1

CONTENTS

Aircraft

04 Chengdu J-20. China’s ram

for “cheese boxes on rafts”

Summing-up

12 Russia’s aviation industry in 2010:

from Sukhoi PAK FA

to Tupolev TU-204SM

Review of the Most Important Events

of the Last Year

Engines

20 The Motor Sich:

Development, Production

and Services

Avionics

24 “Radionix” (Microwave Systems

Design Company) — crisis solutions

to upgrade fighters’ avionics

Navigation

28 Compas: priorities of space

navigation

View of analyst

32 India and Russia:

new joint military projects

44 Russian arms trade

Bangalor's Sky Waiting

№ 1. 2011

Bangalor's Sky Waiting

2

Yet another exhibition of world aviation industry achievements — Aero India 2011 — has

opened its doors. The show gathered a large number of professionals from many countries,

two of which are India and Russia. These two powers have much in common in the aviation

sector, and India has been Russia’s strategic partner for many decades. Since the early

1960s India has been purchasing Soviet and Russian aviation equipment. Today, this

partnership has stepped to a new level. Not only does India purchase aircraft but the two

countries work on joint development projects, the most important one is the PAK FA T-50.

India keeps stressing the critical importance of the project in the light of the recent flight

tests of China’s Chengdu J-20 fighter. The T-50 is developing successfully; the second

prototype is currently passing tests.

Apart from this, in 2010 a joint venture was established to develop the multipurpose

transport plane (MTA). The project also holds the status of joint programme which is

of great concern for both Russia and India.

The third important fact is that Russia is taking part in tender for selling 126 fighters for

the Indian Air Force with its MiG-35. These aircraft have successfully completed flight

tests in both countries, and Russia has every chance to win the tender partly because

MiG-35 has been unified with the MiG-29K fighter, which is currently entering service

with the Indian Navy. Apart from the mentioned competition Russia is also participating

in tender for supplying the light scout helicopters for the Indian Armed Forces with its

K-226s. Russia also hopes the final choice will be in favour of these machines. Trying to

describe the scope of Russian-Indian partnership it’s noteworthy that India’s advanced jet

trainer is equipped with Russian AL-55 engines. Some other interesting facts come to my

mind as well...

A lot can be said about Russian-Indian joint projects and military and technical

cooperation but let’s sum it up to one phrase: “There is no other country like India for Russia

to lead such a great number of joint projects and sign contracts to supply various aircraft

equipment. Today, India is Russia’s major strategic partner in the aviation industry”. While

reading feature of this issue you’ll face some facts proving the statement and will find a lot

of interesting and useful information.

I wish you successful and fruitful work at the Aero India 2011, as well as fresh impressions

and prospective business contacts.

Yours faithfully,

Alexander Gudko

Director GeneralEvgeny Osipov

Deputy Director GeneralAlexander Kiryanov

Commercial Director Denis Kostin

Marketing Director Leonid Belyaev

Marketing Manager Elena Bebneva

Creative DirectorAlexander Strelyaev

Editor-in-Chief of A4 Press PublishingViktor Murakhovskiy

Editor-in-Chief of AirFleetAlexander Gudko

EditorsMikhail Nayden

Art DirectorAl'vina Kirillova

DesignersAlexander ShipilovNadezhda FadinaElena Shishova

REPRESENTATIVE OFFICE IN SAINT-PETERSBURG

Deputy Director GeneralOleg Perevoschikov

Commercial DirectorSergey Baydak

Advertising Sales DirectorMilana Nikolaeva

Development DirectorRoman Moshnin

Marketing DirectorGrigoriy Zubok

Photos and graphics in this issue:M. Lystseva, A. Cheredayko, Rajesh Dangi, M. Badrocke, N. Solovjev, “Motor Sich” JSC,

“Radioniks” Ltd., Compas MDB, blogspot.com, photobucket.com, defenceindustrydaily.com, sflorg.com, airwar.ru, free-review.net, radikal.ru

Partners:Literra Translation AgencyOffice 202, Gapsalskaya St., 1, St. Petersburg,tel.: +7 (812) 680-17-03; e-mail: info@li-terra.ru

Circulation: 10 000

The magazine is registered in the Committee for Press of the Russian Federation. Certificate № 016692 as of 20.10.1997. Certificate № 77-15450 as of 19.05.2003.

© AIR FLEET, 2011ADDRESSP.O. Box 77, Moscow, 125057, RussiaTel.: + 7 495 626-52-11Fax.: + 7 499 151-61-50E-mail: af@airfleet.ru

Editorial

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Aircraft

4

Before touching off the ground, the pi-

lot made several passes over the runway

so as to expose his airplane to the cameras

of “aviation admirers” all round the place.

Those took photos of the aircraft from dif-

ferent angles and depicted everything they

wanted except for doors of internal weap-

ons bays.

These doors were either thoroughly hid-

den or removed from the shots by the picture

takers on the insistence of very competitive

advisers. But it is even more likely that these

doors were not actually fitted to the J-20

first operable prototype. They are not need-

ed on the very first operable aircraft dedi-

cated to assessment of flight performance,

flight envelope, various engine settings,

functioning of the essential onboard systems,

proving flight control algorithms. As a rule,

third or even later prototypes are devoted

to weapons testing, but these are yet to be

constructed and outfitted.

The J-20 first public flight occurred just

in time when US defense secretary Rob-

ert Gates was in Beijing on an official vis-

it. Once there, he was trying to calm down

the Chinese leaders who were much wor-

ried about pending deliveries of modern

US-made weapons to Taiwan. Beijing con-

siders this island an essential part of China.

A lot of pictures appeared on the In-

ternet on the memorable day of 11 Jan-

uary. These shots gave more information

on the new airplane. In particular, they re-

veal the shape of the wing and its position-

ing in relation to fuselage. This makes it

possible to make some preliminary conclu-

sions about the aerodynamics layout and

technical characteristics of the J-20, and

make guesses as to the main task the new

jet shall be solving after entering squad-

ron service.

The J-20 represents a relatively large

tactical jet with the canards (foreplanes)

and large delta wing. The fuselage length

is somewhere between 23 and 25 me-

ters, wingspan between 13 and 14 me-

ters. By our estimation the maximum take-

off weight shall be in the region of 40 tons,

and operating empty weight twice less

than that.

Many aviation experts believe that

the J-20 relies on a pair of Russian engines

or their Chinese copies. In other words,

the J-20’s engines are picked out among

members of the big family uniting the Item

117, AL-31F, WS-14 and WS-10 Taihang.

Two engines together develop in between

30 and 40 tons of thrust. If that is so, then

the capability of the propulsion system

On 11 January 2011 the new Chinese combat jet flew for the first time (in public, at least). The new

airplane is referred to as the Chengdu J-20. Chengdu is the name of the city which houses a few

aviation industry enterprises, including aircraft manufacturing plants producing jetfighters and design

houses developing them. Great many outsiders watched the J-20 fly, as they happened “by chance”

to be around the fence of Chengdu factory’s aerodrome on that day. The flight itself was uneventful.

It took place in the conditions of clear skies allowing photographers to make some good shots.

CHENGDU J-20.CHINA’S RAM FOR “CHEESE BOXES ON RAFTS”

Aircraft

5A I R F L E E T · 1 · 2 0 1 1 ( 8 6 )

is enough for supercruise, or supersonic

cruise flight at military power (highest pow-

er setting without afterburning). We may

also expect that the J-20 with restricted fu-

el and combat load (for instance, when fly-

ing air-to-air mission) can fly vertical with-

out losing speed at subsonic regimes and

low altitudes.

When in-flight photos appeared,

the J-20 became the hottest topic for dis-

cussion among aviation enthusiasts round

the world. But as it appeared, the enthu-

siasts, and even world-famous western

journalists, had difficulty in classification

of the new Chinese warplane. Is it a su-

periority fighter? Is it a supersonic bomb-

er? Or, perhaps, it is a multirole, multimode

airplane? Even columnist and experts with

world’s leading aviation magazines hes-

itated to give their clear answer to these

questions, — that in the view of them hav-

ing good sources in the US and Europe-

an intelligence bodies, defense ministries

and the industry. It seems that not only jour-

nalists, but the professionals were in some

state of shock after seeing the new Chi-

nese bird.

First of all, let’s determine J-20’s center

of gravity position. There are some pho-

tos available of the J-20 taxiing, in which

we can clearly see its long fuselage, wing-

to-fuselage connection and landing gears.

The J-20 undercarriage is fighter’s clas-

sics: three-point with a nose gear. And so it

makes it easy to determine center of grav-

ity position. To do that we take the main

landing gear strut, and attach a line to

it starting on the wheel’s ground contact

point. The line goes up with at an angle of,

say, 15 degrees, leaning towards the nose

of the airplane. The point where it cross-

es the fuselage center line is the most likely

position for the airplane’s center of gravity.

Here comes the first surprise: the like-

ly center of gravity position rests… too far

from the mean aerodynamics chord (MAC)

of the wing. As a first iteration for aircraft

designers, the center of gravity must be

somewhere 25–35% of the wing’s MAC, —

like so is prescribed in the classic aircraft

design books.

But the Chinese airplane appears to

have the center of gravity position some-

where at MAC’s edge. It is fairly strange

for a maneuverable fighter, since bal-

ancing of the aerodynamic forces and

the gravity will require relatively high de-

flection of the control surfaces — canards

in the J-20’s case. Should this airplane try

to execute high-G maneuvers at subsonic

speeds, the deflection of the canards could

be a limitation. All this is rather strange

for a maneuverable fighter… But not for

the J-20, which does not appear to be one

of those!

Let’s take a look at other available pho-

tos, in which the J-20 goes in for the land-

ing with landing gear down. Apparent-

ly, the canards are set at a rather high pos-

itive angle (leading edge upwards), while

the wing has its leading edge deflected

downwards. The trailing edge surfaces are

also deflected down, at rather a small an-

gle. Obviously, at the approach for land-

ing configuration, the wing’s center line

is highly curved by means of the leading

and training edges down, which increases

lift (achieved through altering the camber

of the wing). But not so much as in the case

of classical flaps.

All this is, again, fighter classics for

the delta winged aircraft with foreplanes.

And here lies their limitation: the pilot can-

not move the trailing edge further down,

since the resulting lift force that builds up

on the training edge will be hard to bal-

ance with the canards, in the view of their

limited deflection scope (in the view

of them stalling).

It is well known from the aviation his-

tory how to enable delta-winged air-

planes to generate more of the lift force

at landing. For that purpose the canards

are placed as close to the fuselage’s nose

as possible, to have a larger distance to

The J-20 relies on a pair of Russian engines or

their Chinese copies coming from the big family

uniting the Item 117, AL-31F, WS-14 and WS-10

Taihang

Aircraft

6

the center of gravity. For instance, the Tu-

polev Tu-144 supersonic jet liner had fore-

planes that were retracted into fuselage

all the time except landing. But Cheng-

du designers did not do this. Rather, they

positioned the canards fairly close to

the center of gravity position, and thus

sacrificed their effectiveness at landing for

some other purposes.

What purposes? Firstly, for non-retract-

able foreplanes it is important to have

them within the supersonic cone as it sets

on the top of the airplane’s nose at Mach

numbers exceeding 1.0. This lead to a con-

clusion what the Chinese must have been

purposely shaping the J-20 for superson-

ic flying.

Why the Chinese shaped the J-20

in the way it is? Perhaps, they are unfa-

miliar with the classic solutions for a del-

ta-winged, canard-equipped fighter? No,

this is not the case knowing that Chengdu’s

previous design was the J-10 light weight

fighter, now in service with PLAAF. On its

first public flight, the J-20 was escorted by

a J-10B twin seater, the operational train-

er version of the baseline J-10 single seat

fighter. This airplane was the star of the Air-

show China 2008 and 2010, when it flew

superbly with the PLAAF display team pi-

lots at the controls. The J-10 is a very ma-

neuverable airplane, and this is the testimo-

ny of the Chinese designers’ skills in devel-

opment of maneuverable fighter aircraft.

What is the J-20? Is it

a superiority fighter?

Is it a supersonic

bomber? Or, perhaps, it

is a multirole, multimode

airplane? Few columnists

and experts dared to give

their explicit answer

F-35C Lightning II

Chengdu J-10B twin seat

operational trainer

Importance of proper shaping of supersonic fighters can be illustrated by the case with the Sukhoi Su-27S, where suffix “S” points at the optimized version with reduced transonic drag. The optimization effort was made by Sukhoi designers in cooperation with TsAGI, as they tried to improve transonic performance of then-new fighter. Three TsAGI’s big wind tunnels, the T-112, T-108 and T-109 were used in the process. As a result of very accurate optimization of the fighter’s cross section distribution diagram, the Su-27’s “wave drag” was reduced by 25% — not before the designers had virtually redeveloped the airplane (the initial aircraft was referred to the Su-27, improved the Su-27S).

Aircraft

7A I R F L E E T · 1 · 2 0 1 1 ( 8 6 )

Aircraft

8

The J-10 is a classic design with “prop-

er” positioning of the center of gravity, like

in the books. This is clear to tell looking

at the main landing gear struts attached

to the fuselage somewhere near 15–30%

of the wing’s MAC. So, let us ask ourselves

the same question again, why the Chinese

designers shaped the J-20 in the way it is?

Here are some suggestions.

First, to achieve smooth airflow with de-

sirable parameters at the entry to the en-

gine’s fan, the J-20’s designers have to

make the air intakes rather long. This was

an important consideration at design stage.

Second, they also needed to make

the air channel S-shaped, so as to hide

the fan blades from the radio waves emit-

ted by enemy radars. The latter is need-

ed for a lower visibility of the airplane. It

is worth to notice that the J-20’s air intakes

resemble those first tried on the Lockheed

Martin F-35 Lightning II. This gives move

ground to assert that the J-20 is optimized

for supersonic regimes and supercruise,

much like the F-35.

Third, let us make distribution diagram

for the airplane’s cross section along

the J-20’s fuselage centerline. We need to

take account of the thickness of the wing,

canards and tailplanes. The diagram is

very smooth, — exceptionally smooth! It

comes without a peak, running smooth-

ly at approximately the same height from

F-22 Raptor

F-22 Raptor —

Cutaway

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Aircraft

9A I R F L E E T · 1 · 2 0 1 1 ( 8 6 )

the tops of the air intakes all the way to

the engine nozzles.

This seems to be the main thing for

the Chengdu designers. Apparently, they

wanted to make the airplane’s equiva-

lent body of rotation as narrow as possi-

ble. And they needed to make provision

for internal carriage of weapons, which

is a characteristic feature for fifth gener-

ation fighters. In actual fact, the J-20 has

much smoother cross section distribution

diagram than the F-22A Raptor, the F-35

Lightning II and the Sukhoi T-50 (PAK FA or

FGFA). Apparently, it required quite an ef-

fort from Chengdu designers and so made

them go for compromises on other things.

Should the designers from Chendgu

have made it “classic”, they would not

have moved the wing all the way towards

the engine nozzles. But they did because it

was the only effective way to make the air-

plane as narrow as possible, with the need

for big air intakes, air-supply channels and

internal weapons bays.

Again, this is the main thing about

the J-20 design, and it sets it apart from

all other known next-generation fight-

ers. Other designs have “peaks” in some

60–70% down the way from the fuselage

nose tip to the engine nozzles.

A smooth cross section distribution dia-

gram is important for transonic drag. Su-

personic aircraft are being designed

in accordance with so-called “area rul-

ing”. For high Mach numbers (M>2)

the distribution diagram is not so impor-

tant as for transonic regimes, M=1…1.5. It

seems the Chinese designers optimized

their new jet for transonic regimes and

moderate supersonic speeds.

Our impression from the J-20 is that it

is an uncompromised airplane for super-

cruse, for flying at moderate supersonic

speeds corresponding to Mach M=1.3–

1.6. Such speeds can be achieved with-

out afterburning. Surely, the J-20 can ac-

celerate to M=2 and faster, but this would

require engaging afterburners. In turn,

the fuel burn will go high, lowering oper-

ational range of the aircraft and enlarg-

ing its heat signature.

In our view the Chinese designers op-

timized their new jet for M=1.3–1.6. Ma

tej

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Aircraft

10

Here comes the clue: the J-20 is a mis-

sile launching platform able to evade en-

emy interceptors by high cruise speed.

The J-20 may prove a good interceptor, —

very possibly. But its main task seems to

be anti-shipping: firing missiles at enemy

warships while denying their air defense

cover.

It may well be that one day the new

Chinese jets would be used in anger. And

it would probably be PLAAF sending their

pilots to attack warships off the coast

of a freedom-loving island not far from

the mainland China.

The history of the powerful US Na-

vy can be traced back to the famous

duel of the USS Monitor and VSS Vir-

ginia (Merrimack) on 9 March 1862,

the first-ever battle of ironclads. Although

the Confederacy gunners scored hun-

dreds of direct hits, shells bounced off

her armor: the Monitor seemed to have

impunity to enemy fire. The USS Moni-

tor, a 987-ton armored turret gunboat,

was built at New York, with a large sin-

gle cannon turret on a low freeboard. Af-

ter the battle, the North Americans con-

structed fifty monitors modeled on their

namesake and made them the back-

bone of their navy. For their rather strange

looks, these ships were called “cheese

boxes on rafts”. Since the memorable Bat-

tle of Hampton, the North Americans nev-

er lose at sea, and now their cheese box-

es sale when and where they want. China

prepares a ram for them.

Vladimir Karnozov

J-20 seems to be

intended for anti-

shipping: firing missiles

at enemy warships while

evading interceptors by

means of higher speeds

Sukhoi T-50

Aircraft

11A I R F L E E T · 1 · 2 0 1 1 ( 8 6 )

Summing-up

12

First Fifth Generation FighterOn 29 January 2010, Sukhoi conduct-

ed the first flight of its prototype of the PAK

FA fifth generation fighter from KnAAPO’s

(Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Produc-

tion Association) site. The Sukhoi PAK FA

(or Promising Aircraft of Frontline Aviation)

will replace the operational fighters of pre-

vious generations resulting in achievement

of the strategic parity between the Russia’s

and US Air Forces in terms of fighter avia-

tion technologies.

As reported in the official press release

by the Sukhoi Company, unlike the fight-

ers of previous generations the PAK FA

combines the features of both strike air-

craft and fighter. The fifth generation air-

craft is equipped with brand new avionics,

which integrates an “electronic pilot” func-

tion, as well as with phased-array anten-

na radar. As such, it significantly decreas-

The year of 2010 turned to be a momentous year for the Russian aviation industry. It was marked

by the first test flights of the Sukhoi fifth generation fighter and new Tupolev civil airliner at the

beginning and at the turn of the last year, respectively. Such events as certification of SaM-146

engine, which is intended for Sukhoi Superjet-100, and integration of the Russian and Ukrainian

aircraft manufacturers are no less important.

RUSSIA’S AVIATION INDUSTRY IN 2010:FROM SUKHOI PAK FA TO TUPOLEV TU-204SM

Review of the Most Important Events of the Last Year

Summing-up

13A I R F L E E T · 1 · 2 0 1 1 ( 8 6 )

es pilot load and allows concentrating

on fulfilment of tactical missions. New air-

craft onboard equipment allows real-time

data exchange with ground control sys-

tems as well as within the air group. Appli-

cation of composite materials and innova-

tive technologies, aerodynamic configu-

ration, and actions based on engine noise

reduction provide unprecedentedly low

level of radar, optical and infrared visibility.

This significantly enhances the combat ef-

fectiveness against air and ground targets

at any time of the day in both visual and

adverse weather conditions.

According to the Russian analyti-

cal reports, the effective reflecting area

of the new aircraft amounts to 0.5 square

metres while the same characteris-

tics of the Su-30MKI fighter equals to

20 square metres. Some Russian media

sources reported that this effective reflect-

ing area of 0.5 square metres in the for-

ward hemisphere was related to airframe.

After application of anti-radar coating and

replacement of the cockpit canopy with

the one with radio wave absorbing coat-

ing, the effective reflecting area value may

decrease up to 0.01–0.03 square metres.

All weapons intended for the new fifth

generation fighter are kept inside the fuse-

lage bay. This crucial feature increases its

stealth capability and ensures a superson-

ic cruise speed at unboosted engine oper-

ation. The view of the Sukhoi PAK FA from

below clearly shows the half-doors of two

weapon bays arranged longitudinally one

after another. Their size makes it possi-

ble to room the advanced missiles devel-

oped by Tactical Missile Weapon Corpo-

ration in accordance with the Comprehen-

sive Target Programme on Development

of New Air Weapons, which is being im-

plemented along with the PAK FA develop-

ment programme. Some media sources re-

port that the PAK FA developers managed

to solve the problem regarding opening

the half-doors and launching missiles in su-

personic mode.

The first fifth-generation fighter proto-

type is equipped with engines, designated

as “product 117", developed by Saturn Re-

search and Production Association in Ry-

binsk. In fact, this engine is a deep mod-

ernization of the well-known AL-31FP with

improved specific and long-term perfor-

mance characteristics. Many experts agree

that the Sukhoi aircraft will require a new

engine in order to achieve the same flight

and technical characteristics as the Ameri-

can F-22A. In this respect, it is hardly pos-

sible to use AL-41 engine developed for

the MiG 1.42 new generation fighter since

it has different dimensions which are not

acceptable for the Sukhoi PAK FA. How-

ever the technologies applied in the AL-41

engine may be certainly used for the de-

velopment of a new engine, which has not

acquire any name so far.

The Sukhoi PAK FA will be equipped with

active phased array radar developed by

V. Tikhomirov Scientific Research Institute

of Instrument Design in Zhukovsky. The ac-

tive phased array radar is expected to be-

come the core of the multifunctional inte-

grated avionic system. In addition to the ra-

dar the multifunctional integrated avionic

system includes electronic warfare sys-

tem, identification friend-or-foe (IFF) sys-

tem, and suspended millimetre-wave radio

detector.

The second PAK FA fifth generation pro-

totype (T-50) will join the flight test pro-

gramme at the beginning of this year. This

was declared by the president of the Unit-

ed Aircraft Corporation Alexey Fyodorov

in December 2010. According to Alexey

Fyodorov, this new aircraft is not an equiv-

alent of the developed prototype, but

“rather a supplement to the performance

of the first fighter’s prototype”.

In July 2010, the first deputy defence

minister of the Russian Federation Vladi-

mir Popovkin said that the new Russian fifth

generation fighter would be purchased to-

gether with the weapons and ground sup-

port equipment. He did not mention the ex-

act amount of funds to be allocated by

the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Fed-

eration for acquisition of the T-50, but he

noted that the Air Force needed at least

50–100 aircrafts of this type.

During the next two years Sukhoi is plan-

ning to complete testing of the PAK-FA air-

frame and in 2013 the Ministry of Defence

The second PAK FA fifth generation prototype

(T-50) will join the flight test programme at the

beginning of this year

Summing-up

14

of the Russian Federation will conclude

a contract with Sukhoi Company for deliv-

ery of ten aircrafts for testing their weap-

ons. The first stage of trials is to be com-

pleted by the end of 2013. According to

the preliminary data, the Ministry of De-

fence of the Russian Federation will pur-

chase a number of the Sukhoi PAK-FA fight-

ers in 2016.

Tu-204SM: Deep ModernizationEleven months later, on 29 December

2010, Aviastar SP (Ulyanovsk) witnessed

the first flight of the Tu-204SM prototype.

This new aircraft is a deeply modernized

version of the Tu-204-100 developed by

Tupolev Design Bureau in the Soviet times.

According to the developers, the Tu-204

has competitive performance, and there-

fore it can be compared with major foreign

competitors (the Tu-204 is considered to

be an equivalent to the Boeing 757 manu-

factured from 1982 till 2005). The cost-ef-

fectiveness analysis of medium-range jet

airlines, conducted by Tupolev, justified

the feasibility of modernizing the Tu-204 to

increase its competitiveness in the respec-

tive market.

This modernization resulted in de-

velopment of the Tu-204SM airlin-

er. The PS-90A2 engine was selected as

the power plant. PS-90A2 is a unified, tur-

bofan, two-shaft engine with core and

secondary flows provided with a reverser

in the secondary flow and sound-attenuat-

ing system.

The engine was designed by Aviadviga-

tel JSC (located in the city of Perm) in coop-

eration with the US Pratt & Whitney Com-

pany. The PS-90A2 engine was certified

on 25 December 2009 (the related deci-

sion was made at the meeting of the Pre-

sidium of the Aviation Register of Interstate

Aviation Committee in Moscow).

As reported in Aviadvigatel official

press release, PS-90A2 was developed to

meet all international requirements, name-

ly AP-33 (airworthiness) and AP-34 (envi-

ronmental protection). In addition, this new

engine developed by Perm Design Bureau

will significantly reduce the life-cycle cost

(by 35–37%) and increase the reliabili-

ty of the product compared to the base-

line PS-90A engine. Unlike the basic ver-

sion, the PS-90A2 engine is equipped with

high-pressure turbine with single-crystal

rotor blades made of ZHS-36MONO al-

loy, and new automatic control system.

The developers applied sound-absorbing

structures of the second generation, new

digital electronic engine controller, and

implemented the advanced design and

technological solutions that ensure break

localization of the damaged rotor blades.

The document emphasized that certifica-

tion of the PS-90A2 engine went hand

in hand with its commercial production by

Perm Motor Plant.

In addition, the Tu-204SM will be pro-

vided with a new auxiliary power unit

(APU) TA-18-200 with a 90 kW genera-

tor instead of TA-12-60. Apart from that

it has efficient fuel consumption, great-

er altitude performance, and lower life cy-

cle costs. Initially, the TA-18-200 auxilia-

ry power unit with a 60 kW generator was

designed for the AN-124 and AN-70 air-

crafts. In August 2010, the deputy director

general and chief designer of Aerosila Re-

search and Production Enterprise Leonid

Plakhov said that flight testing of the new

APU should be completed in the second or

third quarter of 2011. Another important

advantage of the modernized Tu-204SM

Ph

oto

by

Nik

ola

i S

olo

vjo

v

Tu-204SM

Summing-up

15A I R F L E E T · 1 · 2 0 1 1 ( 8 6 )

is crew reduction. The crew number will be

reduced from three to two people, name-

ly the aircraft commander and co-pilot ex-

cluding flight engineer. The flight-naviga-

tion system will be replaced with a new

one developed by Aviapribor Company.

It will allow landing as per IIIA category.

In addition, the Tu-204SM is to be provid-

ed with new communication system, and

digital air conditioning system. At the same

time, the plane continues to hold the same

position which lies between the Boeing

737/Airbus A320 families and twin-isle

Boeing 767/Airbus A330.

The completion of certification and first

deliveries of the new airliner are scheduled

for the end of this year.

Red Wings Airlines will be the first cus-

tomer to purchase 44 aircrafts of Tu-

204SM type from Russia’s largest aircraft

lessor, Ilyushin Finance (IFC). The contract

concluded between IFC and Red Wings is

estimated at 1.5 billion dollars.

The aircraft assembly will continue till

2015–2020. After 2015, the Tu-204SM

production capacities will be refocused

on the production of promising Irkut MS-21

jet airliner. According to the developers,

the MS-21 will be by 30% cheaper than

its counterparts, by 20–25% more effi-

cient in terms of fuel consumption and by

15–20% cheaper in terms of usage and

maintenance. Apart from that it will have

1020 more seats in the passenger com-

partment and the fuselage will be by 10–

20 cm larger in diameter. Irkut Corpora-

tion president Oleg Demchenko said, “The

MS-21 will become the world leader

МS-21

The president of Irkut Corporation Oleg Demchenko: “The MS-21 will become

the world leader in terms of application of composite materials among the nar-

row-body long-range aircrafts”

Summing-up

16

in terms of application of composite mate-

rials among the narrow-body long-range

aircrafts”.

The timeline for MS-21 development pro-

gramme was specified last year. The first

operating model of the Russian-made

PD-14 engine, which is intended for this

particular jet along with the American

R1000G, will appear in 2012. The engine

will be certified two years later accord-

ing to Aviadvigatel chief designer Alexan-

der Inozemtsev. According to the president

of Aerokompozit JSC (subsidiary company

of the United Aircraft Corporation) Anato-

ly Gaydansky, the first wing for MS-21 will

be ready by 2013. The jet itself will per-

form its first flight in 2014 and will be intro-

duced into the market in 2016.

As far as today goes, some foreign cus-

tomers show an interest in procurement

of the Irkut MS-21 jet airliner. For instance,

Malaysia's Crecom Burj Bhd (investment

holding) signed an agreement with Rus-

sian Irkut Corporation for the procurement

of 50 MS-21.

Yak-130: Batch SuppliesAt the end of 2010, the deputy chief

of Russia’s Air Force, lieutenant general

Igor Sadofyev officially announced that

the Air Force would start batch supplies

of the Yakovlev Yak-130 jet trainers. At

the same time they will be supplied to Al-

geria. The Yak-130 jet trainer is intended

for training of cadets at the flying school,

training of pilots at the combat training

centres for specific type of combat air-

craft in order to extend the operational ser-

vice life of combat aircraft. Apart from that,

the trainees are taught such skills as tak-

ing-off, landing, piloting, navigating, per-

forming sophisticated manoeuvres, acquir-

ing the special skills to operate an aircraft

at the limiting flight operation modes or

in case of various failures of the system or

pilot’s errors, performing close combat for-

mation flight operations during the daytime

and in clear weather conditions, learn-

ing weapon systems and its fundamentals

when being used to engage ground and

Yak-130

SSJ-100 & SaM-146

Summing-up

17A I R F L E E T · 1 · 2 0 1 1 ( 8 6 )

air targets, and training offensive and de-

fensive manoeuvres. By the way, the air-

craft’s manoeuvring performance simulates

the flights of the fourth and fifth generation

combat aircrafts. The integrated control

system with the reprogramming function al-

lows the pilot to be taught for any aircraft,

i.e. Su-30, MiG-29, F-16, F-15, Rafale, Ty-

phoon, F-22, and F-35.

The new Yak-130 has a takeoff weight

of 9 tons, fuel capacity of 1.6 tons, and

operating ceiling of 12,000 metres. It at-

tains a top speed of a thousand miles per

hour. The aerodynamic design enables

the controlled flight at an attack angle

of up to 35 degrees.

It can be also used as a light strike fight-

er. The Yakovlev Yak-130 is equipped with

six struts and can carry all kinds of modern

air weapons. The cockpit and power plant

are provided with light armour protection.

Engines: SaM-146 Certification and Launching of Gas Generator for PD-14

On 13 August 2010, the Interstate

Aviation Committee issued Certificate

No. 315-AMD for the SaM-146 power

plant developed by Saturn Research and

Production Association (Russia) and Snec-

ma S.A. (France). The SaM-146 is an inte-

grated power plant which consists of en-

gine, engine nacelle and reversing thrust

device. The SaM146 engines are installed

on the Sukhoi Superjet-100 produced by

Sukhoi Civil Aircrafts (Russia) in cooper-

ation with Alenia Aeronautica (Italy) sup-

ported by Boeing (US).

“The SaM-146 has all necessary ad-

vantages to approach the world mar-

ket in the face of fierce competition when

the customer demands low cost, on-call

mission high reliability, high level of main-

tainability and compliance with the up-to-

date environmental requirements,” the de-

velopers note.

The batch supplies of power plant in-

tended for the Sukhoi Superjet-100 began

in late August last year.

The certification testing of PD-14 engine

is still to take place. Meanwhile, Aviadvi-

gatel launched the experimental gas gen-

erator for PD-14 on 26 November 2010.

As noted in the press release, its launching

was successful.

One might say that the advent of a new

unified gas generator has broken new

ground in Russian civil aircraft- and en-

gine-building industry. Aviadvigatel di-

rector general Alexander Inozemtsev em-

phasized that such gas generator had no

equivalents in the world as of today. It is

known that many countries are implement-

ing research and development works to

design the advanced engines. These works

are being at different stages today, though

all information regarding the market play-

ers is tracked.

According to the current business

plan, engine-demonstrator PD-14 based

on a new gas generator is to be construct-

ed in April 2012.

“Our analysis shows that the engine will

be competitive in the thrust range from 7 to

20 tons. If it is less than 7 tons, the engine is

considered too large and its performance

will not be competitive, and if it is over 20

tons, the gas generator will be overboosted

and it hardly be possible to ensure high en-

gine life,” Mr. Inozemtsev said.

The new engine is developed with ap-

plication of the advanced technologies.

As such, it will be provided with light-

weight fan hollow blades despite the fact

that the conventional blades are not used

in 2-metre engine in diameter due to their

heavy weight. Ufa plant will become

the fourth largest centre which applies this

kind of blades after Rolls-Royce, General

Electric, and Pratt & Whitney.

The latest technologies are also used

in production of low-pressure turbine (high-

tensile alloys based on intermetallic titani-

um compound allow obtaining the lowest

possible weight).

The engine structures as well as nacelles

should be made of glass and carbon fibre

reinforced plastics (the share of composite

materials amounts to about 65%).

According to experts, if all parameters

and characteristics are achieved, this engine

will be competitive in the next 20–25 years.

Integration of UAC and Antonov ASTC: Breaking the Ice

It is worthy to note another event. It is not

associated with the production and mar-

keting of new products, but it is of crucial

importance for the whole aviation indus-

try of Russia. On 27 October 2010, Unit-

ed Aircraft Corporation JSC (UAC, Russia)

Antonov Aeronautical Scientist/Technical

Complex (Antonov ASTC, Ukraine) signed

an agreement on establishment of joint

venture UAC — Civil Aircraft Ltd. Manag-

ing Company. This agreement was signed

in the presence of Russia’s prime minister

Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s prime minister

Mykola Azarov making it a high-status SaM-146

Summing-up

18

agreement. In addition, the document con-

cerning the rights of participants was ini-

tialed by UAC president Alexey Fyodor-

ov and chairman of the Board of Antonov

ASTC Dmitry Kiva.

Establishment of the joint venture is

the first step towards integration. “It will take

one or two years until Antonov ASTC per-

forms an independent evaluation,” UAC

president Alexey Fyodorov comments. After-

wards, the parties will be offered various in-

tegration options and, in particular, the op-

portunity to define the amount of shares to

start an integration process. Mr. Fyodorov

clarified that each of the parties would have

the opportunity to abandon the offer and

put forward its options for discussion.

The joint venture, therefore, will be

aimed at coordination of interaction be-

tween two aircraft building companies. Af-

ter completion of all the necessary prelim-

inary unification processes, the joint ven-

ture will be liquidated and the Ukrainian

party will be able to participate in de-

velopment of the Russian aircraft proj-

ects, such as MS-21 or Sukhoi Super Jet-

NG (130). The UAC sources say that

Ukraine has always taken the strongest po-

sitions in the field of construction of com-

posite wings and other parts where such

advanced materials are used. Therefore,

the Ukrainian developers are sure to take

a significant place in this project.

Meanwhile, UAC president Alexey Fy-

odorov outlined four tasks to be solved by

the joint venture:

1) Coordination of sales and promotion

of jointly developed products (the Antonov

An-148 family).

2) Unification of conditions on delivery

of component parts (in terms of price) to

aircraft-building factories in Kiev and Vo-

ronezh.

3) Establishment of spare parts depot

for operators (Alexey Fyodorov added

here that the United Aircraft Corporation

could establish these warehouses by direct

procurements. However, the replacement

of parts and assemblies at the aircrafts is

usually accompanied by a broad range

of questions to the developers of aircraft.

Therefore, the participation of the Ukraini-

an party in this project is a must).

4) Preparation for integration and mutu-

al assistance regarding this issue. For ex-

ample, the Russian party could share its ex-

perience in evaluation and corporatization

of the state enterprises with Ukraine.

According to Mr. Fyodorov, Antonov

ASTC integration into UAC will bring

a much-needed technical and technologi-

cal revolution in the Ukrainian aviation in-

dustry.

It should be mentioned that in December

2009 Russia began commercial operation

of the new short-range jet airliner Antonov

An-148-100, developed by the Antonov

Aeronautical Scientific/Technical Complex

and assembled in Russia. This is the on-

ly aircraft which was jointly developed

and commercially produced by Russia and

Ukraine for the last 20 years. The devel-

opment of this aircraft involved more than

200 enterprises, 70% of which are locat-

ed in Russia, 25% in Ukraine, and 5% over-

seas. Its final assembly was implemented

by VASO JSC (Voronezh Aircraft-Building

Joint Stock Company). The AN-148 was

developed on the principle risk-sharing

partnership. The total investment volume

exceeded 400 million dollars.

In February 2010, the first three

An-148-100 airliners were handed over

to Rossiya, the launch customer for the air-

craft, which leased them according to fi-

nancial leasing agreement with Ilyushin Fi-

nance Co. (IFC). VASO is going to produce

9 more jets of this type by the end of this

year. In future it will produce 36 aircrafts

per year. In general, the demand for this

aircraft on domestic and foreign markets is

estimated at 500 aircrafts.

Mikhail Nayden

An-148-100 is the only aircraft which was jointly

developed and commercially produced by Russia

and Ukraine for the last 20 years

Producing of the An-148-100 aircraft in the assembly shop of the Voronezh Aircraft-Building Joint Stock Company

Aircraft

19A I R F L E E T · 1 · 2 0 1 1 ( 8 6 )

Engines

20

The Quality and reliability of produc-

tion, which is produced by Enterprise, con-

firmed by its successful exploitation in more

than 120 world countries.

Due to objective estimation the aircraft

industry of Ukraine is among the first ten

world countries if taking into consideration

its research-and-production potential and

airplanes produced by Antonov — SE as

well as engines produced by Motor Sich

JSC and Ivchenko-Progress — SE are its

visiting card at all aerospace saloons.

Indian Republic with its one of the most

intensively developing economy

in the world is for Ukraine а leading part-

ner in the counties of the Asian-Pacific re-

gion. Ukraine is а foreign trade partner

of India in CIS and two-sided turnover be-

tween our countries has а steady growth

trend.

А considerable part of turnover make up

aerotechnics deliveries and rendering ser-

vices to ensure its operation.

The corporation between Ukraine and

India started in far 1961 and is successfully

developing at present time.

In 1984 more than one hundred military-

transport airplanes An-32 were supplied

to Indian Republic, which were designed

in Ukraine in accordance with technical

requirements specified by Ministry of De-

fense in India.

High aircraft performance characteris-

tics and reliability guaranteed by airplanes

An-32 and their engines AI-20 during ex-

ploitation in extreme conditions of moun-

tainous regions and hot climate promoted

Ministry of Defense in India taking the de-

cision about this airplane modernization

with the purpose of its further exploitation.

THE MOTOR SICH:DEVELOPMENT, PRODUCTION AND SERVICES

The Motor Sich JSC in Zaporozhye — is one of the biggest Enterprises which realizes the full cycle of modern air engines creation from marketing research, development and production to maintenance while operation and repair. During the years of its activity the Enterprise won respect and authority among Customers and successfully cooperates with leading firms of the former Soviet Republics and foreign countries.

D-436-148

Vyacheslav A. Boguslayev

Chairman of the Board of Directors,

Motor Sich JSC

Engines

21A I R F L E E T · 1 · 2 0 1 1 ( 8 6 )

Corresponding Ukrainian-Indian con-

tract was signed in 2009. It presupposes

sequential service life extension from 25 to

40 years as well as new navigation and ra-

dio equipment installation.

With the purpose of ensuring running ex-

tended service life for airplanes in the end

of 2009 the procurement contract was

signed with our Enterprise according to

which 100 new engines AI-20 will be pur-

chased.

It should be mentioned that besides sev-

eral hundred engines AI-20 another more

than thousand engines produced by Mo-

tor Sich JSC are successfully exploiting

in aeronautical engineering and rocket

technology of Indian armed forces such as

military and transport helicopters “Mi” and

“Ka”, anti-submarine patrol airplanes IL-38

as well as anti-ship system “Uranium”.

With the help of “Motor Sich JSC” the re-

pairing process for engines operating in In-

dia AI-20, TV3-117 and AI-9V was imple-

mented at 3 BRD IAF (Chadigarh)

With the purpose of its further presence

expansion in the aeronautical engineer-

ing market the Enterprise is involved in cre-

ation activities and new future-technology

engines production startup as well as com-

mercial engine modification. They are cre-

ating by Motor Sich JSC designers and al-

so together with traditional partner Ivchen-

ko-Progress –SE — the company with

which Motor Sich JSC founded in 2007

joint corporation: Scientific Production As-

sociation A. Ivchenko. Here we mean en-

gines D-436-148, AI-450-MS, AI-450M,

TV3-117VMA-SBM1V, MS-500V and

AI-222-25.

Engine D-436-148 is created on the ba-

sis of the best constructive decisions and

designed for passenger airplanes family

An-148. It is produced by Motor Sich JSC

in cooperation with “Salute” FSUE “MPP”

(Moscow).

Base airplane An-148 can take on its

board from 68 to 85 passengers. its com-

mercial operation started in June, 2009.

The modification of this plane An-158 has

the seating capacity from 85 to 99 per-

sons. its regular operation in airlines should

be started in 2011.

Also we are working at creation of busi-

ness class airplane An-168 with the range

ability up to 7 thousand kilometers and

transport modification An-178 with pay-

load 13,5…15tons which can replace per-

fectly well taken out of exploitation in India

airplanes An-12.

For different modifications An-148 and

other passenger and transport airplanes

with main engine family: D-436 two-shaft

auxiliary gas turbine engine AI-450-MS

was designed at “Motor Sich JSC” Enter-

prise. It ensures main engine start as well

as compressed air and power supply to

plane’s airborne system with running main

engines.

The Enterprise pays the great attention

to engine production for helicopters used

with different purposes. Our engines are

mounted practically on 95% helicopters

“Mi”, “Ka” including those, which are ex-

ploiting in India — the largest helicopters

in the world Mi-26.

The smallest helicopter engine produced

by Motor Sich JSC is AI-450, designed to-

gether with Ivchenko-Progress –SE.

In its different modifications it can ensure

the take-off power form 370 to 600 hp.

At present time our Enterprises focused

their efforts on modification creation AI-

450M aimed for re-motorization of earlier

produced helicopters Mi-2 where it will re-

place engine GTD-350.

To increase aircraft performance char-

acteristics of middle-class helicopters

while exploiting them in mountainous re-

gions and in countries with hot climate Mo-

tor Sich JSC created new helicopter engine

TV3-117VMA-SBM1V with increased re-

source values — resource up to first over-

haul — 4000 hours/cycles and specified

resource — 12000 hours/cycles.

Engine was developed by Motor Sich

JSC designers on the basis of commercial

turbine engine TV3-117VMA-SBM1 using

its gas generator and free power turbine.

Engine automatic control system

TV3-117VMA-SBM1V allows, depend-

ing on helicopter’s type, take-off pow-

er adjustment in the range from 2000 hp

An-148

Engines

22

( supported up to 51°С) to 2500 hp (sup-

ported up to 35°С).

Higher characteristics as for take-off pow-

er support depending on outside air temper-

ature and engine critical altitude, specified

during engine creation TV3-117VMA-SBM1,

were confirmed by carrying out а number

of tests in climatic test bench at the Enterprise

named by P.I. Baranov FSUE TsIAM where

engine ensured steady start when reach-

es the altitude up to 6000 meters and stable

operation when reaches the altitude of 9000

meters in the whole range of possible outside

air temperatures.

Engine TV3-117VMA-SBM1V has

the same weight and dimensioning specifi-

cations as engines mounted on helicopters

“Mi” and “Ka” and this allows its installa-

tion on all earlier produced helicopters

families: Mi-24, Mi-8MT/Mi-17 while on-

ly minimum helicopter and its system modi-

fication is needed.

Hence engine installation

TV3-117VMA-SBM1V gives the possibili-

ty to increase essentially the performance

of new and earlier produced helicopters

as well as to increase payload at minimal

costs.

Due to their high characteristics he-

licopters “Mi” and “Ka” with engines

TV3-117VMA-SBM1V will be invaluable

while exploiting in mountainous regions

of India.

For application in new helicop-

ter projects engine modification

TV3-117VMA-SBM1V series 1 is develop-

ing with new electronic-numeral automat-

ic control system with full accountability

(FADEC). The use of such automatic control

system will lead to further engine and heli-

copter performance uprating.

The airplane Mi-8MTV equipped by en-

gines TV3-117VMA-SBM1V on the 19th

of May, 2010 took off from the airdrome

of aircraft repair plant in Konotop. While

testing helicopter reached the altitude

of 8100 meters for record 14 minutes.

Earlier during previous test the helicopter

Mi-24 with engines TV3-117VMA-SBM1V

also showed record climbing capacity — it

reached the altitude of 5 kilometers only

for 9 minutes and this means that climbing

capacity was increased in 2.5.

Taking into consideration high engine

characteristics TV3-117VMA-SBM1V and

the fact that Motor Sich JSC is ready for co-

operation with HAL and GTRE in the sphere

of creation of its modification adapted to

exploitation conditions on new multipur-

pose 10-tonned Indian helicopter which is

planned for development and therefore this

can become the weighty argument in fa-

vour of such Indian-Ukrainian engine.

Taking into consideration that helicop-

ter world market conditions are constantly

changing our Enterprise is involved in cre-

ation activity: meaning new family engine

MS-500V, power class is 600...1000 hp,

designed for mounting on multipurpose he-

licopters with takeoff weight 3,5.. .6 tons.

The leader sample of different modifi-

cations MS-500V will become the engine

with takeoff power 630 hp., which is de-

ТVЗ-117VМА-SBМ1V

Mi-24

Engines

23A I R F L E E T · 1 · 2 0 1 1 ( 8 6 )

signing in accordance with performance

specification specified by helicopter plant

in Kazan for helicopter type “Ansat”.

While engine designing MS-500V “Mo-

tor Sich JSC” uses the experience received

during the creation of auxiliary engine

AI-450-MS for airplane An-148 as well as

existing advanced and proven constructive

technological decisions.

While continue eight-year tradition of en-

gine production for trainer airplanes “Mo-

tor Sich JSC” in corporation with “Salute”

FSUE “MPP” implemented engine commer-

cial production AI-222-25 with maximum

thrust force 2500 kgf. For trainer-military

airplane Yak-130, the delivery of which to

pilot training centers Russian airforce has

already started and in the nearest future it

will be supplied to Algeria.

For mounting on next military airplane

modifications Yak-130 and on similar su-

personic airplanes of other countries

on the basis of engine AI-222-25 the mod-

ification with afterburner was designed.

This is the engine AI-222-25F with takeoff

afterburning thrust 4200 kgf.

At present time engine modifications

AI-222-25 and AI-222-25F are mounted

on Chinese experimental trainer-military

airplanes L-15.

In the end of October this airplane first

flew with engines operating in afterburn-

ing mode.

For more than 50 years Motor Sich JSC

has been producing engines for different

robot aircraft and cruise missiles including

strategic X-55 and those which are the ar-

mament of the Indian Ministry of Defense

anti-ship X-35 and rockets air-to-surface

class Х-59M. Today we can propose sev-

eral new more modern engines for such

type aircraft.

At present time Motor Sich JSC active-

ly and successively is looking for reliable

partners, extends the existing and discov-

ers new segments of the air engine world

markets.

We hope that these efforts will be crys-

tallized into quite obvious results of coop-

eration with aircraft industry in Indian Re-

public, to which Motor SICH JSC can pro-

pose a whole series of modern engines

for realization of Indian programs dealing

with new airplanes, helicopters and robot

aircraft creation.

Motor Sich JSC

15, Motorostroiteley Avenue,

Zaporozhye, 69068, Ukraine

Tel.: (+38061) 720-48-14

Fax: (+38061) 720-50-05

E-mail: motor@motorsich.com;

eo.vtf@motorsich.com

http//www.motorsich.com

Yak-130

AI-222-25

Avionics

24

– Increasing the target detection range

and radar’s ECM immunity;

– Creating the basis for further modern-

ization of SUV27, SUV-29 by the ex-

pansion the types of armament being

used;

– Increasing the unification degree

of N019 and N001 radars at the unit

and subsystem level;

– significant increasing of reliability;

– N001, N019 radars tactical and tech-

nical characteristics improvement by

an integrated approach to moderniza-

tion of standard equipment and by intro-

duction of a number of additional units

and functional constructive modules.

High technical and operational charac-

teristics of the upgraded units and newly

developed blocks, would lead to a signifi-

cant increase in performance characteris-

tics of the entire radar.

By now, LLC “Radionix” together with

the state enterprise “Novator” have de-

signed and commercially produced for

the foreign customer a range of micro-

wave devices (such as frequency synthe-

sizer UU52155A (B, G); low-noise het-

erodynes UM45211 and UM45213; two-

channel frequency converters UM45210

and UM45212). These products are fully

functional analogues of microwave mod-

ules designed in the USSR, but they are

made with the new technology solutions

and new components applying and as

“RADIONIX” (MICROWAVE SYSTEMS DESIGN COMPANY) — CRISIS SOLUTIONS TO UPGRADE FIGHTERS’ AVIONICS

Due to the current economic situation caused by the global financial crisis, most countries have significantly adjusted their programmes for the Air Forces development in the direction of increasing the amount of work on upgrading of existing aviation equipment in military service and waiving the purchasing of new models, because of the high costs for their development and production.

UU52155A(B,G), UU52172A(B),

UU52158

UM45210, UM45212

UM45211, UM45213

Director of Radionics Ltd. Stanislav Zavyalov

Avionics

25A I R F L E E T · 1 · 2 0 1 1 ( 8 6 )

the result the significant technical charac-

teristics improvement has been achieved.

Application of microwave modules, de-

veloped by LLC “Radionix” can consider-

ably improve the quality characteristics

of the MiG -29, Su-27 and Su-30MKK

fighters weapon control systems radars.

One of the most important and diffi-

cult task is to implement a fundamentally

new operational modes for radars, such

as ground mapping by the lateral search

mode with the antenna aperture synthe-

sis algorithm application , multi-position

operational modes, modes of long-dis-

tance detection that can provide a multi-

functionality for the fighters under mod-

ernization.

In order to implement the ground (sea)

target search radar modes the following

units developed by “Radionix” company

should be installed:

– N019-09R — multi-channel microwave

receiver;

– N001-22R — multifunctional frequency

synthesizer (BZG);

– BTSO-R — digital signal processor unit

which includes:

the module of standard radar modes

(MSRR), the module for assessment of air

situation (ITI) and the module for radar

antenna aperture synthesizing (MTSRSA).

Installation of new microwave receivers

and applying the optimized algorithms for

digital Doppler filtering of BTSO-R unit al-

lows to increase significantly the detection

range of aerial targets (up to 30...35%

of the existing system range), and al-

so provides wideband signals implemen-

tation by generated microwave signals

phase modulation to realize the ground

targets search modes.

In contrast to the well-known concept

of the bypass channel, realized by “Rus-

sian Avionics” company, all the process-

ing of analog signal, including linear am-

plification and quaternary processing, is

performed within a universal receiver

module which is included in N019-09R

receiving unit.

Installing a new 3-channel microwave

radar receiver N019-09R with the two

separated channels at the intermediate

frequencies of Fpr1=28MHz and

Fpr2=84MHz (narrowband and

broadband channels respectively )

allows to realize two different modes

of radar signals processing The mode

of narrowband Doppler filtering is used

to detect targets in a free space while

the broadband mode involves radar

working with high resolution to detect

small, stationary and low speed targets

against the backdrop of ground or sea

surface.

N001-22R-multifunctional frequency

synthesizer (BZG) is a complex, multi-

functional product designed to generate

a full range of HF, microwave signals with

the desired characteristics in accordance

with the information being sent from

the onboard computer.

A new concept of frequency

synthesis, applied in the development

of the multifunctional frequency synthesizer

(BZG), provides a low frequency noise and

phase noise characteristics, the possibility

of simple programming adaptation

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS OF N001-22R UNIT

Frequency range Х band

Frequency channels number 52

microwave signals output power, mW 20

synchronization signals power, mW 20

carrier isolation (between the pulses), dB 60

power density of the stray radiation 10–7 mW/sm2

set up time, min 3

Avionics

26

to the national frequency spectrum

requirements, as well as to the radio-link

types to control air-to-air guided weapons.

The separate modules and subsystems

of BZG unit have a high degree

of unification with the regular devices,

which provides an opportunity to

repair the old units by using the newly

developed modules.

BTSO-R unit for digital processing

of radar signals equipped with

the module of standard radar modes

(MSRR) implements the narrowband

Doppler filtering optimized algorithms,

which allows to significantly improve

the selection of signals reflected

from moving targets on the backdrop

of ground noise in the air-to-air radar

modes, detection and close-in action

when working with high and medium

pulse repetition frequency.

The air surveillance module (MDO)

is an optional one, which implements

the algorithm

of the Doppler

signal processing

with longer period

for coherent

accumulation. It

became possible

due to the increase

in parameters

of long-term

frequency stability

for N001-22R unit

(BZG)

MTSRSA module

is designed

to implement

the ground targets

search modes for

the ground (sea)

surface, and implements the algorithms

for straight forward and lateral antenna

aperture synthesizing and Doppler beam

sharpening.

Thus the installation of a new BTSO-R

unit into airborne radar system will make

possible to:

– significantly improve the detection

characteristics;

– increase ECM immunity of airborne

radar;

– improve reliability and maintainability

of the system without any significant

changes in the radar maintenance

schedule.

Technical solutions that were found and

implemented by the company specialists

in the process of creating the microwave

modules of “coherent chain”, as well

as the development of upgraded units

for the N001 and NO19 radars, have

brought the company to the level

of system developers. Currently,

the results obtained during the works

on modernization of airborne radar

systems for jet fighters are used to design

the microwave assembly for weather and

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS OF N019-09R UNIT

frequency band Х band

noise figure ,dB 3,5

P-1 input signal level, dBm 35

input VSWR 1,5

bandwidth on fпч2=28 MHz at level –3 dB ,MHz 5

bandwidth on fпч2=84 MHz at level –3 dB,MHz 30

Avionics

27A I R F L E E T · 1 · 2 0 1 1 ( 8 6 )

navigation radar called “Esmeralda”,

which is currently being developed by

the company.

Apart from a standard set of weather

and navigation modes this radar will have

the modes for detection of wind shear,

and turbulence, for scanning the ground

surface with synthesizing of aperture (SA)

and Doppler beam narrowing (DOL).

In future, this system will provide

a platform for testing the design solutions

required for creation of multifunctional

airborne radar systems. It is assumed that

the expansion of the radar functionality

will be achieved through improvements

in software and optimization of algorithms

for digital processing of information

from the weapon control system.

The application of a programmable

signal processor (PSP) has allowed to

use one (or group) of the processors for

various tasks, including communications

and navigation, which significantly

extends the radar capabilities. First

of all the growth of PSP productivity

with fast Fourier transform algorithm

application would affect the ability

of radar to distinguish the signals from

the target in a wider spectrum in real

time. The practical outcome of such

feature could be automatic (without

request) detected target nationality

and type recognition. Information

signs of recognition in this case will

be the fluctuations of the reflected

signal in a broad band (wide range).

Measuring the spectrum and amplitude

characteristics of fluctuations would allow

compare the parameters of the reflected

signal with the available database and,

thus, it would be possible to identify with

high probability the type of the target.

The expanding of radar capabilities

in air-to-ground mode, such as higher

resolution in mapping mode and

recognition of moving targets (ground

ones with a relatively low speed) may

be considered as a second application

of the improvements in question.

Another direction of the company

activities is developing a aircraft

perspective radio-electronic protection

system, called “Omut” (Whirlpool), which

is intended to replace the outdated

L006LM and L203B(I) systems.

This radio-electronic protection

system includes radio-electronic

surveillance system, with programmed

database of threats and their priority,

and an electronic countermeasures

system, thus provides high probability

of suppression of the enemy target

acquisition radar systems.

“Omut” (Whirlpool) radio-electronic

protection complex provides real time

detection and identification

of enemy radars, evaluates the level

of threat and selects the optimal set

of electronic countermeasures for radars

of anti-aircraft missile systems, fighters, as

well as of missiles with active and semi-

active homing devices.

Since the moment of its creation,

the company embarked on the creation

of competitive complex set of products

which are not inferior in their technical

characteristics the best world standards.

High scientific and technical potential,

the availability of material and test

facilities and technological capabilities

allow the company to implement a full

cycle of development, testing and serial

production of the most sophisticated

products of modern avionics.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS OF EW COMPLEX

Multiple radar suppression capability, radars 20

frequency band Х, Ka

output power at P-1, W, not less than 80

operating temperature range, °С –60…+80

weight, kg, not more than 45

number of preprogrammed ECM systems, not less than 200

Navigation

28

The company has a rich history start-

ing from 1918, when the Soviet govern-

ment issued a decree on establishing

a plant for manufacturing telegraph devic-

es. The Compas MDB created a first ev-

er powerful (for that time) transmit-receive

airborne radio station of up-to 5,000 km

operational range, which provided for

the Moscow — North Pole -Vancouver

record flight by Valery Chkalov’s crew

aboard ANT-25 on July 18 to 20, 1937.

In 1948, the Compas Design Bureau

was detached to become an independent

structure dealing with the development

of navigation and communication equip-

ment. As an item of radio navigation equip-

ment products, the Bureau developed a ra-

dio direction finder called ‘Golden Arrow’,

which was helpful in assisting the crew

in adverse weather conditions to find

the direction of required maneuver, so as

to reach the airfield and carry out landing.

The modern radio direction finder is an au-

tomatic portable device of relatively low

energy consumption, featuring the wide

use of digital signal processing techniques

and almost not requiring field maintenance.

When developing hardware, the staff

of Compas MDB relies on the most up-to-

date technologies, for the company mainly

specializes in delivering products for avia-

tion and rocket-and-space facilities.

In the 1970s the digital signal processing

techniques were largely used in the compa-

ny’s innovative developments. Those tech-

niques helped reduce the hardware weight,

size and power consumption and create:

– For the Air Force — A-723 radio navi-

gation receiver-indicator which operat-

ed with Alpha and Omega ground ra-

dio navigation phase systems of glob-

al coverage, as well as with pulse phase

systems, including Chaika and Loran-S;

– For the Navy — Mars-75 multi-frequen-

cy phase radio navigation system des-

ignated for supporting ship naviga-

tion, executing hydrographic and op-

erational works, as well as servicing

flights of aircraft at speeds not exceed-

ing 1,000 km/h.

The GLONASS, GPS and GALILEO

global satellite navigation systems are

subject to active radio interference, due

to the low strength of signals emitted by

space vehicles. On the horizon of earth

surface, they are 40 decibels weaker than

natural radio noises. The signals of such

a low level are effectively suppressed by

radio electronic warfare facilities, where

a 1-watt strong noise interference transmit-

ter would disturb the operation capacity

of satellite radio navigation systems’ hard-

ware within a radius of 32 km.

In order to level down the influence

of natural and artificial interference, we

have created satellite navigation equip-

ment which features a higher level of inter-

ference immunity.

Taking into account the imperatives

of our era, the hardware is being worked

out for aviation and guided weapon sys-

tems, and the research and development

works are going on to enable the accom-

plishment of combat tasks in the environ-

ment polluted by enemy radio electron-

ic countermeasures. To jam the new equip-

ment, an enemy would need jamming

stations of such a high capacity that will

make them easily discoverable and vulner-

able for destruction by appropriate means.

The enhancement of digital components

of navigation hardware allows minimiz-

ing the share of analogous devices. When

the hardware is mounted to different ve-

hicles, their capabilities have to be mod-

ified in conformity with specific tasks and

parameters of a vehicle. In terms of anal-

ogous equipment, it would mean serious

problems of adaptation, to the extent of re-

starting the development cycle. For the dig-

ital equipment, in most cases it is enough to

update the software, and so to obtain new

qualities of a product.

In order to enable the efficient execu-

tion of all the above mentioned proce-

dures before mounting a product in vehi-

cles, the satellite navigation system simula-

tor, modeling GLONASS/GPS/GALILEO,

has been developed. The development

of the satellite navigation system simulator

turned to be a complex task, with the use

of most modern techniques of digital sig-

nal processing. The functions fulfilled by

COMPAS: PRIORITIES OF SPACE NAVIGATIONThe Compas Moscow Design Bureau (Open Joint Stock Company) is an up-to-date research & production enterprise majoring in development and manufacture of consumer professional equipment for high-precision navigation operated by signals of GPS/GLONASS/GALILEO satellite navigation systems.

Mikhail Pestrakov,

Commercial Director,

Director of special projects

and at large, Compas MDB

Navigation

29A I R F L E E T · 1 · 2 0 1 1 ( 8 6 )

the simulator in the industrial and research

field are very broad. Those are, for ex-

ample, definition of technical solutions

at the stage of consumer navigation equip-

ment (CNE) development, adjustment and

settings, the assessment of work quality

during the production process at the man-

ufacturing plant, issues of incoming inspec-

tion and periodical checks during the CNE

life cycle, training technical staff in oper-

ating it, conducting a complex of scientif-

ic and laboratorial researches, as well as

in-line simulation with the goal of defin-

ing a place for mounting the CNE in the ve-

hicle, including highly dynamic systems,

working out scenarios of CNE-mounting

vehicle movement in the prescribed trajec-

tories with the consideration of complex

impacts of atmosphere, ionosphere (ra-

dio wave propagation conditions), and

use of a priori and a posteriori information

on the location of satellites in the space

grouping at a certain time period.

The A-737 basic product (airborne

GLONASS/GPS satellite radio navigation

systems receiver-indicator) was developed

in the 1980s, primarily for the military avi-

ation. Today, the products of this series are

mounted almost virtually in all the aircraft.

The purpose of our equipment is to define

the position vector of an aircraft, i.e. three

location constituents, three velocity constit-

uents, and to receive the exact time read-

ing, since the use of satellite navigation en-

ables to tie to the unified time system.

The A-737 product provided a basis for

several modifications, which support addi-

tional functions and enhance the product

capabilities in precision of position finding.

For instance, the A-737I product brings

together the capabilities of satellite nav-

igation and navigation based on terres-

trial pulse and phase radio systems. Such

a technological solution is due to the fact

that the interference resistance of receiv-

er-indicators of satellite navigation sys-

tems is not very high, and as for the signals

of pulse-phase systems, it is much more dif-

ficult to jam them. In combat environment

the use of two-system equipment would

largely enhance the capabilities of com-

bat operations when enemy uses electronic

countermeasures.

The next modification is A-737D, which

supports differential operation mode.

The results of navigational measurements

defined by the satellite navigation systems’

receiver-indicators contain errors. One

of them is related to the inaccuracy of da-

ta about the space vehicle movement pa-

rameters (ephemeral information). Since

the distance is measured from the vehicle

to space vehicles, and such distances are

used for calculating the vehicle’s position,

the precision of the whole system depends

on the accuracy of definition of space ve-

hicle position. The second error is relat-

ed to the fact that the signal emitted by

the space vehicle goes through the iono-

sphere, troposphere, where it is refracted

and twisted, and, therefore, the measured

distance to the space vehicle proves to be

inaccurate. To get rid of these errors, espe-

cially when high precision in position find-

ing is required, for example, in the guided

weapons operational employment, the dif-

ferential error-corrections are used. These

corrections are formed by the terrestri-

al segment of the system, enabling to in-

crease the precision to single meters, which

is essential for destroying pin-point targets.

In the same time we were given a task

of creating equipment for the guided high-

precision weapons. This task primarily had

to be solved for the correction enabled

aviation weapons. We created the satel-

lite navigation hardware specially for that

purpose. During the testing of the product

using the differential mode, we succeed-

ed in achieving the circular probable er-

ror calculable in single meters. The hard-

ware belonging to this class is mounted to

the correction-enabled aviation weapons.

GNSS IM-2 signal simulator

Navigation

30

The Compas MDB currently deals with is-

sues of development and production of ra-

dio navigation systems in various lines:

– Small size automatic direction finders

for all aircraft of military and civil avia-

tion (ARK-32, ARK-35, ARK-40);

– A series of A-737 aviation receiver-

indicators for the high precision po-

sition finding of different vehicles by

GLONASS/GPS satellite navigation

system signals (GALILEO in future) and

terrestrial radio navigation pulse-phase

and phase systems;

– products for ground-supported trajec-

tory measurements of boosters, upper-

stage rockets and space vehicles (dis-

posable load);

– map-enabled navigation pads, provid-

ing the planning and execution of flights

on air-routes and any prescribed routes

out of the air-routes, as well as the air-

craft special employment tasks, oper-

ates with signals of GLONASS/GPS

satellite navigation systems;

– equipment of navigational medium for-

mation: local system of differential er-

ror-corrections, retransmitter of satellite

signals;

– instrument landing system for aircraft

(helicopters) onto air capable ships and

unequipped loading sites;

– portable receiver-indicator for the per-

sonal use of signals of GLONASS/GPS

satellite navigation systems (GALILEO

in future);

– a number of aerials of different desti-

nation;

– dedicated jam resistant consumer nav-

igation equipment operating with

GLONASS/GPS satellite navigation

systems for aircraft of all kinds and pur-

poses;

– monitoring, security and centralized

control systems for rail transport;

– dedicated navigation equipment for

the control systems of automobile trans-

port.

One of the main lines of activities

in the Compas MDB is the development

of navigation complex for helicopter ship

landing.

We were a success in creating such

a system. Its main difference from the same

standard systems is that it operates

in the mode of relative navigation. That

is, when the system is activated, the air-

craft ‘ties’ itself to the center of landing

pad of the ship. And wherever the ship was

going, and whatever was the helicopter

movement, its position is always defined

relating to the center of the helipad.

We expect that the successful test results

would open up new alternatives of using

the system in civil industries. Today there

is a topical issue of providing the helicop-

ter communication with shelf-based drilling

plates, ensuring flights of deck-based avi-

ation of the icebreaking fleet, scientific re-

search ships and other sea vessels.

In 1996, the company created navi-

gation means providing ground-support-

ed trajectory measurements for products

of rocket-and-space industry: boosters,

rockets, upper-stage rockets and pay-

load. The equipment functions efficient-

ly and reliably in rocket-and-space vehi-

cles and is demanded by rocket manufac-

turers. One of reasons of the demand for

such an equipment is the need for high-

precision control of trajectory parameters.

There is no secret that the rocket when de-

viating from the trajectory beyond the ad-

missible limits, has to be destroyed. Since

the creation and maintenance of terrestrial

complexes of ground-supported trajecto-

ry measurements is a very expensive activi-

ty, the use of satellite navigation equipment

facilitates the task significantly.

As our company gained a certain expe-

rience, it succeeded in creating the equip-

ment of smaller size, less weight, with bet-

ter characteristics. Compared to the first

product installed to the booster which was

4.5 kg heavy, the equipment now weighs

1.5 kg, and there is a trend of further re-

duction of weight and size characteris-

tics. There are examples of building these

products into the telemetric complexes

of minor space vehicles. About ten of such

minor space vehicles have been launched,

and the first ‘Zeya’ vehicle equipped with

our receiver-indicator was set into orbit

in 2007. By that we reconfirmed the pos-

sibility of using satellite navigation hard-

ware at very high vehicle movement

speeds.

The obtained high results in the use

of satellite navigation in the precision

weapons, namely aviation weapons, pri-

marily, the correction-enabled aviation

bombs, lead to the fire accuracy enhance-

ment, in the context of cannon artillery.

A new trend in the context of diversifica-

tion of company’s product mix is the devel-

opment of search and rescue system with

the use of GLONASS/GPS equipment, as

well as the “Gonets” satellite communica-

tion segment. The above-mentioned sys-

tem will help significantly reduce time for

search and rescue of the those in distress

as well as boost the search operations ef-

ficiency. It is notable that the existing sys-

tems do not allow appropriately perform-

ing the set tasks.

The search and rescue operation be-

gins with the reception of distress message,

which can appear as a signal of distress

received or vehicle’s fallout from the ra-

dar’s screen or missing scheduled radio

contact. After establishing the fact of dis-

tress, it is necessary to find the location

of those suffering distress with the sufficient

accuracy for rescue groups to contact di-

rectly those in distress.

For the sake of accomplishment

of search and rescue tasks, fast and effec-

tive coordination of actions of search and

rescue forces, the two-way information ex-

change between them and those in distress,

thus decreasing the detection time and re-

ducing the duration of search and rescue

operations. The missing possibility of such

an information exchange should be con-

sidered as one of the main drawbacks

of the existing systems.

In order to remove the mentioned short-

comings of the system, the space system

of search and rescue is now under devel-

Automatic

radio compass ARC-35-1

Navigation

31A I R F L E E T · 1 · 2 0 1 1 ( 8 6 )

opment. It envisages the two-way data ex-

change between the distressed and rescue

services. The systems is comprised of three

segments:

– The space segment is represent-

ed by navigation space vehicles

of GLONASS/GPS satellite navigation

systems, as well as satellites of global

communication systems;

– The user segment includes emergency

radio buoys designed both for being

mounted to mobile vehicles (ARB) and

for the personal use (ARB-N). There is

also a tendency for using radio bea-

cons in certain fixed installations, with

the purpose of sending warning sig-

nals in critical conditions (for example,

in case of ecological or other emer-

gencies);

– The control system consists of the Unified

Coordination Center (UCC), which col-

lects information about arisen emergen-

cies, and a network of regional com-

mand and control posts. The UCC func-

tions include the monitoring of the whole

system.

The emergency radio buoys define

their positions through the GLONASS/

GPS navigation signals. When using both

the two global satellite positioning sys-

tems, the probability of exact position find-

ing for ARB increases a lot. The emergen-

cy message made in the ARB is delivered

to the UCC through the radio channel

of global satellite communication sys-

tems. The emergency messages contains

the ARB’s identifier, the exact position

of the ARB at the time of emergency signal

or message sending, the accident time and

accident characteristic. The UCC makes

the response (acknowledgment) to the re-

ceived emergency message, which goes

to the distressed ARB through the channel

of global communication systems.

This system does not require the devel-

opment of communication system, since

there is a possibility of using the formerly

developed and currently operating glob-

al satellite communication systems, which

allow not only organizing the two-way

communication channel, but the all-weath-

er and round-the-clock radio communi-

cation. The main advantage is that there

are no interruptions in communication ses-

sions. Therefore, the information about

the distressed will be delivered to the UCC

in the minimum time.

The use of the two-way data exchange

will enable the fast and effective coordina-

tion of actions of search and rescue teams

and those in distress, and at that the dis-

tressed will be informed that their distress

signal has been discovered and the search

and rescue services have initiated the res-

cue operation.

The company’s future plans are relat-

ed with the improvement of radio naviga-

tion equipment, increase of interference re-

sistance, integration with other navigation

systems, precise control of air-dropped

loads, logistics navigation systems and

complexes of transport communications,

navigation products of general usage.

Mikhail Pestrakov,

Commercial Director,

Director of special projects

and at large, Compas MDB

32

View of analyst

INDIA AND RUSSIA:NEW JOINT PROJECTS IN THE FIELD

OF MILITARY AIRCRAFT TECHNOLOGIES

33

View of analyst

A I R F L E E T · 1 · 2 0 1 1 ( 8 6 )

The related future programs may be di-

vided into two types, namely the agreed

projects on direct procurement of the Rus-

sian aircrafts (or on their joint development

and production) and tenders which invite

the largest global manufacturers of aircraft

technology including Russia.

Today India is the only country Russia is

going to cooperate with regarding the ten-

year military-technical cooperation (from

2011 till 2020).

Under this cooperation program two na-

tions are collaborating on a number of proj-

ects in the field of aircraft, helicopter, ma-

rine, and land technologies. However, most

large-scale programs are being implement-

ed in the field of aircraft technologies.

The tender for the supply of medium-

lift multi-role fighters for Indian Air Force,

which cost is estimated at $10-12 billion, is

crucially important to determine the trend

in military-technical cooperation between

India and Russia.

Tender for Supply of 126 Medium-Lift Multi-Role Fighters

The contract on procurement of 126 me-

dium multi-role combat aircrafts (MMRCA)

is expected to be signed by mid 2011.

In December 2010, the Indian Air Force

completed the assessment of requests for

proposal, and forwarded tender documen-

tation to the Ministry of Defence of India

for approval.

The aircrafts submitted to tender were

tested in India in 2009–2010 under

the corresponding operational environ-

ment. Their flight testing was attended

by the specialists of Bangalore Aircraft

and Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE)

in Bangalore, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd

(HAL), Defence Research and Develop-

ment Organization (DRDO), India’s Minis-

try of Defence and Air Force.

The aircrafts were tested under humid

weather conditions at the airfield in Ban-

galore, hot desert conditions in Jaisalmer,

and cold mountain condition in Leh.

The Indian Air Force expects that

the contract will be signed by July 2011.

Yet, six other aircrafts lay claim to

the victory in tender as well. These are

the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet,

the Lockheed Martin F-16IN, the Mikoyan

MiG-35, the Saab JAS 39 Gripen (Swe-

den), the Dassault Aviacion Rafale (France),

and the Eurofighter EF-2000 Typhoon.

Russia and India are going to implement a number of scale projects in the Field of Military Aircraft Technologies. A wide representation of Russia at the AERO INDIA-2011 Air Show testifies to the fact that the Indian weapon market is of crucial importance for Moscow. The exhibition will coincide with another round of negotiations between Russia and India regarding a number of projects to be implemented in the field of aircraft technology in the near future.

CURRENTLY RUSSIA PARTICIPATES IN FOUR TENDERS OFFERED BY INDIAN AIR FORCE AND NAVY FOR THE SUPPLY OF MILITARY

AND DEFENCE AIRCRAFTS

MiG-35

34

View of analyst

According to the tender requirements,

the winner will supply 18 aircrafts to the In-

dian Air Force in 2012. Other 108 air-

crafts will be manufactured at the facilities

of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) which

shall commission the first aircraft in 54

months after signing the contract. It is ex-

pected that all aircrafts will be delivered to

the customer by 2020.

New MMRCA fighters will remain in ser-

vice for 40 years. The future contractor will

have to reinvest 50% of the contract value

into the Indian defence industry.

According to the request for proposal

announced by the Indian Ministry of De-

fence, the number of purchased aircrafts

may increase by 50%, that is to say 189

aircrafts.

The Russian Mikoyan MiG-35 fighter is

in the running to win the tender.

Tender for Supply of Carrier-Based Fighters for Indian Navy Aircraft Carrier

In November 2009, the Indian Na-

vy announced the tender for procurement

of the carrier-based fighters for future air-

craft carriers. The Navy has forward-

ed the requests for information to Boe-

ing, Dassault Aviacion, and MiG compa-

nies. It is expected that India will purchase

16 carrier-based fighters and will proba-

bly increase the order up to 40 aircrafts

to be based on three Indian aircraft carri-

ers. The first aircraft carrier was laid at Co-

chin Shipyard in February 2009. Accord-

ing to the schedule, it will be handed over

to the Indian Navy in 2015.

Tender for Procurement of Aerial Refuelling Military Aircrafts

In September 2010, the Indian Minis-

try of Defence announced a new tender

on procurement of aerial refuelling mili-

tary aircrafts after cancellation of the re-

sults of the previous tender nine months

ago.

The Government of India decided to

resume tender for procurement of six

aerial refuelling military aircrafts af-

ter the Ministry of Finance refused to ap-

prove a $1.5 billion contract on acquisi-

tion of the Airbus A330 aerial tankers with

EADS in September 2009.

The updated requests for proposals

(RFP) have been forwarded to the com-

panies in the USA, Europe, and Russia.

The procurement contract cost is estimated

at $2 billion.

As compared to the previous ten-

der, the requirements have remained un-

changed except for an issue regarding

statement of costs for the whole service life

of the aircrafts.

It is expected that apart from Airbus Mil-

itary and Rosoboronexport the new tender

participant list will include Boeing as well.

It will take at least 2 years for the Minis-

try of Defence of India to evaluate the RFPs

and determine a winner.

Earlier in 2003–2004, the Indian Air

Force acquired six Ilyushin Il-78 aerial re-

fuelling aircrafts which can carry 75 tons

of fuel and refuel the Dassault Mirage

2000, Jaguar and Su-30MKI aircrafts be-

ing in service of the Indian Air Force.

Tender for Procurement of Medium Range Maritime Reconnaissance Aircrafts

The Indian Navy made a decision to ac-

quire six to eight new medium range mar-

itime reconnaissance aircrafts (MRMR)

again.

In early October 2010 the Ministry

of Defence sent the request for informa-

tion to the interested companies regarding

the MRMR procurement tender. New me-

dium range maritime reconnaissance air-

crafts have the cruising range of more than

350 nautical miles.

Like the Boeing P-8A Poseidon long

range maritime reconnaissance (LRMR)

aircrafts purchased by India earlier,

the MRMR aircrafts should be equipped

with multi-mission surface search radar and

armed with anti-submarine warfare, includ-

ing torpedoes. The potential participants

of a $247 million tender (approximately 11

billion rupees) are the Russian Be-200 and

Canadian Bombardier Q-400.

The new aircrafts will join a three-ti-

er system to guard the country’s coastline

5.4 thousand km long.

MiG-29 KUB

Be-200

35

View of analyst

A I R F L E E T · 1 · 2 0 1 1 ( 8 6 )

36

View of analyst

Program 1Modernization of forty Sukhoi Su-30MKI

fighters being in service of the Indian Air

Force can be called the first program of this

type. The upgraded aircrafts should be

equipped with BrahMos cruise missiles.

In May 2010 the Safety Committee

of the Government of India approved

the program on modernization of forty

Sukhoi Su-30MKI aircrafts to be equipped

with BrahMos cruise missiles.

Apart from BrahMos cruise missiles

the aircrafts will be provided with a num-

ber of other advanced technologies. As

such, they are to be equipped with new ra-

dars, onboard computers, and electronic

fly combat systems.

The project will be implemented by Hin-

dustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and Irkut

Research and Production Corporation.

The program will start in 2012. The mod-

ernization program will likely provide for

installation of Zhuk-AE active phased array

radars manufactured by Fazotron on new

aircrafts.

The Zhuk-AE radars is capable of track-

ing up to 30 air targets and firing eight tar-

gets simultaneously.

Currently, the Sukhoi Su-30MKI fight-

ers are equipped with the N011M pas-

sive radar which can track up to 15 tar-

gets and fire four air targets simultaneous-

ly. The N011M radar has some limitations

in background noise processing and re-

quires more time for maintenance.

Two Indian Sukhoi Su-30MKI aircrafts

will be modernized in Russia in 2011–

2012. Since 2015 the modernization will

be implemented by Hindustan Aeronautics

Ltd (HAL).

According to this program India will

upgrade forty Sukhoi Su-30MKI fight-

ers manufactured by HAL under the Rus-

sian license. In future the Indian Air Force

is going to equip two to three squadrons

of fighters with BrahMos cruise missiles.

The first testing of BrahMos cruise mis-

siles is scheduled for 2011, while the first

test flight of the Sukhoi Su-30MKI

equipped with new cruise missiles is to be

carried out in late 2012.

At present, the Indian and Russian ex-

perts are working on integration of Brah-

Mos cruise missiles on the Sukhoi Su-

30MKI aircraft. For this purpose Brah-

Mos Aerospace Company has reduced

the weight of the aerial missile version to

facilitate its onboard installation. The mis-

sile weight is 2 550 kg, length 8.3 m, and

body diameter 0.67 m.

Program 2The second project is the program on li-

censed production of additional 42 Sukhoi

Su-30MKI fighters.

In June 2010, the Safety Committee

of the Government of India approved

the funds to be allocated for implemen-

tation of this program in the volume

of 150 billion rupees (or $3.4 billion).

According to other data, the total con-

tract cost amounts to 201.074 billion ru-

pees (or $4.34 billion). In August 2010,

the program was approved by the Defence

Acquisition Council of the Ministry of De-

fence of India.

This licensed program is likely to be

implemented by HAL as late as 2014.

The contract will be signed in 2011.

Additional Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighters

will join the present Indian fighter fleet

which is likely to consist of 230 combat

vehicles by 2015 according to previous

estimation in case of successful deals with

Russia which are worth a total of $8.5 bil-

lion.

As soon as the licensed production

of a new batch of aircrafts is completed,

the total number of the Russian Sukhoi Su-

30MKI fighters, which will join the Indian

Air Force, will reach 270 aircrafts.

READY-TO-IMPLEMENT PROMISING INDIA-RUSSIA COOPERATION PROGRAMS

Su-30

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A I R F L E E T · 1 · 2 0 1 1 ( 8 6 )

The aircrafts are expected to be deliv-

ered by 2018, whereupon the Sukhoi Su-

30MKI will become the major combat air-

craft being in service of the Indian Air

Force. Therefore, India will finally replace

the MiG-21 fighters, which until recent-

ly have formed the core of the Indian Air

Force, with the Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighters.

It is expected that production of 42 Suk-

hoi Su-30MKI fighters will start in 2014

at the HAL facilities.

The procurement of the Sukhoi Su-

30MKI fighters will go in parallel with

the tender for supply of 126 new medium-

lift multi-role fighters under the MMRCA

program which estimated cost is $10–

12 billion. By the time the medium-lift multi-

role fighters are to be delivered, the Suk-

hoi Su-30MKI will be the general fight-

er in service of the Indian Air Force, and

their total cost will be twice as large as

the MMRCA program cost.

Program 3The third program is modernization of fif-

ty Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighters delivered to

India in previous years.

In summer 2010, the Indian Air Force de-

clared its intention to upgrade fifty Suk-

hoi Su-30MKI fighters delivered to India

in previous years in the coming three to

four years.

With the assistance of Russia, India will

install new avionics, upgrade the aircraft

design and enlarge the range of aircraft

weapons.

It is expected that Russia will upgrade

the first five fighters of the Indian Air Force.

The rest 45 aircrafts are to be modernized

in India.

Program 4The forth promising project is the pro-

gram on acquisition of two additional Phal-

con AEW&C aircrafts.

As soon as India receives the last

AEW&C aircraft in 2011, it is going to or-

der two more Phalcon aircrafts with air-

borne early warning and control system

(AEW&C) based on the Ilyushin IL-76.

The Indian Air Force has already initiat-

ed the process of acquiring two addition-

al AEW&C aircrafts. They will join the air-

craft fleet consisting of three Phalcon sys-

tems acquired according to the trilateral

$1.1 billion contract concluded between

India, Russia and Israel in March 2004.

Pursuant to the contract, India had an op-

tion to acquire other three to five aircrafts

of this type.

The aircrafts are equipped with four en-

gines of PS-90A-76 type, active phased

array radars, Belgium 20-inch LCD in-

dicators, electronic countermeasure sys-

tems manufactured by Israeli Company Al-

bit Systems, and other systems developed

in India and France. The aircrew consists

of eighteen people. The EL/M-2075 air-

borne radar can detect the targets at a dis-

tance of 400 km and track nearly 60 tar-

gets simultaneously in 360-degree range.

Two such aircrafts have been already in-

ducted into the Indian Air Force. The first one

was delivered on 25 May 2009. The sec-

ond Ilyushin Il-76 with AEW&C system was

supplied to India on 25 March 2010. De-

livery of the third aircraft to India was ini-

tially scheduled for 2010. However, based

on the experience gained during opera-

tion of the first two aircrafts, the Defence Re-

search and Development Organization (DR-

DO) requested Israel Aerospace Industries

(IAI) to provide the last aircraft with addition-

al equipment. The platform was supplied to

Israel by the Russian manufacturers in Octo-

ber 2010. According to the preliminary da-

ta, the last aircraft will be delivered to the In-

dian Air Force in mid 2011. All aircrafts will

be stationed at the air base in Agra, where

the Il-76 military transport aircrafts and Il-78

aerial refuelling military aircrafts are kept.

The $1.1 billion contract on procurement

of three Phalcon EL/M-2075 radars de-

veloped by Elta Company and installation

on the Russian IL-76 aircrafts was signed by

the Ministry of Defence of India in March

2004.

MAJOR CONTRACTS AND AGREEMENTS CONCLUDED BETWEEN INDIA AND RUSSIA IN 2010

Falcon

Fifth Generation Fighter Development Program

During the official visit of the Russian

President Dmitry Medvedev to India on 21

December 2010, the nations signed

a deal for design and development of ad-

vanced fifth generation fighter aircraft

(FGFA).

The estimated cost of the contract

on draft design of the Indian FGFA ver-

sion is $ 295 million. These works are to be

completed within 18 months.

In general, the development and test-

ing of these prototypes require from

eight to ten years. The estimated cost

38

View of analyst

of the development program is $12 billion.

Russia and India will have equal shares

in this program.

The first time Russia offered India to devel-

op a new fighter was eight years ago, but

the parties failed to agree on business in-

terests in the project. In October 2007, two

nations signed a preliminary intergovern-

mental agreement on FGFA joint develop-

ment on the basis of the Russian Sukhoi PAK

FA (promising aircraft of frontline aviation).

This is the first project in the modern his-

tory of Russia when it develops the state-of-

the-art weapon systems together with other

country. Therefore, the allocation of duties

in the project was an issue of crucial impor-

tance and required a thorough elaboration.

As a result, it took three years to final-

ize the general contract and nondisclosure

agreement after long-term intergovernmen-

tal negotiations. In March 2010, the par-

ties signed a preliminary technical agree-

ment which outlines the participation inter-

ests as well.

The Indian Air Force plans to acquire

from 250 to 300 fifth generation fighters.

According to the HAL data, the share

of the Indian defence industry in the joint

project will be nearly 30%. In particular,

the Indian company will develop software

for onboard computer, navigation systems,

multifunction cockpit displays, components

made of composite materials and self-pro-

tection system. Additionally, India will re-

design the single-seat PAK FA into dual-

seat fighter since according to the strategy,

adopted by the Indian Air Force, the air-

crafts are intended for various missions.

In future, the Indian fifth generation fighter

will replace the three types of combat air-

crafts being in service today.

The single-seat fighters will be serial-

ly produced in 2017–2018. The dual-

seat aircrafts will be inducted into service

in 2019–2020. It is planned to produce

around 200 dual-seat aircrafts for the Indi-

an Air Force.

Joint-Venture Agreement on Co-Development of Multi-Role Transport Aircraft

On 9 September in New Deli Russia and

India entered into an agreement on founda-

tion of a Joint Venture Company (JVC) to de-

sign and develop a new generation medi-

um-lift jet multi-role transport aircraft (MTA).

The shareholders of a new company

are India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited

(50%), and Russia’s United Aircraft Corpo-

ration (25%) and Rosoboronexport State

Corporation (25%). The JVC headquarters

will be located at Bangalore. The aircraft

will be assembled both in Russia and India.

The formal intergovernmental agreement

on implementation of the MTA project was

signed by Russia and India on 12 Novem-

ber 2007 when the prime minister of India

Manmohan Singh visited Moscow. The es-

timated cost of the project is $600 million.

The project will be bankrolled equally by

Russia and India. Each party will allocate

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and president of Russian Federation

Dmitry Medvedev during the official visit of Mr. Medvedev to India

The official signing of the contract between Rosoboronexport and HAL

for creating a draft technical design of India’s version of the FGFA

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A I R F L E E T · 1 · 2 0 1 1 ( 8 6 )

$300.35 million towards the MTA devel-

opment. This amount includes the expendi-

tures prior to proceeding to the MTA full-

rate production.

The new MTA is designed to replace

the aging fleet of Soviet Antonov An-12,

An-26 and An-32 transport aircrafts. As

of now Indian Air Force has around one

hundred of Antonov An-32 transports.

The twin-jet powered MTA will be 33 m

long with wingspan of around 30 m. Max-

imum payload capacity of the MTA will

be 18 to 20 tons. The MTA will feature

a takeoff weight of 65 tons, cruise speed

of 800 km/h, and flight range of 2 500

to 2 700 km. The service ceiling will be

12 km. The aircraft will have a glass cock-

pit, modern avionics, fly-by-wire system,

and full authority digital engine control

(FADEC). The engine type is still not speci-

fied and will be chosen by tender.

The Russian and Indian MTA models will

be developed on maximally unified tech-

nologic basis. The airframe will be assem-

bled on a 50-50 basis. Individual subsys-

tems will be designed with allowance for

potential export to third countries.

The MTA can be operated at day and

night in any world region, under any cli-

matic and weather conditions. The MTA

will function like a military aircraft capa-

ble of short landings and takeoffs on poor-

ly maintained runways, including those

in high-altitude air facilities in the Himalayas.

India and Russia plan to produce 205

aircraft. Off take has been put at 40 air-

craft for the Indian Air Force to transport

troops, materiel and cargoes. India will

have an option to acquire additional 100

MTAs. The Russian Air Force confirmed

the intention to acquire 100 MTAs.

Essential competitive advantage

of the MTA is its comparatively low cost.

The aircraft may compete against An-

tonov An-12, An-26 and An-32 as well as

against C-130J Super Hercules.

Contract for Delivery of 29 Mikoyan Mikoyan MiG-29K Carrier-Based Fighter Jets

Russia and India signed the con-

tract on delivery of 29 Mikoyan Mikoy-

an MiG-29K fighters on 12 March 2010

when the prime minister of the Russian Fed-

eration Vladimir Putin visited India. The first

delivery is scheduled for 2012. The con-

tract is worth a total of $1.5 billion. Six-

teen out of twenty-nine Mikoyan Mikoyan

MiG-29K fighters will be based on the Vi-

kramaditya aircraft carrier.

An important part of the Indian Navy

Mikoyan MiG-29K/KUB fighter acquisi-

tion program is the creation of the shore-

based test facility for maintenance of air-

craft and training of pilots which was

constructed in April 2009 at INS Han-

sa, Goa.

The fighters will be operated from

the INS Hansa (Goa) till commissioning

of the Vikramaditya aircraft carrier.

MAJOR AIR FORCE PROGRAMS UNDER IMPLEMENTATION

Sixteen Mikoyan MiG-29K/KUB Fighter Supply Program

The first four Mikoyan MiG-29K/KUB

carrier-based fighters were formally in-

ducted into the Navy by Defence Minis-

ter AK Antony at a ceremony which took

place on 19 February 2010 at INS Hansa.

The ceremony was also attended by Min-

ister of Industry and Trade of the Russian

Federation V.Khristenko.

The Indian Ministry of Defence signed

a contract stipulating the supply of sixteen

Mikoyan MiG-29K fighters, including four

dual-seat Mikoyan MiG-29K/KUB train-

ers, to India in January 2004. The contract

is part of a $1.5 billion deal to refit and de-

liver the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier.

The first four Mikoyan MiG-29K fighters,

in a knocked down condition, were deliv-

ered to India in December 2009. In Sep-

tember 2009 these Mikoyan MiG-29Ks

passed their test flights from the deck

of the Admiral Kuznetsov heavy aircraft

carrying cruiser in the Barents Sea. These

trials were the part of the pilot training and

test program.

The remainder twelve Mikoyan

MiG-29Ks are awaited to be supplied

in four-unit batches in 2010–2011. Before

delivery of the Vikramaditya aircraft car-

rier which was rescheduled for late 2012,

the fighters will be based on INS Hansa

equipped with a simulator for deck land-

ing and takeoff training. The Mikoyan

MiG-29Ks will be a part of the 303 squad-

ron, nicknamed Black Panther.

MTA

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The ship-based Mikoyan MiG-29K is

the “4++” generation aircraft which is ca-

pable of day/night, all-weather, year-

round operation in any climate. The aircraft

will be able to control the air, to provide

air defence of the ship and to engage sur-

face and ground targets. Despite of formal

resemblance the new aircraft weighs by

30% more as against the Indian Air Force

Mikoyan MiG-29B. The Mikoyan MiG-

29K fighter will be equipped with missiles

capable of engaging non-LOS targets,

guided anti-ship missiles, unguided missiles,

aerial bombs and 30-mm caliber gun.

The Mikoyan MiG-29K fighter features

improved performances and reliability.

The aircraft avionics is based on the open

architecture. The general-purpose multi-

mode onboard Zhuk-ME radar is capable

of tracking up to ten targets and simultane-

ous firing against four targets.

The aircraft features an improved air-

frame made of composite materials, low

radar signature, high payload, high-ca-

pacity fuel tanks and air-to-air refuelling

(AAR) system, modified wing bending, and

quad-redundant full authority digital en-

gine control.

To land on the aircraft carrier’s deck,

the carrier-based Mikoyan MiG-29K fight-

ers are equipped with retaining gear and

reinforced landing gear, flexible wings and

special coat preventing sea water corrosion.

Indian Navy Ilyushin Il-38 Improvement Program

In mid-February 2010 Russia complet-

ed refit of five Indian Navy Ilyushin Il-38

ASW patrol aircrafts. The last (fifth) refitted

Ilyushin Il-38S/D landed in the naval air

base in Goa.

Five Indian Navy Ilyushin Il-38 aircrafts

were refitted in Russia under a $200 mil-

lion contract dated 2002. The major im-

provement was the installation of Morskoy

Zmey search and target system.

The improvement program made it pos-

sible to extend the Indian Navy Ilyushin

Il-38 aircraft service life for 15 years and

to release the Indian Navy from urgency

to procure state-of-the-art aircrafts for re-

connaissance and antisubmarine warfare.

The refitted Ilyushin Il-38S/D aircrafts will

be further used by Indian Naval Air Com-

mand, communication intelligence and

control systems group, and reconnaissance

air force.

Tupolev Tu-142ME Repair and Refit Program

In August 2010, on completion

of the scheduled repair and refit by

TAVIA JSC, the long-range ASW Tupolev

Tu-142ME aircraft was handed over to

the Indian Navy. The overhaul and re-

fit of one more Indian Navy Tupolev

Tu-142ME aircraft was to be completed by

late 2010.

In 1986 Russia supplied 8 ASW Tupolev

Tu-142MK aircrafts designated as Tupolev

Tu-142ME.

The improved Tupolev Tu-142ME may be

used for day/night all-weather surveillance

and protection of national waters, elec-

tronic reconnaissance, searching, track-

ing and firing of advanced low-noise sub-

marines running up-top or snorkeling at full

or slow speed or lying still on sea ground.

The Tupolev Tu-142ME aircraft equipped

with missiles is capable of attacking sur-

face ships, ground and coastal targets. BrahMos missile (air version)

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A I R F L E E T · 1 · 2 0 1 1 ( 8 6 )

Maximum flight range of the Tupolev

Tu-142ME aircraft is 12000 km, maxi-

mum flying speed at weight of 138 tons

at 7000 m altitude is 855 km/h, cruise

speed is 735 km/h, inflight endurance

is 9 hours. Maximum payload capacity

of the aircraft carrying six BrahMos cruise

missiles is 9.6 tons (the BrahMos missile

erection option is proposed by Indian Na-

vy). Standard payload with eight X-35

ASMs is 4.4 tons. The standard ASW mod-

el aircraft accommodates up to 140 radio

sonobuoys.

Indian Air Force Mikoyan MiG-29 Fleet Improvement Program

In February 2009 Mikoyan MiG РСК

initiated the project for improvement

of the Indian Air Force Mikoyan MiG-29

fleet. The total number of Indian Air Force

Mikoyan MiG-29 aircrafts to be refitted

is 62. These aircrafts were supplied to In-

dia in three batches at different time and

their technical condition differs a lot. Rus-

sia will bring all the aircrafts into equal op-

erating state.

Mikoyan MiG РСК plans to refit the first

six aircrafts, i.e. four single-seat and two

dual-seat aircrafts, at its facilities. The refit

is to be completed in 2011.

The remainder aircrafts will be refitted

in India at the 11th aircraft repair plant.

Mikoyan MiG РСК will forward all the re-

quired technical documents to the plant.

Some avionics for improvement will be de-

livered from Russia, and some assemblies

will be supplied by Hindustan Aeronautics

Limited (HAL).

The Indian government and Mikoyan

MiG РСК entered into a contract for re-

fit of sixty two Mikoyan MiG-29 fighters

on 7 March 2008. The contract is worth

a total of $964 million.

Sukhoi Su-30MKI Fighter Licensed Production Program

In the last few years Hindustan Aero-

nautics Limited (HAL) reduced the timeline

of Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter licensed pro-

duction. In 2009 HAL delivered 23 fight-

er to the Indian Air Force. In 2010 HAL

planned to supply 28 Sukhoi Su-30MKI

fighters.

By summer 2010 the Indian Air Force ac-

quired 74 Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighters from

HAL.

Today the Indian Air Force has five Suk-

hoi Su-30MKI squadrons, three of them be-

ing based in Buna and two — in Bareili. In-

dia plans to deploy other two squadrons

in Punjab and in the northeast of the country.

The importance of Sukhoi Su-30MKI

fighters for India is justified by the fact that

HAL was advised to complete the licensed

production of one hundred forty Sukhoi

Su-30MKI fighters by 2015 at all hazards

(i.e. ahead of schedule).

An initial $1462 billion contract for de-

livery of forty Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighters for

the Indian Air Force was signed on 30 No-

vember 1996. Pursuant to this contract

eight Sukhoi Su-30K version aircrafts

were manufactured and handed over to

the customer in 1997. The other contract-

ed aircrafts were manufactured and deliv-

ered in Sukhoi Su-30MKI version. In 1996

the Indian Ministry of Defence placed

an order for additional ten Sukhoi Su-30K

fighters which were purchased for $277

million. In 2000 India signed a $3.5 billion

agreement for licensed production of 140

Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighters at HAL facilities

using vehicle sets delivered by Russia.

In 2007 India contracted addition-

al 40 Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighters at a cost

of $1.6 billion for the Indian Air Force.

Besides, India effected a trade-in deal

for 18 Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighters instead

of earlier delivered Sukhoi Su-30K fighters.

AL-55I Engine Licensed Production Program

The HAL Company plans to launch a full-

rate production of AL-55I engines under

Russian license in the coming two-three

years.

The present-day problem is to se-

lect a site in Koraputa (Orissa) to deploy

the engine production facilities in two to

three years. The AL-55I engine was de-

signed by Saturn Research and Devel-

opment Company for India special ben-

efit. The engine was certified after suc-

cessful endurance testing in Russia and is

to be mounted on the advanced Indian

HJT-36 УТС. Six engines have been de-

livered, and other ten have been ordered

and are awaited. The Indian Air Force

plans to acquire total 85 HJT-36 УТС.

Summary Pursuant to the statement by the Defence

Minister AK Antony, the Indian Air Force

will consist of 42 squadrons by the end

of the 13th schedule period (by 2022),

which is more than it was previously ap-

proved by the Indian government.

According to the Defence Minister’s

comments on the question from depu-

ties of the Upper Chamber of Indian Par-

liament, in 2007–2022 by the end of 11th,

12th and 13th schedule periods the Indi-

an Air Force will have 35.5, 35 and 42

squadrons respectively.

AK Antony stated that at the beginning

of the 11th schedule period the Indian Air

Su-30

42

View of analyst

Force consisted of 32 squadrons only. To-

day the Indian government authorized de-

ployment of 39.5 fighter squadrons.

The Indian Air Force will be in crash air

alert as soon as Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighters,

Jaguar, medium multi-role combat aircraft

(MMRCA), fifth generation fighter aircraft

(FGFA) and light combat aircraft (LCA) are

inducted into service.

Over recent years India headed the list

of worldwide leaders in the total weapon

imports through implementation of military

refit programs. India holds the top position

as per the scheduled total imports of prod-

ucts for military purposes for the coming

years.

Russia’s peers in Indian weapon market

are Israel, United Kingdom, USA, France,

Ukraine, Italy, Sweden and some other

countries.

Russia is able to reserve at least a half

of the Indian weapon market.

Once the quantity of the Russian-man-

ufactured end products for military pur-

poses to be delivered is reduced, the mil-

itary technical cooperation will be fo-

cused on transfer of licenses for production

of Russian products for military purposes

in India, for joint and special-order R&D,

and for foundation of joint venture compa-

nies to develop, produce, refit and repair

the products for military purposes.

The major projects associated with

transfer of license for production of Rus-

sian products for military purposes in-

clude the licensed production of multipur-

pose Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighters, T-90S

MBT, and AL-55I aircraft engines for Indi-

an HJT-36 УТС as well as HJT-39 and se-

ries 3 RD-33 for Mikoyan MiG-29 fighters.

Due to large-scale transfer of technologies,

India and Russia signed an agreement for

mutual protection of intellectual proper-

ty rights.

One of the most successful projects is

the co-production of BrahMos cruise mis-

siles by BrahMos Aerospace JVC.

Russia participates in several tenders to

deliver helicopters for the Indian Air Force.

This year Russia will lease out the Type

971 Schuka-B nuclear-powered submarine

to the Indian Navy for a term of ten years.

The rental cost is $650 million.

All contract issues pertaining to refit

of the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier in-

to Vikramaditya aircraft carrier have been

finalized with India. The contracts for sup-

ply of 45 Mikoyan MiG-29K/KUB fight-

ers have been signed. Now India and

Russia negotiate the acquisition of other

42 Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighters and imple-

ment the program of refitting 62 MiG-29

fighters belonging to the Indian Air Force.

The joint program for delivery of Phalcon

AEW&C aircrafts to the Indian Air Force is

under implementation.

Russia and India implement several

large-scale projects for Air Force, Navy

and Armed Force.

In late December 2010 on the eve of vis-

it to India the Russian president Dmit-

ry Medvedev stated that “India like Rus-

sia conducts the external policy and main-

tains communication with other countries

in the field of military technical coopera-

tion. It is reasonable that western manu-

facturers of weapon and other products

for military purposes are much interested

in cooperation with India”.

“We do not hesitate and are ready to

compete. The most important thins is to be

honest and to play according to the rules”,

Dmitry Medvedev emphasized.

Igor Ilyin

Is India Going to Achieve a Record?Russia’s Centre for Analysis of World Arms Trade (CAWAT) forecasts

that arms import contracts India will conclude in 2011 will have the largest worth in its history.

India has been one of the three world’s largest arms importers in the last four years.

According to CAWAT’s preliminary information, India ranked third in the world by the worth of arms import contracts it concluded ($3.756 bil-lion) in 2010 giving way only to the UAE ($6.71 billion) and Taiwan ($4.131 billion).

There was a slight decrease in this figure in 2010 as India postponed taking final decisions on some projects including those carried out with Russia to 2011. It is expected to choose the winners in a number of major tenders in 2011. If India keeps to the schedule, the worth of contracts it will make this year will reach the largest figure in all its history.

For comparison: In 2007, the total cost of India’s arms import contracts equaled $4.783 billion, in 2008 — $4.256 billion and in 2009 — $6.933 billion. In the last four years (2007–2010), India concluded $19.729 billion worth of arms imports contracts ranking the second in the world behind only the UAE with $21.508 billion.

As for the actual volume of arms imports, India was the third with the amount of $4.556 billion in 2010 with only Australia and the US ahead ($6.134 billion and $4.886, respectively). In the above-mentioned four-year period, India imported $12.815 billion worth of armaments thus ranking the second after the US with its $17.122 billion.

In 2007, the actual volume of India’s arms imports reached $2.5 billion, in 2008 — $2.5 billion and in 2009 — 3.255 billion. Considering the figure for 2010, we can say that India has been significantly increasing its arms imports under priorly-concluded contracts year by year.

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44

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Russia has two things that sell well in the global marketplace: natural resources (oil, gas, timber,

metals) and weapons. While the former represents a much larger volume in terms of volumes and

amounts, the export of weapons carries strategic importance. It helps the Kremlin build good relations

with governments of other countries, and brings these nations into the Russian sphere of commercial

relations, cooperation and other key areas. Another important aspect is that such activity helps

domestic manufacturers stay in the business and develop critical technologies.

RUSSIANARMS TRADE

45

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A I R F L E E T · 1 · 2 0 1 1 ( 8 6 )

Natural resources and weapons

both grew in export volume since Rus-

sia emerged as a sovereign country af-

ter the Soviet Union’s break-up. And while

the worldwide economic crisis has an im-

pact on arms sales, the overall business

volume continues to grow despite the ad-

verse economic environment.

In 2009, Russian arms exports (in ex-

ecuted deliveries) totaled $8.5 billion —

which was $150 million above the 2008

level, according to estimations by the Mos-

cow-based Center for Analysis of Strate-

gies and Technologies (CAST). According

to Russian government officials, the 2009

order book volume reached $40 billion —

up $7 billion up from the 2008 level.

These figures are big, but they fade

in comparison with Russia’s oil income. Ac-

cording to official statistics from the Feder-

al Customs Service, in the first half of 2010,

Moscow sold fossil fuels for about $130

billion. Meantime, statistics from the state

arms vendor Rosoboronexport say Russia’s

weapons trade amounted to $6.46 billion

in 2006; it rose to $7.55 billion in 2007

and stabilized at $8.35–8.5 billion

in 2008–2009.

Military export from Russia is central-

ized. All sales of ready-to-use weapons

(not counting some minor items) go through

Rosoboronexport, a government-run com-

pany responsible for military technical

cooperation with foreigners. Separate-

ly, 21 different Russian companies (all be-

ing original equipment makers or license-

holders) have governmental permission to

work directly with foreign customers, but

their scope of activities is limited to spare

parts, repair and overhaul, training and lo-

gistics — and none holds the right to supply

weapons systems independently of Roso-

boronexport.

Two years ago, Rosoboronexport and

more than 200 other companies were

moved under control of the “Russian Tech-

nologies” state corporation — a huge

structure established by the Kremlin to con-

trol state assets in the Russian military-in-

dustrial complex. On the surface, the shift

of Rosoboronexport produced little effect.

Perhaps the most evident change was that

all Rosoboronexport representative offic-

es outside Russia have been “re-branded,”

becoming those of the Russian Technolo-

gies. This, however, does not bring much

change to the everyday work. Employ-

ees continue to focus on sales and interac-

tion with customers and end-users on tech-

nical support, modernization and up-

grades, spare parts, training of personnel

and logistics. The need to “change the fa-

ade” was caused by modifications in Rus-

sian law following establishment of Russian

Technologies, and also was a measure to

boost sales of high-tech civilian products

abroad (which is one of the tasks set by

the Kremlin).

In published statistics, Rosoboronex-

port states that its 2009 exports amount-

ed to $7.4 billion, which is 10% more

than the previous year. For new successes

in the field of arms sales, Russian Technolo-

gies head Sergei Chemezov (the man who

headed Rosoboronexport before receiving

his new appointment) was decorated ear-

lier this year with the Order of Friendship.

“This is a testimony of the fact that the arms

trade developed well so far,” commented

Rosoboronexport general director Anatoly

Isaikin. “We anticipate that arms trade vol-

ume this year will not be less than the pre-

vious one.” During the 2001–2009 time-

frame, the volume of arms sales made

through Rosoboronexport rose by 2.4

times, he added. Russia has military trade

partners in 70 countries around the world.

“Today, we offer not only ready-to-use

systems, but also technologies, joint pro-

duction of subcomponents — and some-

times even sell licenses for local produc-

tion of ready-to-use weapons.” At a press

conference in February, Rosoboronexport

Su-27UB

46

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officials said new contracts signed in 2009

exceed $34 billion, bringing the backlog

to $21.5 billion. It is believed that the first

figure is for deals signed and already ap-

proved by responsible governmental bod-

ies (such as the Federal Agency for Mili-

tary-Technical Cooperation) and put into

force. The second is a total sum for upcom-

ing deliveries of Russian-made weapons,

not counting sales of property rights, li-

censes, documentation etc.

“These figure make us look to the future

with optimism, as the order book promises

high workloads for enterprises of the Rus-

sian military industrial complex,” Isaikin

commented. In addition, he said that

in 2009, the sum of newly-signed contracts

amounted to $15 billion. “It doesn’t mean

that all of this money will actually flow into

Russia during the short term…as many con-

tracts span several years.”

In the past two years, the structure

of Russian arms sales by types of weapons

systems seems to have settled out. Once

again, aviation is the undisputable lead-

er, representing half of the grand total. Tac-

tical jet fighters (Sukhoi Su-27/30 Flank-

ers and Mikoyan MiG-29 Fulcrums), Mil

helicopter gunships (Mi-24/35s) utility ro-

tary-wing aircraft (Mi-17s) and Kamov na-

val helicopters (Ka-28/31s) are the best-

selling items. These are widely considered

world-class and expect to be in demand

during the next 20 years before being su-

perseded by a new generation of systems

from the same makers.

The next three hardware types form

a second category: items for anti-aircraft

defense, land forces and naval applica-

tions. These types continue to “compete”

against each other for the second and third

places in Russian arms exports by the vol-

ume of annual sales. In 2009, equipment

for land forces was in second place at 19

percent, and navy-related hardware was

third at 13.9 percent, leaving anti-aircraft

defenses one step lower at 13.3 percent.

While these numbers provide some per-

spective on the situation, the reality is more

clouded. In 2008, the London-based In-

ternational Institute for Strategic Studies re-

ported that “in recent years, it has become

increasingly difficult to collect and analyze

meaningful data on Russia’s Federal Bud-

get, and particularly the finances of Rus-

sian national defense, owing to a number

of presentational changes.” Today, these

words seem even more meaningful, as gov-

ernmental financial statistics have only be-

come less understandable. Independent

analysts say that, as time goes on, they

tend to experience more and more diffi-

culty when assessing the flow of informa-

tion from Russian sources. The regime of se-

crecy has tended to tighten, while the in-

dependent news media — badly hit by

the economic slump — has largely lost in-

terest in covering military subjects and

have suffered a loss of skilled staff writ-

ers. One of the outcomes is the growing

number of “undiscovered” arms deals and

larger amounts of “unidentified” content

in such deals. Equipment for navies and air

defense units appears to be most difficult to

identify in recent Russian export sales.

This is reflected in the differences be-

tween official figures and those from in-

dependent analytics, such CAST in Mos-

cow. For instance, CAST’s own calculations

found that the share of aviation equip-

ment in new sales represented a 61 per-

cent share (compared to 50 percent in of-

ficial statistics), army equipment was at 21

percent (government figures place it at 19

percent), naval hardware was rated at 9

percent (compared to 14 percent in offi-

cial statistics) and air defense at 8 percent

(the government’s number is 13 percent).

Such differences are expected to grow.

This means that in the future, there proba-

bly will more surprises when it comes to de-

liveries — which are harder to keep hid-

den than the content of sales agreements.

This also provides evidence that more and

more of Russian arms exports go to coun-

tries that tend to have less transparency

in military affairs — including China, Ar-

abic nations and certain territories in Lat-

in America. It is understood that the role

of such customers in Rosoboronexport’s cli-

ent base is growing.

About 1 percent of Russian arms ex-

ports is equipment for special forces, such

as non-recoil or noiseless rifles, rapid-fire

guns, noiseless pistols, underwater shoot-

In the past two years, the structure of Russian

arms sales by types of weapons systems seems

to have settled out. Aviation is the undisputable

leader, with share of 50%

Mi-17

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A I R F L E E T · 1 · 2 0 1 1 ( 8 6 )

ing devices, grenade launchers, personal

self-protection suites etc. While it is a small

business money-wise compared to avia-

tion, the importance of this type of equip-

ment should not be underestimated. There

are a number of customers who buy such

hardware from Russia, often without pub-

licity. It helps in building commercial ties,

as the seller and customer probably would

never come together at a negotiating ta-

ble otherwise. One factor in drawing this

business is the unique technologies cre-

ated by Russia’s military-industrial com-

plex. Another plus for Russia is its extensive

experience gained in counteracting ter-

rorists and stopping nationalist resistance

in the North Caucasus, leading to “battle-

proven” hardware that is well suited to re-

alistic scenarios of special forces’ needs. In

some cases, the sales of equipment to spe-

cial forces have led to strong personal rela-

tions between seller and buyer — facilitat-

ing deals in other areas. This is particularly

true in case of some Arab buyers. The cur-

rent head of Rosoboronexport was previ-

ously responsible for sales of special forces

equipment. Anatoly Isaikin managed to es-

tablish good personal relations with certain

buyers, thus opening new export perspec-

tives for Rosoboronexport. “This is a rela-

tively small, but a stable business,” Isaikin

explained. “Many of the items we sell are

unique; they are being produced in very

small quantities. It is always a trade be-

tween techniques of series production and

needs of special forces. Certain types are

under the strictest of controls, imposed to

ensure the terrorists never get them.”

The United Nation’s register of con-

ventional weapons can serve as a good

source for understanding the structure

of Russian arms sales. Effectively, the reg-

ister is a list of military equipment that ev-

ery member country fills out under good

will terms, along with the desire to promote

transparency. Russia has been cooperative.

In its report for 2008, Moscow acknowl-

edged deliveries of 77 main battle tanks

(the T-90 MBT series to Algeria and India),

46 armored vehicles (BPM-94 Vystrel and

BTR-80 armored personnel carriers to Ka-

zakhstan, Azerbaijan and Algeria) and

12 artillery systems (Smerch multiple rock-

et launcher systems to India). There were

34 combat aircraft for Algeria, Malaysia

and India, Venezuela — including the last

in a batch of 24 Su-30MK2V fighters, al-

though this number does not take into ac-

count Su-30MKI kits for Hindustan Aero-

nautics Limited. The figures also included

32 combat helicopters (including Mi-17s to

Indonesia), 921 guided missiles, and 138

portable SAM launchers with 624 missiles.

These numbers demonstrate that the Unit-

ed Nations register does provide a good

snapshot of what Russian arms export is

like these days. On the other hand, there

are weaknesses in this data: for example,

Russia did not include China in list of recip-

ients for its missiles in 2008, while previous

year, the given figure received by the coun-

try was 984 missiles.

It also is important to keep in mind that

dozens of smaller countries produce Rus-

sian weapons. Some of them are in fact

Smerch multiple rocket launcher systems

48

View of analyst

continuing to develop the Russian (Soviet)

school of defense equipment design, man-

ufacturing and after-sales support. Ukraine

and Belarus are perhaps the best examples.

In addition, Belarus sometimes is used as

a vehicle to sell equipment to certain cus-

tomers that cannot buy directly from Rus-

sia — or do not want to. This applies both

to new and used equipment, and can be il-

lustrated by the fact that Belarus export-

ed 33 MiG-23s to Syria (without inden-

tifying exact type of the Flogger, which

may lead to some interesting findings in fu-

ture). According to ex-president Victor Yush-

enko, Ukraine last year signed arms ex-

port contracts for $1.5 billion. Since most

of the Ukrainian contracts are short term

and executed quickly, they add to the grant

total of “Russian” arms sales worldwide. In

addition, despite 15 years of separation

following the Soviet Union’s breakup, Rus-

sia still uses a lot of Ukrainian components

in its weapons. This is a Soviet legacy, com-

ing from the fact that Ukraine was home

to many design houses and manufactur-

ing plants involved in the defense programs

of the Soviet Union’s military industrial com-

plex. “There is no area in our military-indus-

trial complex where Ukrainian components

would not be used,” Isaikin commented.

With the election earlier this year of pro-

Russian president Victor Yanukovich, ties

Anatoly Isaikin: “Airlifters are in demand

all around the world. The An-70 has

good chances in the market, provided its

development is completed soon”

An-148

49

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A I R F L E E T · 1 · 2 0 1 1 ( 8 6 )

between the Ukrainian and Russian de-

fense industries are expected to grow even

stronger. In particular, this brings about

more hope to the long-going develop-

ment of Antonov’s An-70, which effective-

ly is the only truly next-generation airlift-

er currently flying in the Eastern world. On

the wave of warming relations with Kiev,

Russian Defense Ministry leaders — includ-

ing Minister of Defense Anatoly Serdyu-

kov — began to speak about the need to fi-

nalize a contract on delivery of 40 An-70s

to the Russian air force. If this happens,

such a contract may finally get this devel-

opment project off the ground and open

export opportunities for the aircraft. Until

recently, both the Russian military and Ro-

soboronexport remained cautious about

the An-70’s sales opportunities. But this

seems to have changed. Isaikin told report-

ers recently: “In the today’s situation, airlift-

ers are in demand all around the world; ev-

ery air force needs or wants to have an ef-

ficient fleet of aircraft. Therefore, the An-70

has good chances in the market, provided

its development is completed soon.”

Furthermore, the Russian air force made

a positive assessment of Antonov’s idea to

create a 15 metric ton airlifter, the An-178,

which is based on the An-148 75-seat com-

mercial passenger jetliner — which is in pro-

duction within Russia (at the VASO plant An-70

An-70

50

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in Voronezh) and in Ukraine (at Antonov’s

plant in Kiev). Today, the An-148 is most

modern Eastern-built airliner, and it is in ser-

vice with Rossiya — Russian Airlines (operat-

ing six An-148-100Bs as of January 2011)

and Ukraine’s Aerosvit airlines (two An-

148-100Bs in service). Russia’s United Air-

craft Corporation (UAC) has secured pre-

liminary orders from five Indian airlines. This

enabled UAC and Antonov to launch an An-

148 type validation campaign with India’s

Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DG-

CA) in May 2010. First deliveries to Indian

airlines are planned for 2011. In addition,

two aircraft were contracted by the govern-

ment of Myanmar in November 2009 for

delivery in 2011; the deal is a part of a big-

ger one also involving delivery of 20 MiG-

29 fighters. So, the An-148 is on its way

of becoming the first Russian-built airliner

in the Indian inventory (not counting a hand-

ful of Tu-154Ms and Il-62Ms that were op-

erated for a short period of time in late

1980s/early 1990s). UAC is talking to sev-

eral Indian companies on the possibility of li-

censed production — which would start as

“screwdriver assembly” and then move to

a high degree of “Indianization.” Should

the An-148 become a success story, it may

prove a basis for the creation of many spe-

cialized military versions, including the An-

178, and even serve as the starting point for

development of the Indo-Russian Multirole

Transport Aircraft (MTA).

Russia also is considering re-starting

production of the Il-76 50-ton airlifter as

a modernized Il-476 airlifter, as well as

the super-heavy Antonov An-124 Ruslan

cargo aircraft. The Kremlin has approached

China, the U.S., India and certain European

nations with the idea to join forces on these

programs. Isaikin confirms this by saying

that the Russian air force and undisclosed

foreign customers have placed preliminary

orders for Il-476. China is being urged to

renegotiate the stalled deal on some 40 Il-

76-series aircraft in favor of the more ad-

vanced Il-476. India is likely to be offered

either Il-476 or An-124 if it initiates a new

strategic airlifter tender. Such a tender may

be launched if India does not buy the Boe-

ing C-17 Globemaster III under a govern-

ment-to-government arrangement.

Advanced airlifters add a new dimension

to the sales of aviation equipment, which

currently are dominated by tactical jet-

fighters. In the next five years, the evolving

Flanker and Fulcrum series of fourth-gener-

ation fighters will be succeeded by the Fifth

Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA).

The FGFA effectively is an exportable ver-

sion of the Russian air force PAK FA com-

bat aircraft, which has been in flight test

since January 2010. Isaikin says that Rus-

sia currently has received a proposal to co-

operate on joint development of fifth-gen-

eration weapons systems from one coun-

try — India. The Indian initiative was given

a positive reception, and now Russia and

India are working together on opportuni-

ties for both the FGFA fighter and MTA air-

lifter, he added.

In the area of anti-aircraft weapons, Rus-

sia’s S-400 Triumph draws most interest

from overseas customers. “It is a brand-

new system being developed for Russia’s

Air-Defense Forces. Once the Russian cus-

tomer’s needs are fulfilled, the system will

be available for export,” Isaikin told re-

porters. “We are in consultations with Rus-

sian Defense Ministry in order to have

an understanding of when we can start

S-400 deliveries abroad. We are talking

to our customers, but deliveries are some

time off in the future.”

In the meantime, Russia will contin-

ue to sell the previous-generation S-300,

which sometimes has become an issue

for politicians because of its capabilities.

“The S-300 is a defensive system; there-

fore, it poses no harm offensive to neigh-

boring countries,” Isaikin stated. Howev-

er, long-expected deliveries to Iran are un-

likely to start until newly-imposed United

Nations sanctions are lifted. This means

Russia will have to find another custom-

er for the already-produced systems that

now are in storage following the Rus-

sian government’s June decision to join

countries upholding sanctions for Iran. It

may happen that these systems will find

their way to China, which already oper-

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A I R F L E E T · 1 · 2 0 1 1 ( 8 6 )

ates the S-300PMU2 Favorit — the latest

in the evolving S-300 series of weapons.

Isaikin also sees a new opportunity for ex-

panding Russian sales with the introduction

of a new type of armored vehicle for the ar-

my — referred to as the Machine — for

the support of tanks in the battlefield. He de-

scribed it as a highly protected and heavily

armed vehicle that can survive threats from

mines and anti-tank missiles. It would inter-

act with main battle tanks to clear the way

for mainstay forces in the battlefield, he said.

“Russia has developed prototypes of such

a vehicle. The use of such systems will al-

low a reduction in loses of personnel, and

that’s the most important factor for any ar-

my.” During recent conflicts in Afghanistan,

Iran and Lebanon, “classic” tanks — even

the heavily-protected Abrams and Merka-

va — fell prey to anti-tank systems, and not

even necessarily the most advanced missiles

available. If the new vehicle finds custom-

ers, it will help UralVagodZavod — the larg-

est Russian manufacturer of tanks — to sur-

vive the current business crisis that has bad-

ly hit this huge enterprise. “UVZ has orders,

and talks with foreign customers are ongo-

ing on further contracts for the plant,” Isaikin

explained.

Among other weapons worth mentioning

as offering export possibilities — including

to customers in Asia-Pacific — is the Pan-

tsir S1 short-range missile/gun air defense

system. Reportedly, deliveries of this weap-

on are underway to Syria and the United

Arab Emirates. The export success of Rus-

sia’s Project 636 diesel submarines could

be repeated with the Project 677 Lada.

The lead vessel in this series was commis-

sioned by the Russian Navy in May 2010

after several years of sea trials. As another

example, the 300-mm Smerch rocket sys-

tem is now being offered in a new version

on a lighter wheeled chassis that carries

four containerized rockets. India is a like-

ly launch customer for this version. Also,

the Ka-31 radar picket helicopter that al-

ready is in service with the Indian navy has

won additional orders from this country,

along with other customers in the region.

In terms geographic, Asia-Pacific contin-

ues to serve the main selling point for Ro-

soboronexport. By contractual volume,

Vietnam was the largest buyer of Russian

weapons in 2009. It signed a contract val-

ued at roughly $4 billion for six Project

636M diesel submarines (to be built at Ad-

miralty Shipyards in St. Petersburg) togeth-

er with infrastructure. This contract is a real

breakthrough, since the purchasing nation

does not operate submarines today. Anoth-

er large sale there was for eight Su-30MK2

multirole aircraft (deliveries to be complet-

ed in 2011), in addition to four such air-

craft purchased earlier. Hanoi has funded

development of the Bastion shore-protec-

tion system using Yakhont supersonic mis-

siles (similar to BrahMos PJ-10 co-devel-

oped by Russia and India) — with deliv-

eries of these systems to began in 2009.

With these deals, Vietnam is now among

the largest Russian customers, together with

India, China, Algeria, Venezuela and Syria.

Russia will continue to use foreign com-

ponents in its weapon systems — both for

export and internal use. Night vision sys-

tems from Thales for use on armored vehi-

cles, along with avionics for aircraft appli-

cations already are incorporated in the lat-

est products from Russian manufacturers.

Russia’s electronics producers are not as

advanced as the French in these fields, but

they are catching up. “We have started

Ka-31

Il-76

52

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producing thermal imagers — quite good

ones, in fact — which is something we

could only have dreamed of a few years

ago,” Isaikin commented. However, Russia

will continue purchasing advanced com-

ponents and technologies from France and

other European nations, as well as develop

other means of industrial cooperation and

co-development in high-tech areas.

At the same time, Russia has been re-

negotiating older agreements with oth-

er nations on licensed production of Rus-

sian weapons. This process is related

with the protection of intellectual prop-

erty rights. Isaikin says that some break-

throughs have been made in this area: for

instance, China has been licensed to pro-

duce the Kalashnikov assault rifle, which

has been in production there for decades

without permission from its developer.

Despite this success, China’s share

in Russian military export is likely to con-

tinue on a downward trend. “The fall

of military trade with China is easy to ex-

plain: the local military production there

develops quickly and well,” according to

Isaikin. “In the past, China needed mod-

ern weapons systems because its domes-

tic manufacturers could not fulfill the re-

quirements of the Chinese armed forces.

Today, Chinese manufacturers have im-

proved, and they can produce more com-

petitive systems in greater numbers for

the Chinese customers. The share of Rus-

sian exports to China has gone down to

18 percent. I anticipate this may decrease

further.”

In the foreseeable future weapons sales

will continue to serve a major political tool

in the Kremlin’s hands as an instrument

of keeping its allies interested in their Rus-

sian connection. Meantime, with domes-

tic orders rising, the Russian military indus-

trial complex, once almost totally depen-

dent on foreign sales to keep conventional

weapons production going, will increas-

ingly see the Defense ministry of its home

country as its major customer.

Vladimir Karnozov

The fall of military trade with China is easy to

explain: the local manufacturers have improved