 1.7
Maximum endurance (limited by crew’s physical abilities), hr ........................... 10
Engines ........................................................................................................AL-31FP
Thrust, kgf:
- full afterburner ..........................................................................................2x12,500
- full power ....................................................................................................2x7,670
Su-30MKM basic specifications
Su-30MKM
Drawing by Andrey Zhirnov
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The stage of in-country demonstration
flights and flight tests of the MMRCA
contenders began on 17 August, i.e. two years
after the requests for proposals (RfP) had
been sent officially on 28 August 2007. At the
time, the first three-month flight evaluation
phase in India was supposed to kick off as
early as June 2008 (the rival companies were
given until late February 2008 to submit their
technical and commercial proposals) to be
followed by the evaluation of the weapons
suites of the fighters by IAF personnel, with
two or three aircraft to be shortlisted in early
2009. As it often happens, however, the
flight evaluation of first contenders in India
slipped for late summer 2009 by mutual
agreement.
Two advanced MiG-35 multirole
fighters made by the MiG corporation
this year were headed for India on
7 October to take part in the trials
as part of the MMRCA (Medium
MultiRole Combat Aircraft) tender.
Starting from mid-August, US
fighters F/A-18E/F and F-16E/F and
French Rafale had completed their
trials in India as contenders under
the MMRCA tender providing for the
Indian Air Force (IAF) to buy 126
multirole fighters worth upwards
of $10 billion. Swedish Gripen and
European Typhoon will be last to join
the flight evaluation by the tender’s
organisers. Although the rivalling
planes’ developers and IAF keep
mum on how the current flight trials
unfold, the Indian media and Internet
forums keep tabs on what is going on
at Bangalore airbase and other Indian
airfields where MMRCA contenders
are flown under the conditions set by
the organisers. Based on the media
and Internet reports, let us try and
look into how the flight evaluation of
the contenders is going on.
MMRCA tender
trials kick off in India
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This had been preceded, however, by the
flight demonstration of some of the rivals at
the Aero India 2009 air show in Bangalore in
February, which involved Russian demonstrator
MiG-35D (side number 154), as many as five
F-16s, including two UAE Air Force F-16F
Block 60s that might become the prototype
of the future Indian F-16IN Super Viper, two
production F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and
three Typhoons furnished by the Luftwaffe.
Mention should be made that although the
MiG-35 technology demonstrator was derived
in early 2007 from the MiG-29M prototype
built as far back as 1990 and then converted
to the MiG-29M2 twinseater following a long
downtime, it was equipped with a complete
cutting-edge avionics suite in line with the
MMRCA tender requirements, including an
active electronically-scanned array (AESA)
radar. Apart from it, only the F-16F could
boast an active phased array radar in Bangalore,
while the rest of the demonstrators, the
F/A-18E/F and Typhoon, were ordinary
production aircraft with more modest weapons
suites, with AESA radars for their future
Indian versions being only in the form of
mock-ups displayed in exhibition pavilions.
In line with the tender’s terms, the single-
and two-seat variants of each fighter are
to be used in the evaluation tests in India.
For this reason, as well as owing to the
different designs of the MiG-35 technology
demonstrator (No. 154), on the one
hand, and the current and future MiG-29
versions (MiG-29K/KUB, MiG-29M/M2,
MiG-35), on the other, MiG Corp. decided
to make two new aircraft – a singleseater
and a twinseater – at its production plant in
Lukhovitsy for the MMRCA test programme.
In terms of design, both are very similar to
the carrierborne MiG-29K/KUB that are in
production for the Indian Navy, and differ
only in the lack of the arrestor hook (even
the shipborne variant’s wing panel design
and high-lift devices have been retained).
At the same time, the MiG-35 prototypes
are fit to mount the advanced avionics,
including the AESA radar, tested or being
tested on board technology demonstrator
No.154 and other flying testbeds under the
MiG-35 programme.
The developer regards the extremely high
degree of commonality between the current
MiG-29K/KUB and future MiG-35 as both
a means to speed up the development and
productionising and an important advantage
of the Russian bid, because India will fly
MiG-29K/KUB in full swing by the time the
MiG-35’s deliveries commence, if it comes
on top in the tender. The MiG-35 single-seat
prototype was completed this summer and
given side number 961. Concurrently,
the MiG-29KUB prototype serialled 947
was converted to the MiG-35D two-seat
prototype serialled 967. Both went to India
early in October following a series of flights
under the factory test programme.
The flight evaluation phase involving all
of the six pairs of contenders, which began
in India in August, is to take about eight
months, according to IAF representative
P.R. Singh, with the estimated deadline being
March or April 2010. The phase is broken
down into three following parts:
- familiarisation, during which IAF
flying and ground crews are learning the
fighters’ characteristics, individual systems
and weapons; according to Indian sources,
special attention is being paid to the avionics
suite and radars (as is known, all completing
fighters must be equipped with AESA
radar);
- demonstration, i.e. demonstration flights
performed by test pilots of the companies
participating in the tender and by pilots with
line units of the air forces of the competing
countries, as well as familiarisation flights
for IAF pilots as backseaters in the two-seat
versions; this part of the evaluation is taking
place at HAL’s air base in Bangalore;
- field trials, i.e. two-day flights under an
approved programme at Jaisalmer in the Thar
desert (state of Rajasthan) at high ambient
temperature, and flights at Leh air base in the
Himalayas (state Jammu and Kashmir) where
Vladimir SHCHERBAKOV
Andrey FOMIN
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the rivals will have to prove their fully-laden
performance in mountainous terrain (about
3,500 m above sea level). According to the
Indian media, the ability to operate with the
design ordnance load and full tanks from
a high-elevation airfield equipped with a
3,300-m runway is a key IAF requirement to
all of the contenders.
At this stage of the tender, Indian pilots,
who graduated from the special courses in
the countries of the developers, join the
flights. To this end, IAF has stood up two
groups of pilots two men each. At first, they
will act as backseaters and fly the fighters
from time to time and then will fly and use
weapons on their own. Eight to 10 technical
specialists from the Indian Defence Ministry,
HAL, DRDO, etc., are attached to each
group to evaluate the systems.
The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet was the first
to enter the arena: two fighters accompanied
by a tanker plane came to Bangalore on 14
August. Following a series of demonstration
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In August this year, the Russian, U.S.
and West European contenders entered the
comparative test stage of the MMRCA tender
providing for the selection and subsequent
acquisition of 126 medium multirole fighters by
the Indian Air Force (IAF). A key requirement to
all of the contenders is that the aircraft should
carry active phased-array radar, also known as
AESA radar. The MiG-35 prototypes furnished
for comparative tests under the MMRCA
programme are equipped with AESA radar from
the Phazotron-NIIR corporation. A Take-off
correspondent had visited Phazotron-NIIR on
the eve of the kickoff of the tests to inquire about
the status of the Zhuk-AE radar development
programme.
According to Phazotron-NIIR Director General
Vyacheslav Tishchenko, the AESA radar
engineering development phase has been
nearing the end, with Phazotron-NIIR ready for
the comparative tests of the rival fighters.
According to Yuri Guskov, Deputy Director for
research and chief designer, Phazotron-NIIR
launched development of AESA radar in 2000,
paying for it out of its own pocket. To design
the radar, its subsystems and elements, several
companies pooled their efforts, including
Phazotron-NIIR itself, the Mikran scientific and
production company and Research Institute
for Semiconductor Instruments (NIIPP),
both situated in Tomsk. Phazotron-NIIR
handled the overall design work on the radar,
transmit-receive (T-R) modules’ power supply
system and power sources, low-frequency and
microwave distribution systems, beam steering
unit and the T-R modules cooling system.
Mikran, assisted by NIIPP, developed and
manufactured group four-channel T-R modules
and monolithic integrated circuits for them.
The first Zhuk-AE radar variant with a 700-mm
AESA tilted 20° up was complete in 2005 but
proved to be too heavy and its weight had to be
slashed drastically. To boot, the limitations on
mounting the radar on the demonstrator aircraft
caused a drop in the AESA diameter down
to 500 mm, with the number of T-R modules
diminishing down to 680 (170 four-channel
group T-Rs) and a number of key characteristics
deteriorating accordingly. The weight of the
second AESA radar made in 2006 was 220 kg.
The T-R module design has altered several
times: Mikran developed the current version
of four-channel T-R modules in 2008, with the
modules used in the first flying AESA prototype
last year.
Since 2006, all AESA work by Phazotron-NIIR
has been done in line with the performance
specification of the MiG corporation, when
Phazotron-NIIR launched development of the
Zhuak-AE radar for the MiG-35 demonstrator with
the subsequent installation of the experimental
AESA radar on board the MiG-29M2 serialled
Phazotron-NIIR ready for Indian tender
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154 and made an agreement for two Zhuk-AE
sets to be mounted on MiG-35 prototypes.
The trials kicked off in 2007 when a series of
ground tests was conducted and the radar was
mated with the power supply, cooling, data display
and control systems on board the demonstrator.
This complete, summer 2008 saw the start of tests
on board the MiG-35 technology demonstrator
(No. 154) from the ground against an airborne
target at first and then from the airborne aircraft
against aerial targets. About 20 tests had been
conducted by September this year, including 15 test
sorties that had proved a reliable target acquisition
range of 148 km. In addition, two sorties had been
dedicated to dogfighting and several missions
had been flown in the terrain mapping mode with
the 5x5-m resolution. Thus, the aircraft No. 154
had demonstrated the basic characteristics of the
Zhuk-AE radar with the 500-mm AESA, including
a 130-plus-km range against targets with the
5-m
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radar cross-section (RCS). A more superior
performance is expected further down the road,
in particular, the 200-km range, after the switch to
an AESA with an organic diameter of 688 mm and
1,016 T-R modules. In this case, the radar’s weight
should not exceed 280 kg.
According to Yuri Guskov, the principal result
of the MiG-35’s AESA radar development has
been Phazotron-NIIR’s preparedness for the
Indian tender. The development programme has
passed the electronic componentry and overall
radar technical risk stage, the radar has been
mated with all onboard systems of the aircraft,
including the power supply system, liquid
cooling system, avionics, navigation/targeting
system and cockpit management environment
of the MIG-35, and T-R modules have been
productionised.
To bid in the Indian tender, three stages of
work have been provided for. According to Chief
Designer Yuri Guskov, Stage I began at the LII
facility in Zhukovsky on 28 September 2009.
Stage II took place this autumn at a testing range
in India. Stage III is slated for March or April next
year to include missile launches in Akhtubinsk.
Accordi ng to Phazotron-NIIR Di rector
General Vyachesl av Ti shchenko, the
indisputable success of the programme
consists in the fact that the company has
managed for the first time in Russia to resolve
all fundamental problems of developing a
fighter phased array as part of the Zhuk-AE
radar. In the first place, the developer has
dealt with the problems of developing the
key functional elements with the parameters
required – group T-R modules, monolithic
integral circuits, power supply system,
T-R module cooling system, beam steering
system and associated software.
Yevgeny Yerokhin
sorties in the “aviation capital” of India,
they went to hot Jaisalmer and then to the
Leh high-elevation air base. The Super
Hornets wrapped up their trials in India
on 27 August and were succeeded by other
US-made contenders, F-16IN fighters in
the form of the F-16E/F Block 60s that
have been supplied to the UAE Air Force
since May 2005.
Three aircraft of the type arrived in
Bangalore from Dubai on 2 September,
launched training flights on the next day
and switched to the familiarisation part
of the programme on 7 September. In
Bangalore, they flew two hour-long sorties
a day and then flew to Jaisalmer and then
to Leh. The F-16s completed their field
trials on 18 September. Their aircrews
included Lockheed Martin test pilots
and USAF combat crews. According to
Lockheed Martin representative Michael R.
Griswold, the Emirates version of the F-16
will be modified in line with the customer’s
requirements and designated as F-16IN
Super Viper.
French Rafales picked up the baton from
the US fighters in the Indian skies. According
to the Indian press, two Rafales performed
a nonstop flight to Bangalore right from
the Istres flight test centre, having topped
up in midair twice. They started flying in
Bangalore on 22 September and completed
a series of tests at Jaisalmer and Leh air
bases in the following two weeks.
After the Russian MiG-35s have
completed their flight evaluation in India in
November, the two remaining contenders,
European Typhoon and Swedish Gripen,
will have to fly there. They are expected in
India next year – in February and March
respectively.
The next phase of the tender provides for
the evaluation of the contenders’ weapons
suites and air-launched weapons. The
evaluation will involve Indian pilots and
take place in the home countries of the
developers. It may begin before year-end.
Then, under India’s defence procurement
policy, a short list will be compiled to include
two or three aircraft fully meeting IAF’s
requirements to the future fighter. Then
the price negotiations will follow, based on
which outcome the cheapest variant meeting
IAF’s requirements will be selected. As is
known, the then-IAF commander, Air Chief
Marshal F.H. Major, said earlier this year,
“If all goes to plan, the first MMRCA will fly
in the Indian colours approximately in four
years”, i.e. some time in 2013.
As is known, the winning company will
deliver 18 finished aircraft of 126 fighters
ordered (86 singleseaters and 40 twinseaters),
with the remaining 108 to be assembled in
India. Under the terms of the tender, the
deliveries should start within 36 months
since the signature of the contract and be
completed within 48 months. Thus, the
whole full-rate and licence production
programme will take four years.
take-off december 2009 13
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14
Russia’s major combat aircraft
acquisition deal was clinched on
the first day of the MAKS 2009 air
show this summer. In the presence of
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin,
the Russian Defence Ministry and
Sukhoi company signed on 18 August
three governmental contracts for
Sukhoi aircraft to be built by Sukhoi’s
subsidiary Komsomolsk-on-Amour
Aircraft Production Association
(KnAAPO). The manufacturer will sup-
ply the Russian Air Force with 64 war-
planes during 2010–15, specifically
48 Su-35S multirole supermanoeuvra-
ble fighters in 2010–15, 12 upgraded
Su-27SM fighters in 2009–11 and
four Su-30M2 two-seat multirole
fighters to be delivered before the end
of 2011. The contracts were signed
by Armed Forces Armament Chief/
Deputy Defence Minister Vladimir
Popovkin and Sukhoi Director General
Mikhail Pogosyan.
As is known, late in 2008, the
Defence Ministry and Sukhoi
made a governmental contract for
32 new Su-34 tactical fighters to
be delivered to the Air Force within
five years. The Novosibirsk Aircraft
Production Association named
after Valery Chkalov (NAPO) has
launched production of the air-
craft, with the deliveries to kick
off next year.
According to Sukhoi Director
General Mikhail Pogosyan, the
long-term agreements for manufac-
turing advanced aircraft will keep the
holding company’s production plants
busy with military aircraft production
and shift the emphasis from upgrad-
ing the Air Force’s in-service aircraft
fleets to production of brand-new
advanced warplanes. The delivery
of advanced fighters will both bol-
ster the nation’s defensive capabili-
ties and allow a smooth transition to
drastically innovative next-generation
fighter technologies. “The company
is prepared to fulfil the contracts in
full and on schedule”, emphasised
Mikhail Pogosyan.
KnAAPO has launched produc-
tion of the aircraft under the con-
tracts signed. At the same time,
it is completing a Su-27 upgrade
under a previous contract. A Sukhoi
spokesman said on 23 September
that KnAAPO had completed the
overhaul and upgrade of four more
Su-27 in service with the Russian
Air Force. As is known, 24 upgraded
Su-27SM fighters were fielded with
the fighter air regiment at Dzyomgi
AFB in 2004–06, and in 2007 the
second air regiment, garrisoned
in the Russia’s Far East, began to
convert to Su-27SMs. In addition,
five Su-27SMs were delivered to
the Lipetsk-based Combat and
Conversion Training Centre in 2003.
Mention should be made that the
12 Su-27SM fighters under the new
contract will be brand-new aircraft,
rather than upgraded ones.
Sukhoi to deliver 64 brand-new fighters to RusAF
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On 21 August, the airfield of the
Irkutsk Aircraft Plant of the Irkut cor-
poration saw the maiden flight of the
first Yakovlev Yak-130 combat trainer
made under the 2006 contract for 16
aircraft of the type for the Algerian Air
Force. During the 40-min. flight, the
planes’ handling performance at vari-
ous speeds and altitudes, manoeuvra-
bility, stability, controllability, power-
plant and key avionics were checked
out. Test pilots Roman Taskayev and
Sergey Mikhailyuk praised the first
Yak-130 built in Irkutsk, having noted,
“All systems performed well during
the flight”.
Digital technologies were used
throughout the development and
productionising of the Yak-130 made
by the Irkutsk Aircraft Plant (its
developer Yakovlev design bureau is
part of Irkut Corp. too). This allowed
a drop in labour intensiveness and
production cycle, a rise in quality
and the development of up-to-date
facilities for large-scale production
of the aircraft that is new to the
plant.
At a news conference during the
MAKS 2009 air show, Irkut President
Oleg Demchenko said that eight
more Yak-130s were slated for pro-
duction and preparation for delivery
by the Irkutsk Aircraft Plant. He also
said that the Yak-130 had completed
the first stage of its official trials
with the baseline weapons fit in April
this year, and its expanded weapons
fit trials were expected to wrap up
before year-end.
As was reported by Take-off,
the first production-standard
Yak-130 ordered by the Russian Air
Force flew its first flight in Nizhny
Novgorod on 19 May this year. In
August, it was delivered, and the
Air Force displayed it, serialled 90,
at its static exposition at MAKS
2009 in Zhukovsky, while the first
preproduction Yak-130 performed
in the flight programme of the show,
having been furnished the so-called
‘English cockpit’, the export variant
of the information display system.
According to Sokol plant
Director General Alexander
Karezin, the company this year is
to manufacture four Yak-130s for
RusAF. As of August, the second
production aircraft was rolled out,
the third one was being assem-
bled and the fourth one was to
be brought to the assembly shop
by early September. The remain-
ing eight aircraft awarded by the
Defence Ministry under the current
12-plane contract are to be made
and delivered prior to the end of
2010.
Thus, this year has been a mile-
stone for the Yak-130 programme.
The fisrt production-standard air-
craft for the domestic and foreign
customers have flown, with the two
manufacturers to make about 10
production aircraft before year-end.
As is known, RusAF plans to order
an additional batch of Yak-130s, but
it remains to be seen so far where
they are to be made – in Nizhny
Novgorod or in Irkutsk. According
to Alexander Karezin, a tender
could be issued to decide on that.
As for the feasibility of more for-
eign orders now being negotiated,
Irkut will handle them.
The first Irkut-built Yak-130 has flown
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MiG-29K
back on deck!
In later September, the MiG Corporation conducted successful flight trials of the advanced MiG-29K and MiG-29KUB multirole
carrierborne fighters ordered by the Indian Navy (IN). The trials took place on board the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft-carrying
cruiser of the Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy. The first deck landing on the Admiral Kuznetsov in the Barents Sea was
conducted on 28 September by MiG Corp. chief test pilot Pavel Vlasov flying the MiG-29K prototype serialled 941. MiG Corp. test
pilots Nikolay Diorditsa and Mikhail Belyayev followed him on the production MiG-29KUB twinseater painted in the customer’s
colour scheme. In the course of two days, both aircraft performed several takeoffs and deck landings that proved the feasibility
of safe operation of advanced fighters from aircraft carriers. Interestingly, the MiG-29K/KUB’s flight tests on board the Admiral
Kuznetsov had taken place on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the first deck landings of Russia’s fourth-generation supersonic
fighters and had become a kind of MiGs’ comeback to the deck. On 1 November 1989, a prototype MiG-29K of the previous
model touched down on and then took off from this ship that was designated as Tbilisi at the time. Several more series of tests
were conducted over several years afterwards, but for a number of reasons a decision was taken to have the Sukhoi Su-33
(Su-27K) shipborne fighter enter inventory of the Russian Navy’s air arm. History has made another twist, and now advanced
MiG-29K/KUB being in full-rate production for a foreign customer could be used by the Russian Navy in the near future.
take-off december 2009 16 www. t ake- of f . r u
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17 www. t ake- of f . r u take-off december 2009
That the advanced MiG-29K/KUB carri-
erborne fighters were to perform a series of
test flights on board the Admiral Kuznetsov
became known soon after the carrier returned
from its Mediterranean cruise in March and
commenced long-term maintenance. To test
advanced MiGs on deck and train the pilots of
the 279th shipborne fighter air regiment of the
Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy, who have
not flown their Su-33s and Su-25UTGs from
the carrier in 2009 and unable to hone their
flying skills at the Nitka training facility in the
Crimea, a decision was taken to suspend the
Admiral Kuznetsov’s maintenance for a while,
so she sailed to the Barents Sea in September.
In later September, two brand-new carri-
erborne MiGs flew to Severomorsk from the
Moscow Region – these were the MiG-29K
single-seat prototype serialled 941 and the
production-standard MiG-29KUB twinseater
serialled 672 already painted in the Indian Navy
colour scheme. The two were crewed by MiG
Corp.’s test pilots Pavel Vlasov (MiG Corp. dep-
uty Director General for flight operations, chief
Traditional throwing a pilot into the air after
his first deck landing, 28 September 2009.
Five minutes ago, Pavel Vlasov landed his
MiG-29K on deck of the Admiral Kuznetsov
for the first time…
…and only two hours later, he is taxiing to the
launching position for the first take-off from
the ship
Andrey FOMIN
Photos by Eduard Chalenko
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of the Fedotov Flight Test Centre, chief test pilot
of MiG Corp.), Nikolay Diorditsa and Mikhail
Belyayev. The former two had had an experi-
ence in operating from deck: Merited Test Pilot,
Hero of Russia Pavel Vlasov participated in the
tests of the MiG-29K prototypes in the early
‘90s, and Merited Test Pilot, Hero of Russia
Nikolay Diorditsa as a military test pilot with
the Defence Ministry’s Flight Test Centre was
heavily involved in the official and special trials
of the Su-33 and Su-25UTG on the Admiral
Kuznetsov. Having gotten out of uniform as
colonel, he has been working as test pilot for
MiG Corp.’s Fedotov Flight Test Centre since
2003. Test Pilot 1st Class Mikhail Belyayev is a
leading Fedotov Flight Test Centre test pilot on
the MiG-29K/KUB and MiG-35 programmes.
He also learnt supermanoeuvrable piloting on
the MiG-29M OVT No. 156.
In addition to the three MiG Corp. pilots,
the MiG-29K/KUB test flight programme on
board the Admiral Kuznetsov involved Defence
Ministry’s Chkalov Flight Test Centre mili-
tary test pilot Col. Oleg Spichka, who used to
fly Su-33s and Su-25UTGs from the Admiral
Kuznetsov and Nitka.
Late in September, the advanced MiGs start-
ed taking off from the Severomorsk-3 air base
and flying around the Admiral Kuznetsov in the
Barents Sea, gradually reducing the altitude of
their flypasts over her deck and finally starting
doing touch-and-go. The trial flights demon-
strated the preparedness of the planes and pilots
to land on deck.
The first deck landing in the trials was per-
formed by MiG Corp. chief test pilot Pavel
Vlasov on his MiG-29K side number 941 at
11.47 on 28 September. He was followed by
Nikolay Diorditsa and Mikhail Belyayev on
their MiG-29KUB (No. 672) twinseater less
than half an hour later. The fighters taxied to the
prelaunch area at the stern of the carrier to gear
up for another sortie, and Vlasov launched his
MiG-29K off deck for the second time less than
two hours later, at 13.57. Then, Diorditsa and
Belyayev took off on their MiG-29KUB. The
crews remained overnight at the Severomorsk-3
air base, resuming operations from the carrier on
the next day. Vlasov again brought his MiG-29K
on deck at about 13.00 on 29 September. The
hook of Diorditsa and Belyayev’s twinseater
snagged the arrestor line about half an hour later.
Soon, both fighters left the Admiral Kuznetsov
again, with the singleseater taking off at about
14.00 followed by the twinseater an hour later.
The advanced MiG fighters’ flight-test pro-
gramme on board the Admiral Kuznetsov
through-deck cruiser, observed on deck by MiG
Corp. Director General Mikhail Pogosyan and
representatives of the Indian Navy and Russian
Defence Ministry, was pronounced a success.
According to Mikhail Pogosyan, the flight tri-
als of the MiG-29K and MiG-29KUB on board
the Admiral Kuznetsov have crowned Russia’s
endeavour to develop a sophisticated carrierborne
fighter. He thanked the pilots for the great job
done and emphasised that carrier operations
required top-notch flying skills. The MiG Corp.
leader said he was certain that the successful
carrier trials would facilitate the progress of the
MiG-29K/KUB programme in India and a
keener interest of other foreign customers in
advanced aircraft from MiG Corp. He also was
certain that the MiG-29K/KUB would come in
handy to the Russian Armed Forces as well.
MiG Corp.’s aircraft plant in the town
of Lukhovitsy is completing several produc-
tion-standard MiG-29K/KUBs as part of the
first 16-ship batch ordered by the Indian Navy
in January 2004. The first group of Indian naval
pilots started their conversion training, using the
first four of the fighters as far back as last year,
with the first MiG-29K/KUBs expected to be
headed for India before year-end. MiG Corp.
is intent on delivering the last of the 16 aircraft
(12 singleseaters and four twinseaters) in 2010.
However, this, most probably, will not be the end
of it. The Times of India reported on 4 October
While the MiG-29K and MiG-29KUB fighters, which have just
landed on deck, are being maintained at the maintenance area, the
military pilots form Severomorsk are using the lull in the test flights:
the final approach of the Su-25UTG, on which pilots with the 279th
shipborne fighter air regiment are training
Capt. 1st Rank Vyacheslav Rodionov, commanding officer of the
Admiral Kuznetsov through-deck cruiser, is giving MiG Corp. test
pilots Nikolay Diorditsa, Pavel Vlasov and Mikhail Belyayev (left
to right) diplomas for their first deck landings
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19 www. t ake- of f . r u take-off december 2009
that the Indian Defence Ministry was about
to submit a proposal to the government for
buying a second batch of 29 MiG-29K/KUBs
that are options under the 2004 contract.
The daily estimates the value of the deal at
$1.12 billion. The Indian Defence Ministry
was prompted to take the decision by the
successful MiG-29K/KUB trials on board the
Admiral Kuznetsov, which proved the advanced
fighters to be fit for operating from ski-jump
ramp-equipped aircraft carriers. It is this kind
of the carrier that the Admiral Gorshkov
through-deck cruiser will become after its
Indian Navy-ordered upgrade and modification
in Severomorsk has been complete.
A pending decision by the Russian
Defence Ministry on buying over two dozen
MiG-29K/KUB aircraft for the Admiral
Kuznetsov’s air regiment now operating only
Su-33s as part of its fighter component is to
be just as important to the MiG corporation.
The RIA Novosti news agency reported on 30
September, citing its sources in the Defence
Ministry and defence industry, “The Russian
Defence Ministry is going to buy 26 MiG-29K
carrierborne fighters for the Russian Navy until
year-end 2011”. Developed on order from the
Indian Navy and produced by MiG Corp., the
MiG-29K/KUB are superior to the current
Su-33 operated by the 279th shipborne fighter
air regiment in terms of the weapon system and
carry a far wider range of precision guided muni-
tions. At the same time, for entering service with
the Russian Navy, the shipborne MiGs will
have, probably, to undergo some modifications
due to a number of foreign-made systems on
board the current MiG-29K/KUB. Apparently,
some of them will have to be replaced with
domestic analogues so that the Russian military
buy the planes.
The possibility of fielding the
MiG-29K/KUB with the Russian Navy’s air
arm does not mean, however, that they will
oust the current Su-33 carrierborne fighters
completely. During 1992–96, KnAAPO built
and delivered to the Navy a total of 26 produc-
tion aircraft of the type, most of which remains
in service by means of regular maintenance
and repair. The intent of the Russian Defence
Ministry to retain the Su-33 in its inventory for
years to come is proven, among other things,
by the requests for overhaul and upgrade of six
Su-33s and 12 engines for them in 2009–10.
The requests were published on the Russian
government’s Web site (www.zakupki.gov.ru)
in October. They provide for “extending the
assigned characteristics of the service life of
the Su-33 aircraft and their components to 700
flying hours or 1,500 landings, the time before
the first overhaul – to 16 years and the assigned
life – to 26 years”. This means that the Su-33s
will be able to remain in service until 2018–22.
Hence, in the medium term, the shipborne
fighter fleet of the Russian Navy, probably, will
consist of two aircraft types – the Su-33 and
MiG-29K/KUB.
MiG Corp. Director General Mikhail Pogosyan
(centre) and test pilots Nikolay Diorditsa
and Mikhail Belyayev following another deck
landing of the MiG-29KUB on the Admiral
Kuznetsov on 29 September 2009
The MiG-29K is unfolding its wing at the
launching area. Two minutes later, Pavel
Vlasov will take off from the Admiral
Kuznetsov’s deck for the first time.
28 September 2009
Nikolay Diorditsa and Mikhail Belyayev are
taking off on their MiG-29KUB on another test
flight from the ski-jump ramp
of the Admiral Kuznetsov
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20
The first production-standard
Antonov An-148-100B regional air-
liner built by Voronezh-based VASO
plant was handed over to the cus-
tomer in a ceremony at the factory
airfield on 1 October. VASO had made
the airliner ordered by the Ilyushin
Finance Co. (IFC) leasing company for
the Rossiya air company.
Aircraft RA-61701 (c/n 40-03) com-
pleted its maiden flight in Voronezh on
19 July this year and was demon-
strated at the MAKS 2009 air show in
August. Its handover to the customer
had been preceded by its certification
and acceptance tests completed in
September.
The acceptance report was signed by
VASO Director General Vitaly Zubarev,
IFC Director General Alexander Rubtsov
and Rossiya Director General Roman
Pakhomov. The ceremony was attend-
ed by Deputy Prime Minister Sergey
Ivanov, Voronezh Region Governor
Alexey Gordeyev and UAC President
Alexey Fyodorov.
Addressing the crowd, Vice-Premier
Sergey Ivanov called the delivery of
the first production An-148 “a mile-
stone for the Russian aircraft indus-
try”, stressing that the airliner was the
first production regional passenger
aircraft delivered over the past decade
and a half. “Come to think of it”,
Ivanov told the attendees, “We have
not built aircraft like that in series for
as many as 15 years! Finally, the situ-
ation has changed. The first aircraft
like that goes to a major Russian
airline, Rossiya”.
He also called the An-148 pro-
gramme a good example of the
Russian-Ukrainian cooperation, “The
aircraft is assembled here, in Russia,
but individual units and components,
including engines and the wing box,
are made by Ukrainian suppliers. As
you can see, the Ukrainian-Russian
cooperation works despite the known
tension in our bilateral relations. When
there is much to gain, when every-
thing is well substantiated, everything
turns out right. It is this way that
everything has turned out this time”,
the vice-premier concluded.
According to Rossiya Director
General Roman Pakhomov, the car-
rier will be able to start operating the
An-148 soon. “The first commercial
flight is slated for year-end”, the
Rossiya Director General said, not-
ing that the aircraft would, probably,
start flying on the St. Petersburg –
Moscow service and then would
begin to explore other operations
served by the airline. The first group
of Rossiya aircrews has converted
to the new aircraft type in Ukraine,
at the facilities of the Aerosvit airline
that was the first CIS carrier to launch
scheduled commercial operations of
the An-148. Rossiya’s ground crews
are being trained both in Ukraine and
in the Russian city of Voronezh. The
IFC-Technic company will provide
operational support of the An-148
for Rossiya.
As of the handover of the first
Russian-built An-148, there were
two more airliners in various degrees
of completeness, sitting in VASO’s
assembly shop. The second pro-
duction An-148, already painted in
the customer’s colour scheme and
given registration number RA-61702,
is slated for delivery in November.
The third production An-148 is to be
completed by the end of the year.
Further down the road, VASO is going
to keep on increasing the An-148’s
output to churn out 36 units per
annum starting from 2013. To date,
the manufacturer has landed 56 firm
orders for Russian-made An-148s,
with 54 options.
First Russian-built An-148 delivered
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No doubt, the advanced Sukhoi
SuperJet 100 regional airliner was
the key attention grabber at the
MAKS 2009 air show in August. Its
second flying prototype (c/n 95003),
which has been undergoing tests
since last December, flew daily as
part of the flight demonstration pro-
gramme, while the third flying pro-
totype (c/n 95004), which first flew
in Komsomolsk-on-Amur on 25 July
2009 and had its passenger cabin
fitted after its arrival to Zhukovsky in
the run-up to MAKS 2009, had been
shown as a static display for the first
three days of the show.
According to Sukhoi Director
General Mikhail Pogosyan, the com-
pany’s civil aviation priority is the
speedy completion of the bulk of
the SSJ100’s certification tests and
preparation of the early produc-
tion-standard aircraft for delivery to
the launch customers. The customers’
air and ground crews began to train
for operation of the advanced aircraft
in October. By late this year, Sukhoi
Civil Aircraft (SCAC) plans to land 150
firm orders for the airliner. Next year,
the company is to have an output of
15–20 aircraft a year, 30–40 units
a year in 2011 and as many as 50
aircraft in 2012. According to Mikhail
Pogosyan, Sukhoi’s production facili-
ties allow an output of up to 70 units
per annum in the future.
During the show, Sukhoi and
VEB-Leasing signed an agreement on
financing the delivery of the first ten
Sukhoi SuperJet 100s to Aeroflot. An
agreement for two aircraft also was
made among Sukhoi Civil Aircraft,
the FLC leasing company (it became
the SuperJet’s launch customer but
would not name the end users for a
long time) and Yakutia airline.
The certification trials of the
SuperJet are in full swing. Soon after
MAKS 2009, on 10 September, the
aircraft c/n 95003 was headed for
Armenia for its takeoff/landing tests
and in mountainous terrain. It was
to be based at Shirak airport in the
city of Gyumri (over 1,500 m above
sea level). The tests are especially
important because Armenian airline
Armavia is to become one of the
two SuperJet launch customers in the
near future. Situated in mountainous
terrain, Shirak international airport
operates in support of Armenia’s sec-
ond-largest city, Gyumri. Built in 1961,
it was upgraded in 2007 and issued an
ICAO 1st Class Certificate. Its feature
is that it is virtually surrounded by
mountains; hence, takeoff and landing
approach are possible from the south
only. The runway measures 3,200 m
long and 45 m wide.
The certification trials in Armenia,
which were wrapped up on 21
September when SSJ100 c/n 95003
got back to Zhukovsky, comprised
long flights and go-arounds on a
single engine, with most of the
takeoffs including simulated failure
of an engine, including doing so
with the maximum takeoff weight.
During the flight trials at Shirak
airport, the SuperJet proved the
manufacturer’s performance ratings
and displayed the compliance of
all systems subject to high-altitude
certification. The certification pro-
gramme in Armenia was flown by
SCAC’s senior test pilot Alexander
Yablontsev and test pilot Vadim
Shirokikh and IAC Aircraft Registry’s
test pilot Mikhail Torokhov.
Sukhoi SuperJet seeking type certificate
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During the MAKS 2009 air
show, the Ilyushin Finance Co.
leasing company signed contracts
and agreements on delivery of
26 more medium-haul passenger
and cargo aircraft of the Tupolev
Tu-204 family to domestic and for-
eign customers. The largest firm
contract was signed by IFC and the
Atlant-Soyuz airline on 20 August
for 15 Tu-204SM upgraded airlin-
ers to be delivered in 2011–12.
Under the contract, the first eight
aircraft are to be delivered in 2011,
with the remaining seven to fol-
low suit a year later. The contract
became a logical extension of the
agreement IFC and Atlant-Soyuz
had gone into at the Le Bourget air
show in June.
IFC awarded another firm
Tu-204 contract to the Aviastar-TU
airline in Ulyanovsk. The contract
provides for delivery of two new
Tu-204C (Tu-204-100C) freight-
ers with a carrying capacity of 30
t during November and December
this year under a 15-year finan-
cial leasing agreement. The two
aircraft, RA-64051 and 64052,
used to be designed for the
Air Bridge Cargo air company
(a member of the Volga-Dnepr
group) that decided to go back
on the June 2007 deal due to a
change to its plans. The Aviastar
plant in Ulyanovsk completed the
first aircraft this summer. It flew
its maiden mission on 9 August
while the second aircraft hav-
ing completed its first flight on
29 October. Aviastar-TU carrier
now has three Tu-204C freighters
(RA-64021, 64024, 64032) built
in 2000–03 and two Tu-204-100
airliners (RA-64011, 64017) made
in 1993 and 1996.
IFC has clinched two more
Tu-204 deals with foreign cus-
tomers. On 20 August, it signed
a pre-contractual agreement with
Brazilian upstart Clean Air plan-
ning to launch its operations
in December 2009. Under the
agreement, Clean Air is to take
delivery of four Tu-204SM airlin-
ers and two Tu-204SMC freight-
ers. On the same day, IFC signed
an agreement for two similar
freighters with one option with
Ecuadorean company Icaro that,
too, ordered two An-148-100s
from IFC.
There is also information on
IFC’s Web site that the com-
pany intends to deliver in 2010
a Tu-204-100B to North Korean
carrier Air Koryo that has been
operating the Tu-204-300 airliner
since 2007. The aircraft will be
remanufactured from the Tu-204
(RA-64013) built in 1993 and long
stored by Aviastar.
According to Aviastar-SP
Director General Mikhail
Shushpanov, the company is to
deliver another four aircraft of
the Tu-204 family this year. The
two freighters earmarked for the
Aviastar-TU airline were described
previously. Another aircraft is the
Tu-204-100B airliner (RA-64048)
built in May, supposed to become
the sixth and last plane in the batch
ordered by the Red Wings air car-
rier and given an original orange
advertising colour scheme of the
Coral Travel company. However,
it has become known recently that
Red Wings will not accept the
aircraft, and, according to Mikhail
Shushpanov, the manufacturer
is looking for a new buyer. So
far, a decision has been taken to
use RA-64048 as a flying testbed
during the trials of the advanced
PS-90A2 engine designed to
power producti on-standard
Tu-204SM. The prototype engine
was mounted on the wing of the
airliner in September. When the
tests are over in November, the
Tu-204-100B (RA-64048) is to be
delivered to a new customer.
Finally, the fourth Tu-204 to
enter service before year-end will
be the VIP-version Tu-204-300A
(RA-64010) derived by Aviastar
from a 1993-built Tu-204 on
order from the Tupolev joint stock
company for VTB-Leasing. It con-
ducted its first flight in its new
capacity on 13 August 2009, mak-
ing its debut at MAKS 2009 (see
the photo). As far as Take-off’s
editorial office knows, two more
Tu-204-300As in this variant
(RA-64055 and RA-64057) are to
be built in Ulyanovsk in 2010 for
the Rossiya governmental special
air detachment.
Under the Tu-204 programme,
Aviastar in the near future will
focus on productionising the heav-
ily upgraded Tu-204SM. The first
prototype is to start its trials in
April 2010. The Tu-204SM trials
may also involve the Tu-204-100B
(RA-64053) that is being assem-
bled. The first production-stand-
ard Tu-204SMs are to be made
by the end of 2010 for the launch
customer, Iran Airtour, which
placed five firm orders. Deliveries
to other air companies, including
Atlant-Soyuz, will follow then.
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take-off december 2009 www. t ake- of f . r u 23
c i v i l a v i a t i o n | i n b r i e f
In addition to the delivery of the
first An-148 regional airliner to
the Rossiya airline, VASO handed
over the second Ilyushin Il-96-400T
wide-body freighter (RA-96102)
to the Polyot air company in a
ceremony on 1 October. VASO
Director General Vitaly Zubarev, IFC
Director General Alexander Rubtsov
and Polyot Deputy Director General
Alexander Karpov signed the accept-
ance report.
As is known, Polyot took deliv-
ery of the first Il-96-400T serialled
RA-96101 on 23 April this year,
with the plane starting regular
commercial operations in Russia
and abroad on 27 September. On
19 October, the carrier’s com-
menced the acceptance of the third
Il-96-400T (RA-96103) built by
VASO this summer. It is expected to
enter the carrier’s fleet soon. In the
future, Polyot could use its option
for three more aircraft of the type.
The final assembly of the fourth
production-standard Il-96-400T
(RA-96104) is underway.
Polyot receives new Il-96-400Ts
On 2 October, the airfield of
Kazan-based KAPO plant hosted
the ceremony of handover to the
Transaero airline of the third Tupolev
Tu-214 (RA-64518) airliner built
under the contract between KAPO
and the Financial Leasing Company
for five airliners of the type. The
aircraft flew its maiden flight on 5
August this year. Like the rest of the
Tu-214s designed for the carrier, it
has the two-class 184-seat layout
(eight business-class seats and 176
economy-class ones).
As is known, Transaero received
its first Tu-214 serialled RA-64509
in April 2007 and the second one,
RA-64549, in November 2008. “The
company has proved that it can
operate aircraft of the type with
success on domestic and inter-
national services”, said Transaero
Director General Olga Pleshakova in
connection with the delivery of the
third Tu-214. “To do so, we have
skilled personnel and an adequate
route network. We have always
been satisfied with the reliability
of the aircraft. Over the two years
and a half that they have been part
of our fleet, Transaero has had no
problems with flight operation of
their PS-90A engines. The company
is ready to complete its side of the
deal for ten Tu-214s and is doing its
utmost to this end”.
In addition to the three Tu-214s,
Transaero’s aircraft fleet comprises
45 Boeing planes – two 777s, 11 –
767s, 13 – 747s and 19 – 737s.
Transaero flies three Tu-214s
In mid-October, the Yakutia airline
started regular passenger services
using the new 52-seat An-140-100
(RA-41252) regional turboprop air-
liner built by the Aviakor plant in
Samara this summer. The aircraft
was first shown at the MAKS 2009
air show in August. Soon after the
show and the airliner’s return to
Samara, Yakutia’s personnel started
acceptance of the new aircraft that
was ferried to the city of Yakutsk
on 27 September, and in October
flew its first passenger flight from
Yakutsk to Khabarovsk.
Yakutia launched the opera-
tion of its first An-140 serialled
RA-41250 in September 2006. In
December 2007, it started oper-
ating the upgraded An-140-100
(RA-41251) featuring a wider
wingspan and an improved design
of the engine nacelles housing
TV3-117VMA-SBM1 engines. The
Yakutia air company is the first and
the only Russian user of regional air-
liners of the type. The three An-140s
in its aircraft fleet were delivered
under a contract it made with the
Financial Leasing Company (FLC).
At present, talks are underway with
the Russian Machines corporation,
Aviakor plant, Vensheconombank
and VEB-Leasing company on deliv-
ering four more An-140-100s to the
carrier.
“With an increase in the
number of aircraft of the type,
we will increase the number of
flights to Khabarovsk, Magadan,
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and
other cities and will step up the air
services between the Far Eastern
Federal District and other parts of
the Russian Federation”, Yakutia
Director General Ivan Prostit said on
connection with the delivery of the
third An-140.
Yakutia started operating
its third An-140
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www. t ake- of f . r u 24 take-off december 2009
The MC-21 short- and medium-haul air-
liner family comprises the baseline models –
the MC-21-200, MC-21-300 and MC-21-400
with seating capacities of 150, 181 and 212 in
the single-class layout (see the table). Each
of the baseline models is to have a number
of variants differing in range. The baseline
models will have the 5,000–5,500-km range,
but provision was made for extended-range
(ER) versions and, as far as the MC-21-200
model is concerned, a long-range (LR) vari-
ant. The MC-21-200 prototype is slated for its
maiden flight in 2014, and the completion of
the certification tests and kickoff of deliveries
for 2016.
The MC-21 programme, jointly promoted
by the Yakovlev design bureau and Ilyushin
aviation complex, won in 2003 the ten-
der issued by the Russian authorities for
developing an advanced short- and medi-
um-haul passenger aircraft designed to oust
the Tu-154M fleet gradually and put up stiff
competition to the Boeing 737 and A320 that
have been increasingly demanded by Russian
air carriers. The financing of the MC-21’s
conceptual designing began in 2005. By
then, the prime developer, Yakovlev, joined
the Irkut scientific and production corpora-
tion (the official acquisition of Yakovlev took
place in April 2004).
Two years later, Ilyushin pulled out of the
programme, having focussed on transport air-
craft development, with Irkut appointed prime
contractor for the MC-21 programme as part
of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) in
July 2007. Considering the importance of the
MC-21 programme to UAC, Irkut President
Oleg Demchenko, being also Yakovlev
Director General and Designer General, was
in this connection appointed UAC vice-presi-
dent for the MC-21 programme. Having ana-
lysed the results produced by the first stage of
the programme, UAC took a decision in 2003
to keep on pursuing the programme. Thus,
the MC-21 passed its first ‘gate’.
Irkutsk Aircraft Plant, Irkut Corp.’s sub-
sidiary, will handle the construction of pro-
totype and production-standard MC-21s. In
addition to prime developer Yakovlev, other
players of the aircraft industry are taking part
in designing the aircraft. For instance, Irkut’s
subsidiary Taganrog-based Beriev company
is tasked with developing the tail section
(Compartment F5), horizontal and vertical
tails, auxiliary power unit (APU) compart-
ment as well as control, air conditioning,
fire-suppressant and hydraulic systems.
Sukhoi Civil Aircraft was subcontracted
to develop the composite wing. The initial
design stage (the so-called ‘second gate’)
was passed in September 2008, after which
Irkut launched the full-scale initial design
of the airliner and selection of key systems
suppliers. The third gate is to be passed,
i.e. a preliminary design is to be completed,
in December this year so as detail design
and preliminary agreements with potential
customers can commence in January 2010.
However, to do so, the developer has to com-
Once the programme on developing the advanced Sukhoi SuperJet 100 airliner
came into the straight, and the aircraft made its debut at home and abroad, design-
ers turned to another promising Russian civil aviation project – the development of
a family of MC-21 short- and medium-haul airliners. According to the developer, the
airliners will have a wide range of operation capabilities, tailored to the Russian and
foreign markets and capable of facilitating airlines’ reaching a radically new level of
economic efficiency, including doing so by slashing the direct operating costs by
15% compared the current aircraft in the same class. The MC-21 programme is at the
pre-design and key systems supplier selection stage. The results of several tenders
on selecting first-tier suppliers for the MC-21 were announced on 20 August, but the
final competitions on the powerplant, avionics and control systems have been put off
until year-end.
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c i v i l a v i a t i o n | p r o j e c t
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25 www. t ake- of f . r u take-off december 2009
plete the tenders
on first-tier subcontractors
for 14 systems, in the first place, of which
the key one is, probably, the powerplant. At
the Paris air show earlier this year, UAC chief
Alexey Fyodorov said the results produced
by the tenders on the systems in question
would be summed up before MAKS 2009 and
announced during the same show.
The miracle did not happen. Actually,
it proved to be incomplete: the finalists in
three tenders (including a key one dedicated
to the powerplant) were not selected. The
engine makers were told to go around: the
tender committee led by Oleg Demchenko
and set up by UAC’s management failed to
select the acceptable powerplant variant at
the first push and left two contenders, Pratt
& Whitney and Rolls Royce, on the short-
list. The decision may surprise the outsiders
who may wonder, “What about the domestic
programme on the advanced engine family
developed in Perm, which was designed for
the MC-21 from the outset”? We are hasten-
ing to calm the pro-
ponents of domestic
designs down: the
Russian variant of
the future powerplant,
which prime developer
is the United Engine
Corporation (UEC) and
specifically its subsidiary
Perm Motors, is in a class
by itself and will get the
right to power the MC-21
once it has been completed
and if customers want it.
In this connection, Irkut President
Demchenko told a news conference at
MAKS 2009 that UAC’s development of the
future PD-14 engine (part of the “Future
9–18-tonne thrust engine family” being
developed by Perm engine makers) is not
linked specifically to the MC-21 as such,
with the engine being developed as part
of the federal programme on developing
the engine industry in Russia. According
to Demchenko, if the engine has been
developed and has shown acceptable char-
acteristics and there have been customers
preferring it by the time the MC-21 hits the
market, the advanced Russian engine will be
installed on the MC-21 as well.
Vladimir SHCHERBAKOV
Andrey FOMIN
MC-21 basic design data
MC-21-200 MC-21-300 MC-21-400
Seating capacity (singe-class layout, 812 mm/32 inch pitch) 150 181 212
Seating capacity (tighter singe-class layout, 736 mm/29-30 inch pitch) 162 198 230
Thrust, t 2x12.5 2х14 2х15.6
Length, m 35.9 41.5 46.7
Wingspan, m 35.9 35.9 36.8
Height, m 11.4 11.5 12.7
Maximum takeoff weight, t 67.6 76.18 87.23
Maximum cruising speed, km/h (Mach) 850 (0.8)
Maximum ceiling, m 12,000
Range with max seating capacity, km 5,000 5,000 5,500
11 subcontractors
of the MC-21
On 20 August 2009, Irkut announced that it had
selected first-tier suppliers of 11 key systems of
the MC-21, while the powerplant, avionics and
integrated flight control system tenders would
continue. The winners of the completed tenders
were as follows:
- landing gear – the Gydromash JSC, Nizhny
Novgorod, Russia;
- APU – Hamilton Sundstrand, USA;
- integrated air conditioning system – Nauka
scientific and technical association, Moscow,
Russia, in cooperation with Hamilton Sundstrand
and the Hamilton Sundstrand/Nauka joint ven-
ture;
- electrical system – ECE, Zodiac Aerospace
Corporation, France, in cooperation with
Hamilton Sundstrand, USA;
- interior layout – C&D, Zodiac Aerospace,
USA;
- fuel system – Intertechnique, Zodiac
Aerospace, France
- oxygen generation system – Intertechnique,
Zodiac Aerospace, France;
- inert gas system – Intertechnique, Zodiac
Aerospace, France, in cooperation with Hamilton
Sundstrand, USA;
- fire suppressant system - L’Hotellier, France,
Kidd Technologies corporation, in cooperation
with Hamilton Sundstrand, USA;
- hydraulic system – Eaton corporation, United
States, that will order over 50% of hydraulic
system parts and units from Russia manufac-
turers Voskhod, Teploobmennik, Znamya and
Tekhpribor;
- wing anti-icing system – Hamilton Sundstrand,
USA.
take-off december 2009 www. t ake- of f . r u
i n d u s t r y | i n b r i e f
26
On 28 September, the European
Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)
certificated Kamov Ka-32A11BC
all-weather multi-purpose transport
helicopter for operation in the EU,
having issued it with Type Certificate
EASA.IM.R.133. The certificate
allows commercial operation of the
Russian machine by any EU user.
Until the EASA granted its cer-
tificate, EU members had used
several Ka-32A11BCs on a limited
scale under Specific Airworthiness
Specifications only to handle
some peculiar jobs, e.g. firefight-
ing and assembly of high-voltage
power lines in mountainous terrain,
doing so in support of governmen-
tal agencies only. Type Certificate
EASA.IM.R.133 opens access to
the EU skies for the Ka-32A11BC,
removing any restrictions on its
commercial operation by private EU
users.
The Ka-32A11BC was derived
by the Kamov company from
the Ka-32A model certificated in
Russia in 1993 in line with the
requirements of Canadian province
British Columbia (hence the letters
BC in its designation) and was
issued a FAR29 type certificate
by Canada. The Kumertau Aircraft
Production Company (KumAPP)
launched its production for export.
Like Kamov, KumAPP is part of
the helicopter-making holding
company managed by the Russian
Helicopters joint stock company, a
subsidiary of Oboronprom Corp.
Featuring the typical Kamov
coaxial-rotor configuration, the
Ka-32A11BC has a number of con-
siderable advantages over single-ro-
tor machines on special mission
under difficult conditions, but also is
well fit for such routine, as passen-
ger and cargo hauling, patrolling,
search and rescue (SAR) opera-
tions, etc.
“Russian-built helicopters show
up in the skies of united Europe
regularly, but their use is restricted
by EU aviation laws, which ham-
pers the Russian Helicopters sales
growth on the European Union mar-
ket”, says Russian Helicopter of
Director General Andrey Shibitov.
“The EASA certificate for the
Ka-32A11BC opens bright vistas for
the advanced helicopter that has
proven its worth in many EU coun-
tries. Russian Helicopters JSC wel-
comes EASA’s decision and hope
for the agency to do the same as to
other Russian-made helicopters are
concerned”.
Today Ka-32 helicopters
are operated by Spain (ten
Ka-32A11BCs), Portugal (six
Ka-32A11BCs), Switzerland (a
Ka-32A12), Canada, South Korea,
Chile, Mexico, Japan, China,
Papua – New Guinea, etc. South
Korea’s Ka-32 fleet exceeds
60 machines used with success
both by the foresters to suppress
forest fires and by the South
Korean police and naval air arm.
In all, over 160 production-stand-
ard Ka-32s in various versions
have been made (let alone the
numerous military derivatives,
e.g. the Ka-27, Ka-29, Ka-31,
etc.) and operated proactively in
Russia and all over the world.
Ka-32 certificated in EU
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On 20 August, the MAKS 2009 air
show saw the signing by Russian
Helicopters and Turbomeca a mem-
orandum on deliveries of engines
to equip the first Russian-built
turbine-powered light helicopter,
the Mil Mi-34S2 Sapsan, which
is a heavily upgraded derivative
of the Mi-34 light piston-engined
helicopter that used to be built by
the Progress plant in the town of
Arsenyev.
The document was signed
by Russian Helicopters Director
General Andrey Shibitov and
Turbomeca Vice-President Maxime
Faribault. The memorandum gov-
erns the deliveries of Arrius 2F
engines to fit the Mi-34’s advanced
gas-turbine derivative for five
years to come.
The Sapsan helicopter became
the centrepiece of the pavilion
exposition of Russian Helicopters
at MAKS 2009. The emergence of
the Sapsan reflects the policies
of the Russian helicopter holding
company, aimed at diversifying its
product range in line with market
requirements.
New Mi-34 versions are being
developed to handle corporate and
private passenger operations, ini-
tial flight training, medical evacu-
ation and terrain monitoring, the
latter ranging from environment
and oil pipeline monitoring to
policing.
Turbomeca to supply engines to fit Mi-34
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i n d u s t r y | i n b r i e f
Another novelty of the MAKS
2009 air show in the past August
was the upgraded Kamov Ka-226T
multipurpose helicopter equipped
with Arrius 2G1 engines from
French company Turbomeca. Until
recently, the prototype and produc-
tion Ka-226s were powered by Rolls
Royce 250-C20R/2 engines. The
introduction of Arrius turboshafts
allows a hefty increase in virtually
all characteristics of helicopters of
the type, especially high-and-hot
performance and service altitude.
Preparations are underway for
the Ka-226T to enter its certifica-
tion tests slated for completion late
in 2010 so that the machine can hit
the market in 2011. The Russian
Helicopters joint stock company, an
Oboronprom subsidiary, is bidding
in the Indian Defence Ministry-issued
tender for 197 advanced light multi-
purpose helicopters.
The Ka-226T prototype shown at
MAKS 2009 was built this summer,
with its maiden flight completed in
July. Overall, three prototypes are
planned for the certification trials. As
the Take-off correspondent was told
by a source in Russian Helicopters,
the machine has achieved a flight
altitude of 7,000 m, and “the alti-
tude was not the limit, there is a
margin to take up”. Owing to the
effective rotor system and advanced
powerplant, the static ceiling has
hiked and the carrying capacity is
retained within a wider flight alti-
tude and temperature bracket. “The
helicopter will become especially
appealing to the states operating
rotary-wing aircraft in mountain-
ous terrain and in the tropics”,
the source stressed. The company
hopes that “the Indian Air Force
will turn out to be among the early
Ka-226T buyers”.
The MAKS 2009 air show saw
the debut of the Kazan Helicopters
Ansat-U trainer helicopter shown
as a static display of its launch
customer, the Russian Air Force.
The report on the Ansat-U’s offi-
cial trials completion and the reso-
lution on launching its full-scale
production by Kazan Helicopters
were signed on 26 December 2008.
Thus, the Ansat-U is to turn into
the basic trainer for Russian mili-
tary helicopter crews, ousting the
obsolete Mi-2 still used by military
flight schools.
The Ansat-U was derived in line
with the Russian Defence Ministry’s
performance specification from the
Ansat multipurpose light helicopter,
which production Kazan Helicopters
has been running for five years now.
The principal features setting the
trainer apart from its baseline model
include the twin controls and twin
instrument set, relevant modifica-
tions to the flight control system
and replacement of the skids with
wheeled landing gear.
The Ansat’s serious advantage
over many Western counterparts
lies in its two engines stepping
up its reliability and safety by far.
By the way, the Ansat-U, like its
baseline model, is powered by
Canadian-made PW-207K tur-
boshaft engines, and the Russian
Defence Ministry does not mind,
because, unfortunately, there is no
production-standard analogue to
the PW-207K in Russia yet. Klimov
is still developing the VK-800 tur-
boshaft, while adapting it to the
Ansat will call for modifications to
the powertrain, rotor system and
flight control system.
To date, Kazan Helicopters have
made over 15 production Ansats in
addition to the six prototypes. An
Ansat-U prototype commenced the
trials in April 2004. Its official test
programme began in the Defence
Ministry’s State Flight Test Centre
in October 2006 and was com-
pleted on 25 November last year.
The acceptance report and decision
on having Kazan Helicopters launch
the production of the Ansat-U paved
the way to service entry for the air-
craft. As was repeatedly reported
in the press, the plant has landed
a launch order for 12 Ansat-Us.
Six of them are expected to enter
service with the Russian Air Force
this year.
Ansat-U expected by the military
Ka-226T gearing up for certification
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On 18 August during the MAKS
2009 air show, there was the sign-
ing of the Protocol on Amending the
24 June 1993 Agreement between
the Government of the Russian
Federation and the Government of
Ukraine on further cooperation in the
development, joint production and
selling of the Antonov An-70 mili-
tary airlifter and An-70T commercial
transport aircraft powered by D-27
engines. Thus, Russia is resuming its
participation in the An-70 programme
following a six-year interruption.
Russian Defence Minister
A.E. Serdyukov and Ukrainian Acting
Defence Minister V.V. Ivashchenko
signed the document. Under the pro-
tocol, Russia and Ukraine will contin-
ue the co-development and testing of
the D-27-powered An-70 short take-
off and landing aircraft and its ver-
sions, including its civil applications.
“The basis of the production coop-
eration under the programme will be
served by the cooperation between
the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC)
and Antonov state aircraft corpora-
tion as well as the developers and
manufacturers of components and
materials. The parties shall finance
their joint development work on
the An-70 and its derivatives from
the federal budget of the Russian
Federation and state budget of
Ukraine”, an Antonov spokesperson
said in this connection.
The An-70 prototype has arrived to
Moscow and was shown as a static
display during MAKS 2009 for the first
time since 2003 when Russia sus-
pended its participation in the An-70
test programme unilaterally, and the
then-Air Force Commander-in-Chief,
Gen. Vladimir Mikhailov, lambasted
the programme.
At present, the Aviant plant in
Kiev, a subsidiary of Antonov, is
making the first two production
An-70s ordered by the Ukrainian
Defence Ministry. If all goes to plan,
the first production-standard An-70
is to be complete in early 2011.
In addition to the signing of the
protocol of the intergovernmen-
tal agreement, MAKS 2009 saw
Antonov and Russia’s Volga-Dnepr
group go into agreement of intent
on joint promotion of the An-70T
medium freighter on the market.
Antonov Designer General Dmitry
Kiva and Volga-Dnepr President
Alexey Isaikin signed the agree-
ment.
Under the agreement, Volga-
Dnepr will order the first produc-
tion An-70T batch, with deliveries
to begin in 2013. The parties will
jointly realise their intent to use the
An-70T as part of international pro-
grammes. “Against the backdrop
of the cutthroat competition on the
European market for the medium
freighter niche contested by the
prospective A400M and upgraded
C-130J, both bolstered by their
manufacturers’ governments, the
developers, manufacturers and
users have to pool our efforts to
bring Ukrainian-Russian aircraft
An-70 to the European market and
then to the global one”, Dmitry Kiva
said in this connection.
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The first prototype of the advanced
Kamov Ka-62 transport/passen-
ger helicopter being derived from
the baseline Ka-60 multipurpose
troop carrier could be built by the
Progress aircraft plant in Arsenyev
early next year, according to the
statement by Russian Helicopters
leaders during a presentation at the
MAKS 2009 air show. NPO Saturn’s
RD-600V engines will power the
machine. The establishing of the
United Engine Corporation (UEC) as
part of Oboronprom, which subsidi-
ary Russian Helicopters is, with the
RD-600V’s developer NPO Saturn as
a member of UEC, will simplify the
debugging and productionising of
the engine by far. Therefore, a deci-
sion has been taken recently that the
RD-600V will be the principal power-
plant type for the Ka-62, while French
engine Ardiden 3G earlier planned for
this role will become optional. The
Ka-62’s certification tests are to be
completed and its production is to
begin in 2012. Russian Helicopters
estimate the market capacity for the
14-seat Ka-62 with the 6,500-kg
takeoff weight at 350 units.
Concurrently, the development of
the Ka-62’s military baseline model
goes on. Two Ka-60 prototypes are
in their factory trials and could kick
off their official test programme
late this year. The Russian Defence
Ministry’s requirement for such
machines is estimated at 300–400
units. The Ka-60’s deliveries could
start in 2011–12. The second pro-
totype in the Ka-60U trainer variant
with the twin controls was shown
as a static display during the MAKS
2009 air show.
Ka-62 on Russian Helicopters priority list
Russia and Ukraine agreed to pursue An-70 programme together
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i n d u s t r y | i n b r i e f
On 17 October, the first flight
of the Tupolev Tu-204-100B fly-
ing testbed took place from the
airfield of the Aviastar-SP plant in
Ulyanovsk. One of the testbed’s
PS-90A engines had been replaced
with a heavily upgraded PS-90A2
turbofan being made by the Perm
Motor Company in cooperation with
Pratt & Whitney.
The flying testbed designed for
testing the PS-90A2 is a derivative
of Tu-204-100B (RA-64048) airliner
built by Aviastar-SP in May this year
on order from Ilyushin Finance Co.
for Red Wings airline. Red Wings
planned to use the airliner for char-
ter flights to popular resorts served
by the Coral Travel company, which
logo was applied to the fuselage.
However, Red Wings changed its
mind, and the aircraft remained sit-
ting at Aviastar’s airfield. Now, a
new, unusual application has been
found for it. However, the produc-
tion PS-90A will be mounted back
on the wing of the airliner following
the PS-90A2 trials, and the plane is
expected to be ferried to a potential
foreign customer before year-end.
The first mission of the flying test-
bed took 1 h 24 min, during which
time the PS-90A2’s performance
was appraised in different modes,
including taxiing, takeoff and landing.
Overall, the certification flight test
programme on the advanced engine
provides for 25 flights. Three of them
had been logged in the first week
of the trials, on which the engine
logged about 5 h of operating time
and underwent over 10 restarts. No
criticism was offered as far as the
powerplant’s operation is concerned.
As is known, the PS-90A2 is a
heavily upgraded derivative of the
production-standard PS-90A, dif-
fering from its baseline model in a
35% drop in the life cycle cost, a
1.5–2-fold increase in reliability and
a twofold reduction in maintenance
laboriousness. Its noise and emis-
sion parameters meet the future
international standards, with the
engine remaining interchangeable
with the PS-90A. Before year-end,
the PS-90A2 is supposed to be cer-
tificated under the AP-33 rules that
are the analogue of FAR33 (U.S.)
and JAR33 (EU).
The first aircraft to be outfitted
with the upgraded engine will be the
advanced Tu-204SM medium-haul air-
liner. In November, Aviastar launched
the final assembly of its prototype
slated to enter its trials in spring 2010.
Iranian carrier Iran Airtour has placed
a firm order for five Tu-204SMs pow-
ered by PS-90A2s, with Atlant-Soyuz
having ordered 15 airliners of the
type last summer. The Tu-204SM is
expected to obtain its type certificate
in December next year, with its deliv-
eries to start in 2011.
PS-90A2 enters flight trials
On 9 October, the Oboronprom
corporation announced a major deal,
under which its subsidiary Ufa-based
Engine Production Association
(UMPO) is to deliver almost a hun-
dred advanced engines to fit the
Su-35 fighters ordered by the Russian
Air Force in August this year.
“UMPO and the Komsomolsk-
on-Amur Aircraft Production Associ-
ation (KnAAPO) made a contract
on AL-41F-1S (117S) engines for
advanced Su-35 multirole fighters”,
reads an Oboronprom press release.
“The engines are designed to power
the Su-35S aircraft intended for the
Russian Air Force. UMPO will have
made 96 engines until 2015, with
the first batch to be shipped in
2010”.
Thus, RusAF will receive thrust
control vector engines for the first
time. To date, Russian TVC engines
have powered only the aircraft
exported to India, Malaysia and
Algeria: UMPO AL-31FP engines
fit the Su-30MKI, Su-30MKM and
Su-30MKI(A) supermanoeuvrable
multirole fighters.
“The AL-41F-1S (117S) is a
Generation 4++ TVC turbofan”,
Oboronprom reports. “It was ordered
by the Sukhoi design bureau and is
being co-developed by UMPO and
Saturn. The AL-41F-1S (117S) is a
derivative of the heavily upgraded
AL-31F. Its thrust exceeds that of
the baseline model by 2 t”.
Large order for engines to power Su-35
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Mr. Bely, what kind of radar system the
future fighter will have?
As is known, the future fighter’s avionics
suite will be wrapped around the multifunc-
tion AESA system, which prime contrac-
tor our institute has been selected in a ten-
der. It will be a whole “system of systems”,
rather than an ordinary radar as we know it.
The system will have several active phased
arrays, including those of the X- and L-bands
(the latter ones situated in the fighter’s wing
deflecting slats).
The AESA system Tikhomirov-NIIP is
developing relies on domestic electronic com-
ponentry based on GaAs nanoheterostruc-
tures and advanced AESA technologies. Our
AESA is based on up-to-date domestical-
ly-developed hybrid integral technologies.
The work is bund to succeed owing to the
phased array radar development experience
gained by the institute over the past 40-plus
years. Suffice it to say, the institute pioneered
airborne phased-array radar as far back as the
1970s. It was integrated with the Zaslon fire
control radar system of the MiG-31 intercep-
tor fielded in 1981, with the aircraft remaining
a most effective one in its class.
What stage are the AESA’s tests at?
The tests are on schedule, with the sched-
ule approved by the customer, the Sukhoi
company. As was planned, we completed the
intermediate X-band AESA lab test milestone
last November and moved it to the integrated
radar test bench. The tests of the experimen-
tal AESA radar proved our technical solu-
tions, but also revealed a number of serious
issues, which is only natural when develop-
ing cutting-edge high-tech gear. The results
of the tests are being analysed and relevant
modifications and improvements are being
introduced. The second example is being
completed at the same time. Essentially, it
will be an AESA radar prototype embodying
the improvements stemming from the tests of
the first, experimental example. The second
Tikhomirov’s AESA in trials
The active electronically-scanned array (AESA) radar being developed by the
Tikhomirov-NIIP joint stock company to fit a new-generation fighter was among
the head-turners of the MAKS 2009 air show. At the show, Tikhomirov-NIIP
unveiled a full-scale X-band AESA radar that had logged many bench tests in
laboratories. The AESA radar is expected to begin its flight tests next year. Owing
to its design commonality and technical solutions selected, it could spawn active
electronically-scanned arrays to upgrade various radars equipping the fighters of the
Su-27/Su-30 and MiG-29 families also. The Take-off editor met with Tikhomirov-NIIP
Director General Yuri Bely and asked him to tell about the AESA radar development
programme.
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AESA radar is to be complete by year-end,
and the antenna itself will have been ready
even before that. Manufacture of the rest of
the components and debugging of the soft-
ware are running concurrently.
In all, several AESA prototypes are to be
manufactured for rig and flight tests under the
test programme. The AESA radar for testing
on board an aircraft is supposed to be made
by the middle of next year. In addition, flight
trials of the AESA on board a flying testbed
are being looked into.
To test and debug the X- and L-band
AESAs, the institute has established the
unique testing facilities, including top-notch
anechoic rooms.
What other companies are involved in manu-
facture of the AESA?
There are rather many of them. As to the
backbone of our AESA, the monolithic-micro-
circuit transmit-receive (T-R) modules, they
have been developed and produced by the Istok
scientific and production company in Fryazino,
Moscow Region. The company has reached the
T-R output rate satisfactory to us (as is known,
there are over a thousand of them in a single
AESA), but a lot has to be done to improve their
quality and improve the modules themselves and
slash their cost. However, we are satisfied with
the way the cooperation goes on.
Our traditional partner, the State Ryazan
Instrument Plant (GRPZ), has been par-
ticipating in the programme from the outset
of the work on the AESA. Now, it runs
full-scale production of our Bars phased array
radar fitting the Su-30MKI/MKM aircraft
and is productionising the advanced Irbis-E
phased array radar designed to equip the
Su-35 fighter. By the way, under the Irbis-E,
GRPZ was not only a manufacturer, but also a
full-fledged co-developer of the system, hav-
ing designed several important radar modules,
particularly, digital computers.
The assembly, calibration and testing of all
prototype AESA radars will be handled by
Tikhomirov-NIIP so far. In the future, as the
full-scale production picks up, GRPZ will
join the programme in earnest and be the sole
manufacturer of our AESA radars.
Will your AESA be useful to other aircraft?
A decision has been taken that all AESA
radars in our country designed for combat aircraft
will be based on the componentry and techno-
logical base, design and production engineering
solutions developed by our institute. It is quite
natural. Development and production of such
high-tech devices as AESAs are very expensive,
and blowing one’s mint on parallel, rival pro-
grammes is unaffordable luxury these days. The
very AESA technology allows using commonised
technical solutions to develop a wide range of
radars for use on different aircraft. Therefore,
after our AESA radar has been developed and
tested through and through, radar differing from
it in size and performance could be developed
with minimal expenditure of time and money to
fit other platforms, including ground ones.
Tikhomirov-NIIP’s AESA technology is
designed not only for the domestic market,
isn’t it? What are its export prospects?
Certainly. It has been announced offi-
cially that Russia and India will co-de-
velop the fifth-generation future multirole
fighter. No doubt, its fire control system
will be wrapped around AESA radar. India
has an experience in making phased array
radars, because it is productionising our Bars
radars under a licence production agree-
ment, with the radars fitting the Su-30MKI
licence-produced by Hindustan Aeronautics
Ltd. (HAL).
In addition, India is interested in intro-
ducing the AESA to the Su-30MKIs. Now,
they are devising a programme on further
modernisation of the fire control systems of
these aircraft made for the Indian Air Force.
At the first stage, the performance is to be
enhanced and new operating modes are to be
introduced while retaining the passive phased
array. At Stage 2, the Bars radar’s array of the
Indian Su-30MKIs will be replaced with the
AESA, and this is to be done in the course of
the Su-30MKI licence production in India.
This done, the earlier built aircraft could be
upgraded in the same manner.
If Russia wins the MMRCA tender, in which
it offers its advanced MiG-35 multirole fighter,
our AESA could be used on the MiG-35 too. As
a result, the Indian Air Force could get several
top-notch aircraft at once, with the aircraft hav-
ing different characteristics but common radar
systems solutions, which is very important in
terms of production and operation.
What is your opinion of your AESA com-
pared with its foreign counterparts? Will it have
any edge over its Western rivals?
I guess, our design will be on a par with
the best foreign analogues, surpassing them
in a number of characteristics. The keystone
to success is the wealth of experience and
the huge progress made by Tikhomirov-NIIP
gained in the electronically-scanned radar
systems field over the past four decades.
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32
Under the Armament
Development Programme for
2007–15 and Advanced Air-Laun-
ched Weapons Development
Integrated Programme, the Tactical
Missiles Corporation is updat-
ing its basic product line. Part of
them is entering their final stag-
es of development. The range of
advanced air-launched weapons
offers the buyer a wide variety of
export examples in the air-to-sur-
face and air-to-air classes. They
are designed for use as part of
both advanced warplanes (Su-34,
Su-35, MiG-35, new-generation
fighter) and upgraded aircraft
already on the market (Su-30MK2,
Su-30MKI/MKM, MiG-29SMT,
etc.). The corporation unveiled a
number of its cutting-edge preci-
sion-guided weapons at the MAKS
2009 air show last August. They
included, in particular, the RVV-MD
and RVV-SD air-to-air missiles,
Kh-35UE upgraded antiship missile
and new variants of the 500-kg and
1,500-kg guided bombs.
The advanced RVV-MD and
RVV-SD have been developed by
Tactical Missiles Corp.’s subsidi-
ary, the Vympel design bureau. The
RVV-MD short-range/dogfight mis-
sile is similar to the R-73E in terms
of the aerodynamic configuration,
layout and dimensions. Its guidance
system includes a sophisticated
dual-band passive all-aspect heat-
seeker with the ±60° target designa-
tion angle. Its combined gas-dynamic
control ensures high manoeuvrabil-
ity and allows the weapon to attain
high alpha and kill targets jinking
hard with a g-load of up to 12 g. The
RVV-MD features enhanced coun-
termeasures immunity, including
one against optical countermeas-
ures, which allows its effective use
under difficult conditions, e.g. in the
look-down/shoot-down mode, from
all aspects and in the face of heavy
countermeasures.
The missile’s powerplant is a
single-mode solid-propellant rocket
motor. The RVV-MD is offered in
two variants differing in the type
of the fuse, with the RVV-MDL
fitted with a laser proximity fuse
and the RVV-MD equipped with a
radio-frequency one. The warhead
packs rod-type submunitions. The
maximum range of the weapon
against head-on targets is 40 km.
The missile is attached to aircraft by
means of the P-72-1D (P-72-1BD2)
rail-type launcher. The RVV-MD is
designed for use by fighters, ground
attack aircraft and helicopters and
will be effective against various
types of fixed-wing aircraft (fighters,
attack aircraft, bombers, airlifters)
and helicopters round the clock. It
can be adapted to foreign-made
carriers with the use of an in-house
technology.
The RVV-SD medium-range
air-to-air missile is offered as a
lethal all-aspect weapon to eliminate
fixed-wing and rotary wing aircraft
and cruise missiles 24 hr a day
in the face of electronic counter-
measures and in the look-down/
shoot-down mode, including in the
multiple-target engagement mode.
The RVV-SD hits targets manoeu-
vring at 12 g out to 110 km. The
missile’s launch-and-leave capabili-
ty is owing to its combined guidance
system comprising a radio-updated
inertial subsystem and an active
radar homer. The RVV-SD’s lay-
out and dimensions are similar to
those of the RVV-AE. Its powerplant
includes a single-mode solid-fuel
rocket motor. The fuse is of laser
proximity type. The multi-cumulative
warhead is filled with rod-type sub-
munitions. The missile is attached
to the carrier aircraft by means of
the AKU-170E ejection unit. The
RVV-SD can be adapted for use on
foreign-made aircraft.
Debut of advanced air-to-air missiles
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RVV-SD RVV-AE
Launching weight, kg
up to
190
175
Warhead weight, kg n/a 22,5
Dimensions, m:
- length 3,71 3,6
- body diameter 0,2 0,2
- wing span 0,42 0,4
- empennage span 0,68 0,7
Launch range, km:
- max in forward
hemisphere
up to
110
80
- min in rear
hemisphere
0,3 0,3
Target altitude, km 0,02–25
Target g-load up to 12
RVV-MD R-73E
Launching weight, kg 106 105
Warhead weight, kg 8 8
Dimensions, m:
- length 2,92 2,9
- body diameter 0,17 0,17
- wing span 0,51 0,51
- empennage span 0,385 0,38
Launch range, km:
- max in forward
hemisphere
up to 40 30
- min in rear hemisphere 0,3 0,3
Target designation
angles, deg.
± 60 ± 45
Target altitude, km 0,02–20
Target g-load up to 12
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