№ 3.

2011

– Cool exercise, ISN’T IT?

– Yes, nice firing range!
 CONTENTS
3.2011
(88)

Training
Level D flight simulator
for An-148.........................................................2

Director General
Valeriy Stolnikov War
Deputy Director General Lybian test site for European
Alexander Kiryanov
Viktor Zaharov fighters.................................................................8
Commercial Director
Denis Kostin
Deputy Commercial Director Engines
Vitaliy Galuschak
Motor Sich: Past, Present
Marketing Director
Leonid Belyaev and Future........................................................14
Deputy Marketing Director
Evgeniy Abdrashitov
Sergey Burda
Representative office in Saint-Petersburg
Aircraft
Deputy Director General Aeroflot learns to fly Superjet..................18
Oleg Perevoschikov
Commercial Director
A380: the tool for market
Sergey Baydak dominance.......................................................26
Advertising Sales Director
Milana Nikolaeva
Development Director Metal
Roman Moshnin Continuous development is the
Development Manager keystone of success...............................32
Dmitriy Koshalov
Marketing Director
Anna Ogneva
Editor
Navigation
Denis Rebeka COMPASS in the World
Editor-in-Chief of A4 Press Publishing of High-Tech...................................................38
Valeriy Stolnikov
Editor-in-Chief of AirFleet
Alexander Gudko
Editors Сommodity-Money-Commodity
Mikhail Nayden Russian weapons trade.............................44
Alexander Velovich
Creative Director
Vladimir Bondarev
Art Director
Test & Search
Al'vina Kirillova GkNIPAS: Reliability on the earth –
Designers Safety in air.....................................................48
Alexander Cheredayko
Nadezhda Fadina
Aleksandr Strelyaev
Kirill Solomentsev Cooperation
Marketing Manager India tries to join exclusive
Elena Kotenochkina Club of 5th generation fighter
Photos and graphics in this issue: owners.......................................................52
Marina Lystseva, Alexey Stefanov,
Vladimir Karnozov,Michael R. Holzworth,
anvictory.org, leonidnikitinskiy.pdj.ru, mbda-systems. Maiden flight of Indo-Russian MTA
com, comfiles.air-attack.com, dic.academic.ru,
imageshack.us, clker.com, torch.aetc.af.mil. in 2017-18.......................................................56
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.
Tender
It’s Dassault Vs. Eurofighter
© AIR FLEET, 2011 for MMRCA contract in India................60
ADDRESS
P.O. Box 77, Moscow, 125057, Russia
Tel.: + 7 495 626-52-11
Fax.: + 7 499 151-61-50
E-mail: af@airfleet.ru

1
Engines

Level D flight simulator

for An-148
In many ways the An-148 regional jet is the best piece of technology available from the Russian and
Ukrainian aviation industries. It serves as a locomotive for these industries, stimulating their further
development, as new versions and derivatives of the already operational baseline An-148-100B
become available.
As of the Paris air show 2011 open- der agreement with Antonov, recognized subcontracted to Akko firm that supplies
ing, six An-148s are in service with GTK that need long before the airplane entered some interior items for An-148s including
Rossiya operating out of Pulkovo airport of revenue service with GTK Rossiya – the business and economy class seats. All of
St. Petersburg and three with Aerosvit flying launch airline customer for the Russian- the above mentioned components have
from Borispol airport of Kiev. By Aeroflot made An-148-100Bs. At MAKS’2007 been installed and now available at the S7
standards, there must be 11 cockpit crew IFC and Transas signed agreement worth group training center in Moscow Domod-
members per each airplane. This makes it Rouble 600 million (in excess of US dollar edovo airport.
nearly 100 pilots qualified in the type. This 20 million) on development, construction Established in 1990, Transas is the lead-
number is growing further as new airplanes and delivery of a comprehensive set of ing Russian specialist in aviation and ship
come off assembly lines in Voronezh and training means. It includes a computer simulators. Its core team is composed of
Kiev. Hence, there is a growing need for a class, a level D full flight simulator (FFS), seasoned experts in the field of simulation,
first-class training system. a level 3 Flight Navigation Procedure notably for the naval vessels. Based in St.
Ilyushin Finance Co. (IFC) that sells the Trainer (FNPT). Besides, the set includes a Petersburg, the company is in the top three
airplane in Russia and internationally un- cabin crew procedural training, but it was of the world’s ship simulator companies.

2
 Training

This place it won in a tough competition

with the monsters such as Nor Control,
Ships Analytics and Krupp Atlas Electronic.
Transas entered the market for aviation
simulators thirteen years ago, with a unit
for the Mil Mi-8 helicopter corresponding
to A level. This device is still operational
with its original customer, SPARK company
of St. Petersburg.
Since then the helicopter simulation busi-
ness has been growing steadily. In 2010
Transas delivered ten helicopter simulators
and plans between 20 and 25 deliveries
this year. Most of them are for the Mi-8,
Mi-17 and their derivatives, but recently
the company produced a model for the
Mi-26, the world’s largest rotorcraft. Next
in the line is the Mi-38, the most advanced
of all flying Russian rotorcraft with entry
into service scheduled for 2012. Transas
is also contracted to integrate an avionics
suite for the Mi-38 and the flight simulator
as well.
Victor Godunov, general director for
aviation programs at Transas, says that up
to 90% of all pilots with considerable flight Victor Godunov,
experience failed standard tests of emer- general director
gency situations when they first tried pass- for aviation programs
ing them in a Mi-8 simulator. This statistics at Transas
is for the SPARK Mi-8 device mentioned
above, at a time it just entered service. The
standard tests included engine failures After introduction of Mi-8 simulators into sas were projects on visualization systems
and subsequent autorotation landing. “It is the training circle for UTair crews, there for Sukhoi fighter simulators. Next step
passable, but you will not have more than were no flight incidents involving UTair was the Accord-201 light piston aircraft
one chance to do it improper”, as the pi- rotorcraft due to insufficient training of for which Transas provides avionics set
lots say – that was right before flight simu- pilots, while previously several incidents and means of training. More recently, the
lators appeared. Today, Mi-8 full flight occurred in a year. This statement was company developed procedural training
simulators are in a quantity production. made by UTair’s head of training at Heli- for the Boeing 737, and prototypes of the
Last year Transas erected a new workshop Russia’2011. He added that this change ATR-42 and An-148 full flight simulators –
especially for their final assembly with two was almost entirely due to the recent these three were exhibited at MAKS’2009.
pads, one for a 14-tonne-capable motion addition of the Transas-made simulators. That time it became known that Transas
system and another for a 8-tonne. In order to maintain the high standards is a participant in the Tu-204 simulator
These days most of the Mi-8/17 opera- of aviation safety, UTair has decided to program led by SKT.
tors going for a simulator favor Transas conduct simulator training for its line pilots After the good job Transas did on Mil
products. For instance, UTair, the world’s on a monthly basis rather than quarterly, a helicopter simulation, it was natural for
largest rotorcraft operator, has procured norm in the airline industry as set by avia- UTair to order from this company an
three full flight simulators for various tion authorities. ATR-42 simulator. And this marked the
models of the Mi-8 and installed them at Having amassed a rich experience in first case when a global operator ordered
the company’s training center in Tyumen. helicopter simulation, Transas went for a Russian company to make a simulator
As this issue of our magazine went to airplanes. The Beriev Be-200 amphibian for a western airplane. The simulator has
press, a newly installed Mi-26T full flight jet was the first try. Sadly, it did not go recently been delivered to the customer
simulator was undergoing acceptance further than a training unit due to financial and ranked as “level A flight training
trials in Tyumen. issues at Beriev. More successful for Tran- device”. The elements were facilitating
A I R   F L E E T ·3·2 0 1 1 ( 8 8 )
3
Training
timely fulfillment of the respective contract:
a tornado damaged a stored airplane
beyond repair so it was possible to chop
forward fuselage off and make use of
the cockpit section in the interests of the
simulator program.
At the time Transas started working on
the An-148 full flight simulator, it amassed
considerable experience with other
aircraft types. The 2007 contract with
Ilyushin Finance Company for a Level D
device was first ever in relation to Antonov
aircraft. Furthermore, it was the first one
to be ever done by a Russian company for
a fixed wing aircraft (while Transas had
already achieved that grade for the Mi-8
helicopter).
By mid-2007 the An-148 had been
well through its flight test and certifica-
tion program. Operable prototypes flew
at MAKS’2005 and MAKS’2007 and
grabbed a lot of attention from airline
customers – some of them went to IFC to
sign orders and commitments at the shows.
“I love the An-148 for its elegant, esthetic
appearance”, says Victor Godunov. “I find
it’s a very successful aeronautical design,
too”, he adds, “We at Transas believe
the project will develop and generate big
sales”.
“Personally, I think the An-148 is a very
reasonable project with every chance for
success in the marketplace. But save me
to compare it with other aircraft programs
4
further than saying that I like the An-148
more”, Godunov told us when we started
an interview with him. Antonov team ap-
peared to be good to work with, – highly
professional and experienced in aeronau-
tics design. In their turn, IFC managers were
very good at financial, managerial and
marketing issues. “They made right deci-
sions at the right time”, the interviewee con-
tinued. He specially mentioned the decision
of Antonov general designer, at that time
Piotr Balabuev, to select Aviapribor Hold-
ing as the main supplier of avionics items.
Balabuev also selected many other Russian
and Ukrainian firms that were striving to
attain competitiveness with their western
counterparts. “Key figures that participate
in the An-148 project are the right people
who know what they want and the ways to
achieve their goals. They have a good feel
for the economics and try to carry out a
clever financial policy that would lead not
just them but the whole of the An-148 team
to success”, Godunov carries on.
Transas willingly joined the An-148
team. In addition to the means of training,
the company also supplies some avionics
items including VTs-3 processor, a cen-
terpiece in the VSS-100 system. Work on
shaping the full flight simulator began and
proceeded at a time when the airplane en-
tered revenue service (in June 2008 with
Aerosvit) and started generating profit
for the airlines. All that went ion despite
numerous technical, financial and political
programs in the way. For a while, prag-
matic views on mutually beneficial coop-
eration between Russia and Ukraine in the
field of aviation prevailed within the walls
of Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation
(UAC). This facilitated start of a second as-
sembly line in Voronezh and service-entry
of the Russian-made An-148s with launch
customer GTK Rossiya in December 2009.
To meet expectations of airlines, Transas
opted for best components. It contracted
MOOG of US for electromechanical mo-
tion system and SEOS of UK for visualiza-
tion means. From itself, Transas contributes
top-level integration skills and state-of-the-
art visualization software. The central part
is a high-class software on imitation of the
pilot’s view out of the cockpit.
We asked Dmitry Stepanov, director
for marketing and sales with Transas, to
provide some comments on it. “Our visu-
alization system provides a high resolu-
tion so that trainee pilot can see a very
clear and detailed picture, with adequate
imitation of the surroundings. Formally, not
only our device, but also ones from our
foreign colleagues, pass requirements to
full flight simulators level D on sharpness
and contrast. For instance, the resolu-
tion shall be such that it is able to imitate
“white on white”, – a high intensity fire on
a sunny day in the background of white
snow with contrast level 4:1 or better. This
is a standard requirement. But there is no
requirement that snowflakes be visible
when other airplane flies or taxies in vicin-
ity and takes them off ground. Once there
are no such requirements, other makers
normally do not do this, – and we do! We
have developed those and other technolo-
gies in frame of our helicopter simulator
programs and now apply them to the An-
148 simulator”.
Normally, visualization systems for
helicopter simulators of the top level, in the
view of the need to train pilots in making
landings, must be very accurate. They are
needed to help the crews develop pilot-
ing skills with circular error confined to
10 centimeters.
There is one more unique thing for the
An-148 simulator as compared to similar

devices for Airbus and Boeing airplanes
available from Thales or CAE. Transas has
access to the topographic data base of
the Russian state structures including the
state agency for mapping. “We consider
this as our advantage, as we can get very
accurate data on the Russian territory, and
also the files that relate to maps of foreign
countries”, Stepanov adds.
The An-148 is a good looking aircraft,
Victor Godunov says. To hold the line,
Transas made a special effort. “For the first
time in our practice we did special design
of the dome, so as to give it a pleasing
esthetic appearance. I believe the pilots
undergoing the simulator training will find
it looks attractive”.
In 2010 Transas invited pilots from
GosNIIGA, the State Scientific Research
Institute of Civil aviation, to try the simula-
tor after it was complete at Transas main
center in St. Petersburg, – albeit without
a motion system. Airline pilots were also
invited. They obliged and came out with
remarks. “Most of these remarks have
been addressed, and few are still being
addressed as we go through fine-tuning”,
Godunov says.
In early 2011 the simulator was shipped
to Domodedovo and assembled there,
now complete with the motion system. Pi-
lots from GTK Rossiya, the launch customer
for Russian-made An-148-100Bs, were
invited to assess it. Most of them had been
A I R   F L E E T ·3·2 0 1 1 ( 8 8 )
qualified in the An-148 before and flown
the aircraft on revenue passenger services.
Such crews have been “flying” the device
for half-a-year already. “Following instal-
lation of the simulator at Domodedovo,
the airline pilots have been flown it rather
intensively and suggesting improvements.
We listen to them carefully and continue
improving our system”, Godunov says.
Right now Transas is collecting statistics
with help of the airline and industry pilots.
“We did this before with the Mi-8 simula-
tors – we were polishing our models until
the flow of comments from pilots dried up”.
The An-148 simulator is installed at
the S7 simulator center along with same-
grade devices from Thales and CAE on
Boeing and Airbus airplanes. This was
the decision of Ilyushin Finance Company
based on the agreement reached between
it and S7 at Farnborough 2010. Being
second largest Russian airline, S7 needs to
maintain skills of its crews at the required
level. This entails a lot of flight simulation.
Training process at the S7 simulator center
is streamlined. This facilitates entry into
service for the An-148 and the related
means of training. Besides, many techni-
cians and pilots have an opportunity to
take a look and compare. “It is a good
thing that our simulator is located nearby
simulators for western aircraft from leading
simulation companies. It pleases me to
hear comments from pilots who sometimes
Training
find our products same or higher quality”,
Godunov says.
We spoke to Transas when the simulator
was being readied for qualification tests.
There are many formal procedures that
need to be passed before aviation authori-
ties clear the device for use in commercial
pilot syllabus. This is because the An-148
simulator is the first level D unit that was
ever created it Russia for an indigenous
airplane design in accordance with the
Doc.9625 standard. Before, Pensa-based
KBM produced high-grade flight simula-
tors for the Tupolev-204 and Ilyushin-96,
they were not level D.
“It was our leading project with IFC in
the given area, and in many ways it was
a good project for Transas. It does not
look that economically attractive as we
believed at the beginning. But, obviously,
we got only one example now and you
always need to pay more for a first copy.
It was clear for us from start that profitabil-
ity can be achieved only when this simula-
tor begins to sell in quantities. I am very
happy that we are nearing the end of the
development curve and now have a sym-
pathetic and competitive product to offer
our customers”, Godunov says. He added
that the simulator owes a lot for its coming
into being to IFC. “I send my compliments
to IFC general director Alexander Roubt-
sov as they initiated this project timely and
understood the importance of having a full
5
Training
flight simulator early for the success of the
whole An-148 effort”.
Solvent demand for the An-148 family
aircraft from the side of airlines is estimat-
ed at between 400 and 600 units. Prepar-
ing flight crews for them and maintaining
aircraft-handling skills creates a need for
some 20-30 full flight simulators. Besides,
there are some governmental structures
that also seek aircraft of that size and
performance. They may want this airplane
in special versions, and hence additional
need in customized means of training. IFC
and Transas are addressing these market
needs.
There has been some time shifts in
the program, Godunov admits. “In fact,
we were making the simulator while
the airplane itself was being perfected.
Serious changes have been made to
its avionics package. Functionality of
onboard systems was being enlarged.
Respectively, we had to alter the math-
ematics to reflect the airplane hardware
and software changes, – we did it ten
times. So, it was not possible for us to
complete our work earlier. Now, with the
An-148-100B having entered quantity
production, we are able to finish our
part”. In the interim, airline pilots got their
simulator training using a flight simulator
available at Antonov. Previously it was an
engineering stand for perfecting cockpit
instruments and later won approval by
aviation authorities for airline pilot train-
ing. Although that device was not perfect,
6
GTK Rossiya crews found it a useful tool
when they were undergoing in-type train-
ing at Antonov.
It is important to notice that the An-148
training package also includes a level
3 Flight Navigation Procedure Trainer
(FNPT). Although this sort of devices is well
down the league, and does not match the
Level D unit in quality of visualization and
in sound emulation, not even mentioning
piloting techniques, it does allow a trainee
pilot to practice a good number of exer-
cises. Boeing calls it “flat panel training”.
Modern FNPT devices feature large touch-
screens. Transas offered such a device
for the An-148 when talks with IFC were
being held – the offer was accepted.
FNPT allows pilots to undergo consider-
able part of syllabus, and thus take some
load off a level D simulator. It is reason-
able, from the financial point of view, to
use the level D only for those procedures
that cannot otherwise be set. Practice says
that 60-70% of all necessary training pro-
cedures can be done on FNPT. Comple-
menting a full flight simulator with three or
four FNPT is a good practice, Transas says.
It allows the system to provide training for
more pilots at a given cost.
In terms financial, making and main-
taining an FNTP and a level D simulator
differ by order of times. This is because
the full flight simulation requires expensive
visualization and motion systems, and
also a sturdy, solid construction. Besides,
instruments have to be same quality with
real airplane’s. So, it makes a lot of sense
to send a trainee for FNPT before he goes
to full flight simulator – and he does when
he is almost qualified in the type and need
only a little more of practice.
Transas and IFC are in talks on an FNPT
for the An-148-100E, a new version with
English-language cockpit. One can get
available within 3-6 months. Whereas
a full flight simulator requires at least
12–14 months to be built. This is largely
determined by availability of vendor items.
Such as motion system that has long lead
cycles and often paid for a year ahead of
delivery.
Now, with the An-148 training package
ready and receiving positive comments
from airline customers, Russian companies
start thinking of creating similar sets for
western airplanes. The Russian ministry for
transportation has a vast program for new
simulators and funding for it. The program
calls for creation of modern means of
training in all major aircraft in the Russian
fleet, both indigenous and imported types.
Transas has been a favored bidder in
competition for a 737 full flight simulator.
If respective contract is own, this will move
Transas deeper into competitive environ-
ment of the global aviation market.
“Transas already works in a highly
competitive environment, in presence
of well established aviation simulator
producers. We firmly intend to expand our
presence in the global market”, Godunov
says. Today, CAE and Thales are a stable
duopoly in the marketplace, but will it last
long? Some clients say they do not like
CAE’s policy of selling means of training
and, at the same time, offering training
services. In a sense, the maker competes
with its own clients. Sometimes comments
are heard on Thales that it is not always
flexible in marketing and sometimes
inflates prices. So, there is some space
for the aggressive Russian companies that
have amassed some expertise in training
and making means of training. IFC and
Transas believe they have good chances
to become serious players in the global
aviation market.
By Vladimir Karnozov
 Engines

A I R   F L E E T ·3·2 0 1 1 ( 8 8 )
7
Aircraft

– Cool exercise, isn't it?

– Yes, nice firing range!

Lybian test site

for European fighters
Against the background of the successful offensive of the Libyan forces combating rebels, on March
17, 2011 the UN Security Council resolution 1973 was adopted. Under the resolution, a no-flight
zone was introduced in the airspace of Libya and permission to use any means of protection of
the civilian population except occupation troops deployment was obtained. Both American and
Europen military forces seized the oppotunity. Moreover, it was a good chance to show their air
arsenal at work...
Having adopted the UN Security Coun- on March 23), and national campaigns countries. However, it did not prevent the
cil resolution, the countries concerned ini- became its components. U.S. from deploying its most numerous
tiated the operation. It is worth mentioning On behalf of NATO the United States, forces at the early stage. Among tradition-
that the resolution assumed its quite liber- France, Great Britain and Italy played al participants in the US military opera-
al interpretation. That is why when by the the leading roles in the air part of the tions the В-1В (2) and В-2 bombers (3),
second half of March it had become clear operation. Other NATO countries (Bel- the А-10 attack aircraft (6), the AC-130U
that the rebels had been suffering defeat, gium, Canada, Denmark, Greece, the gunships (2), the Е-8С command post
the NATO countries along with their allies Netherlands, Norway, Spain) taking part and target acquisition aircraft (3), the EA-
began an air offensive mission to combat in the mission confined themselves to 4-6 18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft
the Libyan armed forces. Originally, prior combat aircraft each (mainly F-16s and (5), the Global Hawk strategic unmanned
to March 31, when the overall air opera- F-18s as well) and one or several service aerial reconnaissance vehicles (SUARV)
tion command was taken over by NATO, support aircraft (airlifters, tankers, air- and MQ-1B Predator attack UARVs de-
air strikes against positions of the pro- borne early warning & control (AEW&C) serve special mentioning as the European
Gaddafi forces were conducted within of and patrol aircraft). NATO members’ air forces does not pos-
such operations as the Odyssey. Dawn Compared to the NATO military cam- sess their analogues.
(the US and a number of other NATO paigns against Yugoslavia in 1999 and Therefore, in a number of aspects the
countries), Ellamy (the United Kingdom Afghanistan since 2001, the conflict’s U.S. is playing a key role in the air cam-
of Great Britain), Harmattan (France), feature is a relatively moderate role of the paign against Libya, namely to support
Mobile (Canada). Following March 31 United States, which can be explained the NATO aviation by delivering massive
the air campaign was being conducted by political ends. It is caused by a will- sea-launched cruise missiles strikes on
under the NATO Unified Protector (began ingness to highlight the NATO European Libyan air defense targets; to support the

8

allies’ activities by ground target ISR
and electronic warfare aircraft; by the
use of long-range strike aircraft. In addi-
tion, the US forces are seen as a reserve
in case of unpredictable circumstances in
the region.
It must be mentioned that the US F-15Е
has been by far the only coalition aircraft
fallen in the Libyan territory. This took
place on March 22 at the very beginning
of the operation.
The leading NATO countries (except
Germany that refused participating in
the air campaign) have deployed more
numerous aviation contingents compared
to Belgium and Spain. The data flow dy-
namically depending on the progress of
the operation. Thus, in the early stage of
the operation France and the UK which
It must be mentioned that the US
F-15Е has been by far the only coali-
tion aircraft fallen in the Libyan ter-
ritory. This took place on March 22 at
the very beginning of the operation
A I R   F L E E T ·3·2 0 1 1 ( 8 8 )
encouraged the foreign intervention in
Libya employed the air assets forces as
follows:
The French Air Force and Navy (the carrier
air group (CAG) of the Charles de Gaulle
aircraft carrier) used 18 Dassault Rafale
land-based and naval fighters, 12 Mirage
2000 aircraft, 6 Super-Etendard naval at-
tack aircraft, 2 Mirage F1CR reconnaissance
aircraft, 6 С-135 airborne tankers and Е-3
и Е-2 AEWC aircraft, the 160G electronic
intelligence aircraft and the aircraft carrier
support helicopters. In addition, the Tonnerre
assault ship’s helicopter air group (of the
second Mistral-type ship) as part of 13 Aéro-
spatiale Gazelle, 4 Eurocopter Tiger (other
sources cite 2 ships) and 2 Eurocopter Puma
(or 4) helicopters have operated since early
June in the Libyan airspace.
War
Compared to other European countries
the next biggest aviation contingent was
furnished by the UK. Its major forces are
12 Tornado GR4 strike aircraft and 10
most sophisticated Eurofighter Typhoon
fighters that made their operational debut
in Libya. Apart from that, there has been
used a number of support helicopters,
such as 3 Е-3 and 2 VC-10 tankers. Fol-
lowing the example of France, Britain
has been employing the Ocean amphibi-
ous assault ship’s air group since early
June. Its main part consists of 4 WAH-64
Apache, 3 Lynx and 2 Sea King helicop-
ters.
Within the framework of the joint opera-
tion, Italy’s primary mission is to provide
its air bases. The Italians have allocated 8
Tornado IDS’s, 4 Tornado ECRs, 4 Euro-
fighter Typhoons.
In addition to the North Atlantic Alli-
ance members, a contingent of a number
of states is taking part in the air operation.
First of all, the Arabian states are repre-
sented by Jordan employing 6 F-16MLUs,
Qatar with 6 Mirage 2000-5EDAs and
2 С-17, and the United Arab Emirates
operating 6 F-16E/F Block 60s and 6
Mirage 2000s. Bearing in mind that the
participation of the states has rather a
limited contingent than a symbolic char-
acter (as in case with operations against
Iraq) and is dictated by politics, it did not
avert the irrecoverable loss of the second
coalition F-16 aircraft while landing at the
Sigonella air base on April 27.
Apart from the contingents from the
Arabian countries, the participation of
9
War

the Swedish contingency should be men- significant role too. Despite Germany not targets by the up-to-date fighters. For the
tioned too (8 JAS 39 Gripens, a Saab participating in the air operation, the Brit- moment, being operated as the main at-
340 AEW&C aircraft and a C-130 used ish and Italian Tornados are a vital com- tack component of the French force, the
as a tanker). Sweden is taking part in the ponent of the group of aircraft operating Rafale looks more effective. In March, it
operation not only duto political reasons, in Libya too. The British aircraft fitted with won the laurels as the savior of Benghazi.
but due to marketing ones as well with the the sophisticated MBDA Brimstone air- The French fighters are also employing the
end to promote its JAS 39 Gripen fighter launched antitank guided missiles are one most advanced Armement Air-Sol Modu-
on the international market, especially the primary coalition means to destroy laire / Air-to-Ground Modular Weapon
bearing in mind that its main competitors agile military hardware of the loyalists. (AASM).
(Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon, F-16E/F There is a need to point out that the mili- There are far fewer chances for the
Block 60) are participating in the op- tary debut of the Brimstone guided missile Swedish fighter to make an impressive
eration too. However, if the French and started in Libya and that their successful performance. Due to political limitations
European fighters are combating ground use will have a positive influence on the imposed on the country, the Swedish
targets and are subject to the danger market prospects of the weapon. aircraft are carrying out air patrol that
posed by Gaddafi’s AD, albeit minimal, Apart from the 4th-generation aircraft are less informative than engagement of
the Swedish are carrying out safe combat that are traditional for NATO operations, Gaddafi’s tanks or multiple-launch rocket
air patrols. the air campaign against Libya is also systems, captured by on-board cameras.
To sum up the information on the air characterized by the active use of Gener- On the other hand, unlike the Rafale or
component of Operation Unified Protector, ation 4+ and 4++ aircraft. It is a safe bet Eurofighter Typhoon, the fighters have
the conclusions as follows can be drawn to say that in the skies of Libya a secret nearly no chances to be downed by the
up. As is in previous NATO operations competition for the market place among loyalists fire and hit the headlines in the
conducted in cooperation with European the Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon и JAS 39 form of a wreck.
member-states, the F-16 and F-18 are Gripen is going on. It is only natural that The Eurofighter Typhoon positively dif-
the main workhorses. The Mirage 2000 the mass media are regularly highlight- fers from its rivals in its potential ability to
(both French and Arabian) is playing a ing impressive destruction of the enemy use the Brimstone antitank guided air mis-

10

The NATO forces need combat heli-
copters to fight effectively against
pinpoint moving targets under con-
ditions of close coordination with
the ground forces of the rebels with
a view to minimize the so-called
‘friendly fire’.
sile in the Block 15 advanced multi-role
step 2 configuration, which is of particular
importance in fighting armored vehicles
and trucks of the enemy. The effective-
ness of these military operations can be
partially illustrated by the massive use of
these guided missiles by the RAF’s Torna-
dos. These capabilities are of a particular
importance if the Libyan loyalists change
from the classic military tactics to the
highly mobile Toyota War.
In addition to the Air Force, Navy and
Army Aviation components of the airborne
operation, one should bear in mind cruise
missile strikes by US and British warships
and submarines. In addition to being
aimed at the Libyan air defense, the
strikes are meant to support manned and
unmanned aircraft of the participants in
the operation.
Mention should be made that since
Libyan aircraft demonstrates no ap-
pearance in the sky, the effectiveness of
various combat aircraft taking part in the
NATO operation can be estimated only
in terms of attack systems designed to
engage ground targets. In addition, the
Libyan air defense’s obsolescence, oper-
ability problems of its systems combined
with active proactive fires have created
the perfect environment for NATO’s
support and combat aircraft operating
outside the AD coverage of the enemy the
hothouse conditions. Antiaircraft assets,
which remained unquelled (antiaircraft
artillery, man – portable SAM weapons)
because of a limited coverage area, pose
no threat to NATO aircraft (except heli-
A I R   F L E E T ·3·2 0 1 1 ( 8 8 )
copters) operating at high altitude. Analy-
sis must these facts take into account as
under other combat environment condi-
tions the effectiveness of the aircraft could
prove to be much lower.
On the other hand, a serious factor of
influence on the effectiveness of aircraft
use by the operation participants is con-
siderable distance of their air bases from
potential targets. Thus, targets in Ajd-
abiya, Brega or Misrata are located 500-
1500 km away from the coalition bases
on Sicily, Sardinia, Crete and Corsica, let
alone the continental France and the UK.
This necessitates a considerable number
of air tankers and drop tanks, decreases
the war load and time of patrolling, in-
creases the duration of air missions and,
as a result, reduces their potential number
and increases the workload on the crews.
It is not reasonable to draw a conclu-
sion regarding the effectiveness and
advantages of any aircraft operating in
the conflict, taking into consideration the
weakness of the enemy in Libya.
The French aircraft debut was made on
March 19 when the French aviation and
its most advanced Rafale fighter attacked
War
Gaddafi’s forces at the approaches to the
rebel-held “capital” of Benghazi. 8 Ra-
fales, 2 Mirage 2000-5s and 2 Mirage
2000Ds took part in the first combat sor-
tie. The results of the first offensive combat
missions were stunning. In the course of
several days, the triumphant army of Col.
Gaddafi began a massive retreat from
Benghazi to Ajdabiya 160 km south of
the rebel capital and further on. The total
length of the retreat was nearly 500 km
within 10 days. In Benghazi the pro-
regime troops were forced to leave a
considerable amount of military hardware,
partially hit by NATO aircraft while the
other part suffered only minor visual dam-
ages. Rebels captured some of the equip-
ment in the operating condition.
A French Air Force officer taking part
in the NATO operation was quoted as
saying:
”At the very last moment I was assigned
to perform the mission. It lasted for 7
hours. A lot of people were engaged
in the operation which took a long time.
Aviation tankers based at Istra made it
possible for us to join the operation zone
and retreat to France afterwards. To
provide navigation the E3-F AWACS
radar aircraft was used which also was
capable of detecting air – to- air and sur-
face – to - air threats. Other fighters we
were cooperating with also had a mis-
sion to detect and engage enemy targets.
We were trainded to be on high alert in
the shortest time possible: having received
11
Aircraft
the mission to combat objectives, we took
off four hours later. This was a result of
a close cooperation among preparation
and planning units, reconnaissance avia-
tion groups and engineers maintaining our
aircraft “.
The Typhoon fighters of the RAF com-
menced their combat carrier on March
22 as fighters patrolling the airspace in
the area of operations. As a strike fighter,
the Typhoon, which first was used on 12
April to engage ground targets, did not
produce significant results compared to its
rival, the Tornado, due to the lack of Brim-
stone guided missiles. Nevertheless, the
fighters succeeded in killing a number of
moving targets with guided bombs.
A Royal Air Force pilot who carried
out the first operational Typhoon aircraft
strike on a ground target has been de-
scribing the mission:
“We’d been tasked to Misratah in the
West of Libya, which is pretty much a city
under siege, with significant numbers of
attacks against the civilian population
from pro-regime forces. We were looking
along one of the main supply routes in
Misratah when we came across a com-
pound with around 10 – 15 main battle
tanks in. We reported our findings to the
command and control assets we work
with and shortly thereafter, were cleared
to engage. At that point, we generated
coordinates for the targets and dropped
weapons. Each time we assessed the
likely weapon effect and whether there
would be any collateral damage impli-
cations. It was a precision attack from a
significant altitude. To be honest, I was
a little bit nervous but you just revert to
the training you’ve done before. I’ve
12
dropped a significant number of weapons
from the Typhoon in training. It felt no
different from that, only this time I was
even more relieved to see the bomb go
exactly where it should have done, in the
Litening III image displayed in my cockpit.
We have proven that the jet can carry
weapons a long distance, drop them ac-
curately, land and get pumped full of fuel,
reloaded with weapons and go and do it
again, day in day out. That makes this ca-
pability enduring, and while it may seem
like a milestone to some, it’s just a hurdle
that had to be overcome at some point. It
has been done, and we will drop more
over the life of the aircraft. I think people
are just pleased we’ve got the first one
out of the way”.
On April 23, the Libyan sky saw the
appearance of US Air Force MQ-1B
Predator unmanned aerial vehicles fitted
with the Hellfire ATGMs. The employing
of UAVs was needed to partially compen-
sate for the relatively modest capabilities
of the manned aircraft of the coalition
forces to eliminate pinpoint moving tar-
gets. Due to remoteness from their air
bases, coalition aircraft had little time for
patrolling and were fitted with a limited
war load. A previous positive experience
of the UAV employment to hunter enemy
off-road vehicles in the Middle East and
Afghanistan, gave the grounds for the
hope that the MQ-1B Predator’s use will
be a success. However, unlike previous
examples, the Libyan target is not a single
or several vehicles; the question is how to
engage a considerable group consisting
of armored hardware, artillery, off-road
vehicles and lorries, only a few of which
can be destroyed by an unmanned aerial
vehicle because of its small ammunition
load. The use of more powerful MQ-9
Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles is seen
to have future.
On June 3, _British and French combat
helicopters joined the operation. Al-
though it is not the right time to come to
any conclusions on the effectiveness of
their use, one can assume that the Brit-
ish AgustaWestland WAH-64 Apache
helicopter will be the most credible. The
can be explained by the fact its main ri-
val, the Eurocopter Tiger, being currently
operational, is not equipped with ATGMs,
which prevents it from demonstrating its
combat capabilities in full. The NATO
forces need combat helicopters to fight
effectively against pinpoint moving targets
under conditions of close coordination
with the ground forces of the rebels with
a view to minimize the so-called ‘friendly
fire’. On April 7, NATO aircraft already
destroyed a rather large rebel armored
unit vic. Ajdabiya. On the other hand, the
employment of helicopters significantly in-
creases the hit probability, as it provokes
them to operate within the coverage area
of the mass AD weapons (SAM/AAA
systems, AAA, man-portable SAM launch-
ers) of the pro-Gaddafi units. The threat
posed by the latter can be reduced by the
tactics of using helicopters at night, when
the effectiveness of the antiaircraft assets
decreases substantially.
In addition to the two types of combat
helicopters, the Aérospatiale Gazelle,
which makes up the basis of the Tonnerre
amphibious assault ship, is taking part in
the operation too. It is worth mentioning
that she carries helicopters fitted with both
the HOT ATGM and 20-mm guns. Ana-

lyzing the prospects of further employment
of helicopters, it is of particular interest to
compare the venerable Gazelle equipped
with ATGMs and the more sophisticated
Tiger fitted with guns and FFARs only. It is
plausible that the Tiger possessing up-to-
date search equipment will play the lead-
ing role in a Gazelle package.
During the debut of NATO’s combat
helicopters in the Libyan conflict, the Brit-
ish Apache helicopters delivered strikes
on checkpoints and radars in the vicin-
ity of Brega, while French Gazelle and
Tiger helicopters engaged mobile assets
and command posts of the forces loyal
to Gaddafi. The French were reported to
have destroyed 15 vehicles and five com-
mand and control centers on the first day
of the operation.
The intermediate results of the opera-
tions conducted from March 5, when
NATO took over OPCON of the coali-
tion operation, to 5 July are as follows.
There have been conducted 9,917 sorties,
3,752 of which have been attack ones.
On the average, it accounts for 56 attack
air missions per day, 30% of them per-
formed by the French forces. In addition,
a considerable number of strike missions
were carried out as part of local national
operations prior to their merger into Op-
eration Unified Protector. The total number
of attack missions flown in late March
reached 100 sorties per day. Moreover,
this period saw a massive use of cruise
missiles.
1,800 targets are reported to have
been destroyed, of which 100 have been
command and control centers, 700 stor-
age facilities and 500 armored vehicles
and artillery systems. The reliability of the
information is yet to be proved. The NA-
TO forces suffered loss of two aircraft – a
USAF F-15E and a United Arab Emirates
F-16 lost to a technical fault.
A number of intermediate conclusions
can be drawn up despite the fact that the
air operation against the Gaddafi regime
has not been over yet. The attackers have
demonstrated their ability to deliver strikes
on targets located far from their air bases
for a long period of time. A large fleet of
air tankers makes it possible. Modern tac-
A I R   F L E E T ·3·2 0 1 1 ( 8 8 )
Jabrail Kidiki
Chief Air Force of Libya
tical fighters have shown high operational
capabilities while engaging mobile tar-
gets not covered by effective AD systems.
It will make it possible for manufacturers
to capitalize on the results of the strikes to
promote their weaponry on the interna-
tional weapon market. The Generation 4+
Eurofighter Typhoon and JAS 39 Gripen
fighters made their operational debut
in Libya. Their French rival, the Rafale,
which had been operated by the NATO
forces in Afghanistan and in Libya, had
become the French’s main striking force.
Evidently, the very fact and concrete ex-
amples of their participation in the opera-
War
tion will become a subject of marketing
efforts, including those to be taken as
part of the Indian tender for light fighters
to meet the requirement of the Indian Air
Force. With a certain element of overesti-
mation one can say that in the Libyan sky
there has been on a competition among
Eurofighter Typhoon and Rafale fighting
for the right to enter service with the In-
dian Air Force. The positive features of the
two fighters are their long operational ra-
dius and considerable war load. The pic-
tures of joint raids performed by the two
aircraft are very characteristic – the Ra-
fale was pictured carrying an impressive
array of weapons while the Mirage 2000
fighter had a moderate war load. In this
context, the European and French fighters
are in the same class of heavy fighters the
Su-30 and F-15E belong to.
The Libyan military campaign made it
possible for the Franco-German Eurocop-
ter Tiger helicopter to show off its opera-
tional capabilities to prospect customers.
However, the limited capabilities of its
unguided weapons pose an obstacle to
giving an objective vision of its capabili-
ties and increase the risk of combat losses,
which could affect _sales of the helicopter.
In general, the NATO campaign in Lib-
ya has become another proving ground
for advanced aircraft and air-launched
weapons, as the alliance’s other similar
operations were.
By Vyacheslav Tseluiko
13
Engines

Motor Sich:
Past, Present and Future
Zaporozhye based Motor Sich JSC, which in 2007 celebrated its centenary, is one of the largest
manufacturing outfits, which has an integrated cycle of the advanced aero engine development
from marketing studies, engine design, and manufacture to engine in-service support and overhaul.
Quality and reliability of the engines manufactured by Motor Sich JSC is proved by their successful
operation in more than 120 countries all over the world.

100-year period of its activity and now
it collaborates successfully with leading
airplane and helicopter plants from CIS
countries, the Russian Federation, and
countries world over.
The initial period of Motor Sich JSC his-
tory was closely related to French aircraft
companies that merged in the postwar
period to found Snecma company. Also,
in the 1920s, it was the licensed manu-
facture of Hispano-Suisse 8FB (M-6)
engine followed by acquisition of the
license from Gnome-Rone company to
produce Bristol Jupiter VI (M-22) and
Mistral Major 14K (M-85) engines.
It was the continual effort on develop-
ing a number of superior power engines
based on 14К engine family, with their
power being within the range of 850 h.p.
(14К engine) to 2000 h.p. (М-90 engine),
which contributed to making the plant
designers’ team currently represented by
both Motor Sich JSC designers’ team and
designers’ team of Ivchenko-Progress De-
sign Agency, the globally famous designer
of aero engines. In 2007, Motor Sich JSC
and Ivchenko-Progress Design Agency
consolidated their efforts and merged into
Ivchenko Scientific Production Association
Corp.(Ivchenko Corporation).

TV3-117VMA-SBM1V
Vyacheslav A. Boguslayev
Chairman of the Board of Directors,
Motor Sich JSC

Motor Sich JSC follows the policy of

partnership and mutually beneficial
cooperation. Therefore, now this company
participates in Paris Air show, the most
globally prestigious one.
Motor Sich JSC Quality Management
System meets the requirements of ISO
9001:2000 international standards, which
was confirmed with the Certificate by
Bureau Veritas Certification.
The company has gained respect and
prestige among its customers over a

14
 Engines

An-148

Now, the range of Motor Sich JSC Ivchenko Corporation has dealt with engines can provide the maximum thrust
engines commercially produced, as well developing and manufacturing engines within the range of 2,500 to 3,000 kgf
as those at various development stages, for trainers and operational trainers for and 5,000 kgf with the afterburner
for passenger and cargo aircraft covers 80 years. installed.
turboprops and turbopropfans of 400 Currently, over three thousand train- Now, Motor Sich JSC along with
to 1,4000 h.p., and by-pass engines ers and operational trainers powered by Moscow-based Salut MMPP FGUP, Russia
of 1,500 to 23,400 kgf as well, with Motor Sich JSC gas-turbine engines are has launched commercial production of
D-436-148 engine to power An-148 pas- operated in 40 countries. AI-222-25 engine of 2,500 kgf thrust for
senger aircraft family among them. Following the tradition, Motor Sich JSC Yak-130 operational trainer that is sup-
The engine is the latest version of and Ivchenko-Progress Design Agency plied to pilot training centers of Russia Air
D-436T1 engine. It meets ICAO emission develop AI-222 family engines jointly. The Force.
requirements and ensures silent An-148
operation, with its noise level being lower
than enforceable standard. The engine is
not inferior than foreign competitor prod-
ucts in terms of its performance.
Motor Sich JSC has developed
D-436-148
AI-450-MS two-shaft gas-turbine auxil-
iary power unit (APU) for various An-148
versions and other passenger and cargo
aircraft powered by D-436 family propul-
sion engines. The APU ensures propulsion
engine start and supplies the aboard sys-
tems with compressed air and electricity
should propulsion engines be inoperative.
Increasing importance of combat air
force makes great demands both on train-
ing newly comer pilots and keeping up
pilots’ flight skills in fighting troops, as well
as on training them to use aviation weap-
ons. Thus, trainers and operational trainers
stand high in Air Force of any country.
Aircraft performance is determined by its
engine performance to a large extent.
A I R   F L E E T ·3·2 0 1 1 ( 8 8 )
15
Engines

helicopter types. The engine automatic

control system makes it possible to adjust
engine takeoff power to 2,500; 2,400;
2,200 or 2,000 h.p. when the engine
is tested at Motor Sich JSC test bench;
TV3-117VMA-SBM1V automatic control
system ensures its flat rated power up
to higher environment temperature and
higher flight altitude compared with
TV3-117V engine family versions available,
including VK-2500 engines to power Mi
and Ka helicopters.
In 2007, TV3-117VMA-SBM1V engine
was successfully tested in the thermal
pressure chamber situated in TsIAM, Rus-
sia to determine engine key performance
and its ability to have its rated power flat
at high altitudes and temperatures, and
to evaluate operational performance of
engine and its systems. When testing, the
Mi-24 engine provided stable start up to the
altitude of 6,000 m and stable operation
at the altitude of 9,000 m within the whole
environment temperature range that could
Flight display at various Air Shows cycles and time before the first overhaul be encountered in operation.
evidences that combined with superior being 4,000 hours/4,000 cycles. On 5 September, 2007, the Avia-
Yak-130 aircraft aerodynamics, AI-222-25 TV3-117VMA-SBM1V engine power tion Register of Interstate Aviation
high- performance engine ensures maneu- settings have been effectively adapted Committee (AR IAC) granted the Type
vering aircraft performance corresponding to operation conditions on various Certificate to Motor Sich JSC for its
to the 4th or 5th generation fighters. Thus,
we hope that military experts will choose
Yak-130 aircraft powered by AI-222-25
engine as the best possible solution for
their Air Forces in various countries, as this
superior trainer will allow pilots to acquire
MS-500V
and keep up skills in piloting advanced
combat aircraft.
AI-222K-25 engine version without
the afterburner and AI-222K-25F engine
version equipped with the afterburner are
intended for a two-engine trainer currently
developed by Hongdu Aviation Industrial
(Group)/HAIC Corporation.
In 2007, the Type Certificate
was granted to Motor Sich JSC for
TV3-117VMA-SBM1V engine designed by
its designers.
The engine has been designed to improve
helicopter performance and combat ef-
fectiveness when operated at high altitudes
in the countries with hot climate. The engine
meets high operational requirements, with
its total life being 12,000 hours/12,000

16
 Engines

TV3-117VMA-SBM1V propulsion engine.

Currently, carried out by Motor Sich JSC
along with the Ministry of Defence of the
Russian Federation, TV3-117VMA-SBM1V
engine state bench testing is under way,
as well as preparation to flight test of
Mi and Ka type helicopters powered by
TV3-117VMA-SBM1V engine in Russia.
Concurrently, continual efforts are
undertaken by Motor Sich JSC designers to
upgrade the engine by integrating new tech-
nical solutions into engine design. First of all,
it concerns engine automatic control system
that is going to be replaced by advanced
FADEC control system developed by Start
Ltd, Perm, Russia. Using this advanced digital
control system will bring to further helicopter
and engine performances enhancement. An-158
Invaluable 100-year expertise
in manufacturing aero engines has
enabled Motor Sich JSC to accumulate
a wealth of experience in working with touch permanently with its representa- customers both from CIS countries and
customers to provide engine techni- tives worldwide. countries word over; it can offer a wide
cal maintenance for the whole time of This company also has accumulated range of brand-new products for cutting-
their operation. The company keeps in wide experience in working with foreign edge promising engines for fixed- and
rotary-wing aircraft.
Manufacturing durable, reliable, and

AI-450-MS user-friendly products that meet fully cus-

tomers’ requirements is our main goal. We
aspire to cement the current positive image
of Motor Sich JSC as a well-established
and dependable partner.

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
A I R   F L E E T ·3·2 0 1 1 ( 8 8 )
17
Engines

Aeroflot learns
to fly Superjet
The Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100), in the form of an operable prototype, is, one more time, the
major Russian exhibit at a big international event, in this case the Paris air show 2011. Less than two
weeks before show opening, Aeroflot took delivery of its first SSJ100 out of thirty airplanes on order.
This machine, MSN97008, is expected to start revenue operations this month.
Two weeks before that the manufac- A319 with the new Russian type on the Domodedovo and Vnukovo airports of
turer – Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company route between Zvartnots of Yerevan and Moscow, as well as at the airports of
(SCAC) – published initial operations Sheremetievo of Moscow. On first revenue Odessa, Donetsk, Simferopol (all three
results for the MSN97007 in service with flight, the SSJ100 flew with full cabin, car- in Ukraine), Larnaka (Greece), Aleppo
Armenian Airlines. In the first calendar rying 96 passengers. With that, the manu- (Syria), Venice (Italy), Teheran (Iran),
month of revenue service, the airplane facturer stresses that the first deliverable Rome (Italy), Tel-Aviv (Israel), Beirut (Leba-
performed 66 flights in which it covered SSJ100 commenced revenue service in an non) and Lion (France). Sukhoi insists that
a total distance of 85,800 kilometers and extremely short period of time – merely no failures having impact on the airwor-
carried 2,885 passengers. The number two days after the official delivery on 19 thiness were registered during the whole
of flight hours amounted to 168. Armavia April 2011. period of operation. “The SSJ100 per-
commenced SSJ100 passenger operations By now the only Superjet at Armavia’s fectly fits Armavia fleet, containing mostly
on 21 April 2011, by replacing an Airbus disposal has been seen at Sheremetievo, CRJ200, A319 and A320 aircraft. Owing

18
 Aircraft

“Aeroflot management prepares a petition to

the Russian government on implementation of
sanctions against SCAC for delays with delivery
of the first SSJ100 aircraft to the national flag
carrier”, said Levitin, who at that time headed
Aeroflot’s Council of directors

to high economic efficiency and good
operational capabilities we can schedule
the aircraft both to regional and to short-
haul routes – basing on current passenger
load per each flight”, commented Mikhail
Bagdasarov, the man who owns Armavia.
There is one more quote provided in the
press release by the manufacturer. “It is a
great aircraft and it allows intensive op-
eration already at entry into service. Both
crew and passengers receive only positive
impressions. The aircraft is easy and com-
fortable to control, the cockpit is quiet and
allows effortless communication between
pilots. The cabin is spacious and comfort-
able too, the passengers do not have any
difficulties while boarding or placing their
baggage. Wide aisles provide the oppor-
tunity to serve food and beverages with
maximum comfort even during short flights.
The passengers can easily pass the flight
attendant by while he is serving”. These
words are attributed to Armavia’s SSJ100
crew chief Sergey Kharatyan.
But not everything goes well for the
program. It suffered over three year delay
to the original delivery plan. Furthermore,
series airframes appear to be heavier than
expected, and deliver to airline custom-
ers with a short lifetime on them. This fact
is not something of the ordinary: many
other aviation programs also went not as
they were originally planned. Insiders in
Sukhoi admit the shortcomings but insist
the airplane is “curable” and thus does
have some future prospects in the global
marketplace.
Different people may have various
opinions. Russia’s minister for transporta-
tion spoke of sanctions against SCAC.
A I R   F L E E T ·3·2 0 1 1 ( 8 8 )
The SSJ100 manufacturer, the ministry for
transportation and the launch customer
appear in a heated dialogue over after-
math of the aircraft deliveries to Aeroflot.
The airframe MSN97008, which will bear
official registration RA-81901, first flew
in January this year, and then underwent
a lengthy period of manufacturer’s trials
before being handed over to the intended
customer in the first week of June 2011.
“We discuss the terms of delivery with
Aeroflot management in a friendly man-
ner”, SCAC spokeswoman said. SCAC
says it understands completely the difficul-
ties that may be met during the operational
trials and initial revenue operations on
the brand-new Russian aircraft type. But
notice that the launch customer was given
a hefty discount which shall well cover the
possible difficulties at the early stage of
flight operations.
An insider in Sukhoi further said that the
difference between the promised figure
and actual fuel burn for the SSJ100 cus-
tomer-specified typical cruise mode comes
is confined to 1-3%. He said that the ac-
tual fuel burn is about two tons per block-
hour, while another source in SCAC gives
exact figure: 1,959 kg. But the discount for
the purchase as launch customer was very
high. By comparison, the Airbus A318 with
similar passenger capacity is offered at
US dollar 65.2 million according to Airbus
official price-list as of January 2011.
Meantime, Aeroflot says it has prepared
enough cockpit, cabin and ground staff
to commence SSJ100 revenue operations
as soon as first airplanes is delivered and
proper registered with the civil aviation
authorities. Initially, the SSJ100 will fly
Igor
Levitin
revenues services daily between Moscow
and St. Petersburg. Other destination is
Nizhny Novgorod with respective sched-
ule service opening in early June, initially
with the A319.
In this background of more or less
concerted SCAC and Aeroflot actions,
the words said by Russian minister for
transportation Igor Levitin look strange
and aggressive. He told Russian media
on Friday 15 April about sanctions to
SCAC. “Aeroflot management prepares
a petition to the Russian government on
implementation of sanctions against SCAC
for delays with delivery of the first SSJ100
aircraft to the national flag carrier”, said
Levitin, who at that time headed Aeroflot’s
Council of directors. Here are the words
that the minister said: “We need to act
according to how Aeroflot will be accept-
ing these airplanes from the manufacturer,
knowing that the promised delivery times
had past. Besides, Aeroflot has questions
to the [airplane’s] technical performance.
Aeroflot management prepares its views
for submission to the council of directors
and then to the government, regarding fee
sanctions [against the manufacturer]”.
According to December 2005 contract
on 30 SSJ100s between Aeroflot and
SCAC, first delivery was initially planned
for 2008. But later this date has been sev-
eral times “corrected” during negotiations
between SCAC, Sukhoi and UAC on one
hand, and Aeroflot on the other, under
19
Aircraft
Mikhail
Bagdasarov
supervision of the Russian government. In
2009 Aeroflot said it gave up the idea of
sanctions in return for easing import terms
for Airbus A330 widebodies.
The above written provides some
background to the main part of this story,
about Aeroflot preparations to the SSJH
operations. The Russian flag carrier has six
its instructor pilots qualified for the Sukhoi
Superjet 100 (SSJ100) regional jetliner.
They obtained their certificates in the last
day of March this year. These pilots went
through a 1.5-month-long in-type training
at the manufacturer’s Moscow offices and
the flight test base in Zhukovsky. They will
handle the MSN97008 on the initial pas-
senger services inside Russia, and training
of line pilots to the new type.
Aeroflot placed a firm order for 30 SS-
J100s in December 2005, thereby accept-
ing the role of the type’s launch customer,
sharing it with Armavia that ordered two.
By Aeroflot standards, there must be 11
pilots per airframe. This constitutes a need
for 330 cockpit crew members in 2014,
when all thirty deliveries are expected to
be complete.
The six pilots have been selected very
carefully so as to provide high flight safety
standards in the absence of a full-flight
simulator (FFS). Instead, an engineering
stand with some flight simulator functions
has been using for some training, – the
one is available at Sukhoi’s. The manu-
facturer says this unit has been qualified
20
“The SSJ100 perfectly fits Armavia fleet,
containing mostly CRJ200, A319 and A320
aircraft. Owing to high economic efficiency and
good operational capabilities we can schedule
the aircraft both to regional and to short-haul
routes – basing on current passenger load per
each flight”, commented Mikhail Bagdasarov,
the man who owns Armavia.
by Russian aviation authority Rosaviatsiya younger and less experienced pilots, some
as Level 5 Training Device and is used to of whom might have never flown a narrow
simulate various flight regimes, including body Airbus. Flying for these pilots will be
critical. Using this device, coupled with made not from Mikhail Gromov’s Flight
huge experience of the selected pilots in Test and Research Institute (LII), as in the
the A320, enabled them to proceed to case of Phase I, but from Sheremetievo
actual flying of the SSJ100 development airport of Moscow, the main base of the
prototypes (msn97005). Russian flag carrier and the aerodrome
Aleksander Miroshnichenko, head near the city of Ivanovo. The capital
of Aeroflot cockpit crew training, says airport is very busy, and its use will be
he is not worried by the lack of SSJ100 confined to practicing nocturnal opera-
simulator training since the pilots selected tions, since Ivanovo is poorly equipped for
are seasoned A320 instructors, and the night landings.
A320’s and SSJ100’s information fields For those line pilots who come from
and control systems are broadly similar. A320s, the conversion program will take
“Both aircraft have a sidestick and a glass 2.5 months. “Now, many things are done
cockpit on LCDs. Thanks to the similarity on real aircraft since the flight simulator is
of these types, A320 pilots will master not ready yet”, says Director of Aeroflot
SSJ100 with no problem. I say this without Aviations School (AAS) Stanislav Tulsky.
any hesitation”, Miroshnichenko stated. A Honored Airline Pilot of the Russian
The Phase II of the SSJ100 crew train- Federation, Tulksy and his AAS colleagues
ing will see the six instructors teaching have been very busy recently setting up
 Aircraft

newly delivered equipment for SSJ100

training and preparing syllabuses for
Aeroflot cockpit and cabin crews, as well
as technicians and maintainers that will
handle the SSJ100. The airline has already
commenced training of cabin crews, tech-
nicians and maintainers, he says. Since the
A320 and SSJ100 are broadly similar in
systems architecture and design philoso-
phy, the training syllabuses for both types
are purposely unified.
In March Aeroflot took delivery of a pro-
cedure training device for teaching cockpit
and cabin crews how to disembark the air-
plane in normal and emergency landing
situations. Called the ASP simulator (ASP
is Russian acronym for Emergency, Escape,
Rescue Procedures), it represents a cylin-
der section of the fuselage equipped with
doors that can be open or dropped – and
preconfigured before a training session to
simulate a particular emergency.
Aeroflot runs emergency, rescue and
escape drills simultaneously involving Stanislav Tulsky
cockpit and cabin crews who learn how
to coordinate their efforts in various
situations. Facilities of the airline’s Train- “Everything is sized and placed as in a real
ing Center at Sheremetievo-1 include a
special device representing a fragment of airplane. I saw nothing of the sort in the rest
the Il-96 airframe on moving platform. It
enables the crews exercise rescue opera- of Russia and training centers in foreign
tions after simulated emergency landing
with a broken landing gear. “The cockpit countries I have visited. When shaping these
and cabin crews need to coordinate their
actions in conducting a proper evacuation classes and equipping them we tried to use
of passengers and themselves, – which
is very much a challenge and therefore every bit of experience available round the
needs developing special skills”, Tulsky
says. Albeit using Il-96 hardware, this sim- world”, Tulsky says
ulator is a must-go for all Aeroflot crews.
Various door types are available here for
drills, including those from Airbus narrow immediately followed by drills: trainees facilities, ASS was open in March this
and wide bodies, Boeing 767, Ilyushin-96 practice in a cabin fragment with seats, year. It was built from scratch to highest
and Tupolev-154. Besides, there is a water overhead baggage compartments, gal- standards and makes use of world’s best
reservoir where evacuation from ditching leys and kitchens – real things as in air- practices. In the 1990s and beginning of
airplane and using rafts are practiced. planes. “Everything is sized and placed as this century Aeroflot had been learning
ASS offices at the village of Melkisarovo in a real airplane. I saw nothing of the sort from the west. In particular, from Boeing,
in the vicinity of Sheremetievo airport have in the rest of Russia and training centers Airbus and dedicated schools with leading
classes for cabin crews, for their theory (at in foreign countries I have visited. When European airlines, such as Lufthansa Flight
computers) and practice. There are two shaping these classes and equipping them Training (LFT). Later, the airline hired LFT
classes, for widebody jets (sized to the we tried to use every bit of experience classes and devices to conduct drills for
Ilyushin-96) and narrowbodies (A320). available round the world”, Tulsky says. Russian trainees under control of Aeroflot
Lectures and computer programs are A new addition to Aeroflot’s vast training own instructors.
A I R   F L E E T ·3·2 0 1 1 ( 8 8 )
21
Aircraft
Comparing the SSJ100 to the A320, Sergei
Bodrov noted that “the Sukhoi is better trimmed
in yaw, bank and pitch channels”, and “handles
better with one engine out, with the automatics
doing all necessary compensations”
“Now we do everything in house, in a
belief that AAS is the best school in Russia
and one of the best in the world”, Tul-
sky says. Personally, he has undergone
“several cycles of the learning curve” in the
west, starting in 1991. “Since early 1990s
I and my seasoned colleagues, now AAS
managers, have consequently mastered
the Airbus A310, Boeing 737 and 767,
A320 and A330”. They came to Toulouse
with considerable Tu-154M experience
and later added that in the Il-96-300, –
the only local type in Aeroflot inventory
today.
Tulksy adds some personal details to
this point: “I underwent training in the 767
and 777 at Boeing in Seattle, and in the
A320 and A330 at Airbus in Toulouse.
My school uses western experience my
colleagues and myself amassed in the
past twenty years – we have accumulated
experience of over ten foreign training
centers and fused it with our own. I believe
these twenty years of learning will pay off.
We have amassed necessary skills, and,
more recently, got hold of some superb
training equipment, – the whole range of
training devices. Now we run an avia-
tion school that prepares good cabin and
cockpit crews, and does that on a very
competitive basis”.
ASS instructors have many personal
friends among their foreign colleagues
especially at Airbus. “They visited us re-
cently and said they got deeply impressed
and pleased with this school”, Tulsky says.
Cooperation is now focusing on perfect-
ing A320 and A330 syllabuses. “When
you get all necessary equipment in place,
instructors and their methodical approach
to training becomes priority number one.
It is impossible to prepare an airline pilot
22
without good devices, and yet it is the
instructor who does the teaching”.
The Soviet Union had a vast and well
structured pilot training system, but it large-
ly collapsed in the 1990s. Sharp drop in
passenger traffic rendered many pilots out
of work, forcing them either change pro-
fession or go places such as Africa. Now,
with the Russian economy on the rise, the
national air transportation system recovers
and feels growing need in airline pilots.
Russia has only one flight school in the
state-run system, in Ulianovsk. A good
school with traditions and pride, Ulianovsk
increases output of pilots. In 2010 it
graduated 82 pilots, while accepting 200
trainees. Its capacity has been growing
thanks to measures being taken by the
Russian government, Ministry for transpor-
tation and Aeroflot. The Ulianovsk High
Flight School is narrowly focused on initial
training in aircraft handling skills and
navigation. It has agreement with Aeroflot
that the airline’s instructors participate in
the training process at Ulianovsk. Aeroflot
accepts Ulianovsk graduates and carries
out in-type training at the airline’s own
centers.
Normally, ASS will make a second step
for a young person under 35 willing to
become an A320 or a SSJ100 pilot with a
multiply pilot license (MPL). After amassing
a bit of flying experience on piston aircraft
at Ulianovsk, – about one-third of the
requisite flight training – the trainee goes
for in-type training for the A320 and/or
Superjet 100.
On insistence of Aeroflot, Ulianovsk is
adding the Diamond DA42 twin engine
airplane to the undying Yak-18T, a single
engine piston airplane which has intro-
duced to flying several generations of
Sergey
Bodrov
Soviet and Russian airmen. The Yak-18T is
good as a screener and ab-initio trainer,
while the DA-42 is largely intended for
introduction of pilots into the world of the
glass cockpit and the art of crew resource
management (CRM). The latter is about
coordinated actions by captain and co-
pilot during flight.
Aeroflot has a compact DA42 flight
simulator without motion system and
considers adding one more. Tulsky says
the Euro 230-thousand device has proved
its worth during 3 years of service. “Our
choice made 3.5 years ago was right, as
we feel improvement in pilots’ skills after
flying DA42 simulator. This airplane is
simple and with a glass cockpit, which
makes it easier for the trainees to proceed
for the A320”.
Today, Aeroflot training capacity is 160
pilots a year: this includes new pilots (after
Ulianovsk) and type conversion – mostly
those who jointed Aeroflot after leaving
other airlines where they flew a Boeing 737
or an old Soviet aircraft. This figure shall
remain in 2015, but all graduates will be
new pilots graduating with MPL. The exist-
ing FFS inventory has capacity just enough
for 160 pilots each with 80 flight hours.
To become an A320 second crew
member, an applicant must have CPL
which requires 250 flight hours. Tulsky
says: “We train such applicants in the
A320. We developed unique skills of
preparing A320 pilots with such a limited

flying experience, – few schools in the
world do this. And we do this with good
quality: our graduates pass Aeroflot exams
and meet Airbus requirements. However,
we modified training programs that Airbus
suggested, to take care of peculiarities of
our entrants and our airline”. Aleksander
Miroshnichenko adds: “Aeroflot has been
taking deliveries of new A320 series
aircraft new from the factory since 2003.
Their number has risen from 18 initially to
69 and will rise further, to 82. With that,
we have amassed huge experience, since
the vast majority of Aeroflot pilots qualified
to the Airbuses at the airline’s won training
center.”
Aeroflot makes extensive use of main-
tenance and flight training devices. There
is one of touch-screen type that allows
trainees to master A320 procedures and
checks and use of navigation equipment,
and get acquainted with work of various
systems in the cockpit, including navi-
gation FNGS. The A320 pilot syllabus
includes 9 sessions each lasting four hours.
The training in the A320 is done in
English, and so the Superjet. “Although it is
a Sukhoi, the airplane has a lot of western
systems. Besides, this airplane is intended
for sales to foreign airlines. All this com-
mands English”, Tulsky explains.
Computer based training (CBT) is car-
ried out in dedicated classes, after one
hundred hours of lectures. The CBT class
is run by seasoned Aeroflot pilots Valery
and Nikolai who were in the first Aeroflot
group in Toulouse for training in the A310,
the first western type with the airline. Their
class is equipped with four Superjet 100
“kiosks” seating eight crew members, and
sixteen for Airbus norrow bodies. Provision
is made for possible enlargement of these,
but the given numbers are sufficient for time
being and foreseeable future. Software
package is ready, installed and tuned.
“The concept of Superjet training is similar
to that of A320”, the class masters said.
After 2.5 months at Melkisarovo, the
trainees will spend 1.5 months at Sherem-
etievo-1 undergoing simulator training.
There are four FFS at Aeroflot training
center there: two A320s, an Il-96-300
and a Tu-154M, although the latter type
A I R   F L E E T ·3·2 0 1 1 ( 8 8 )
is no longer in Aeroflot inventory. Plans
call for more, with the space available at
Sheremetievo-1 enough to place eight FFS.
Aeroflot is looking forward to having a
787 simulator, which is an essential part of
the aircraft delivery contract with Boeing.
At the same time, purchasing a 777 FFS
looks unlikely since Aeroflot has on order
only eight airframes, – not enough to jus-
tify it. Chances for an A330 FFS are more
optimistic, as ultimately Aeroflot may have
more than 11 units, which is a break-even
point for a simulator.
The Il-96-300 unit is the best illustration
for Aeroflot dedication to full flight simula-
tion. It is one of the kind in the world, a
beloved and demanding child for Aeroflot,
in which the airline invested a lot of its
own funding. It has undergone a series
of modernizations and now features a
modern visualization system and an elec-
trical motion system. The device has been
upgraded to Level D and allows conduct-
ing aerodrome training using FFS. It comes
with a rider that aerodrome training is
only run for pilots with flight time on glass
cockpit airplanes (the big Ilyushin is such)
exceeding 1,000 FH. Less experienced
crews undergo it on actual aircraft for the
sake of higher flight safety. Crews of other
Il-96 operators, including the Presidential
Air Detachment and Cubana de Aviacion,
undergo Il-96-300 FFS procedures at
Aeroflot training center.
The A310 FFS has recently been dis-
mounted to empty place for a SSJ100 FFS.
According to initial plans, Aeroflot was
scheduled to take delivery of a SSJ100
FFS in late 2011. Aeroflot had to have a
second-built SSJ100 FFS, after Sukhoi
Superjet International’s training center in
Venice. Now it is likely that the airline will
get the very first one. Tuning in the new-
Aircraft
est A320 FFS with electric motion system
took eighty working hour in ten calendar
days. “I anticipate the SSJ100 device will
not require longer time for tuning, since it
is provided by a good maker who previ-
ously supplied us with A320 FFS”, Mirosh-
nichenko says.
The SSJ100 FFS is being created by
Thales UK as part of the larger 2006-
2007 deal package between Thales and
Sukhoi. Although the FFS development
schedule has been revised several times,
Sukhoi insists the original contract is still
valid and shall be fulfilled. Meantime,
Aeroflot considers CAE a preferable sup-
plier, which may have consequences.
The FFS for Superjet 100 will be same
grade as the latest A320, and correspond
to D level. With its installation, the syl-
labuses for the SSJ100 and A320 will
become “identical”, with same overall
duration. “If the SSJ100 FFS gets installed
and tuned in August, and we start pilot
training on it immediately, then these pilots
will be ready to fly SSJ100 in November”,
Miroshnichenko said. In real life every-
thing will depend on time of actual deliver-
ies of the airplanes and the simulator, he
explained.
Tulsky assumes a more cautious attitude
to timing and syllabuses. “There is nothing
special for us in mastering the Superjet.
Until the SSJ100 FFS is not in place, we
will continue to populate SSJ100 cockpits
with experienced A320 pilots. As soon
as the simulator is available, we will start
training of new pilots without A320 experi-
ence, and it will take us three months to get
them qualified”. Another source in Aeroflot
said the Superjet operations will start
“three to four” months later, “as soon as”
the msn97008 delivers and commences
flying with the airline.
23
Aircraft
While EIS time suggestions differ, all
Aeroflot sources speak in unison as far as
their own role in crew preparations is con-
cerned. “I tell you: we are prepared and
got everything to prepare enough pilots
timely so that newly delivered Superjets
will not stay grounded”, Tulsky insists. How
many pilots will the second SSJ100 cock-
pit crew group have? He does not give a
precise figure in the following answer: “we
will perform so as the number of quali-
fied pilots always matches the number of
aircraft available. We have made our cal-
culations, so that when an airplane comes
to us and gets accepted, it will not stay on
the ground”. Another source expects train-
ing of the second pilot group to commence
“two months from now”.
To stay competitive, Aeroflot training
divisions have to watch costs, and the
expenses for FFS in particular. One such
unit is averagely priced at 12 million dol-
lars while Aeroflot pays for a new SSJ100
a mere US dollar 17-18 million, after all
discounts available for the launch custom-
er. Miroshnichenko says: “Naturally, the
bottleneck is the availability of full flight
simulators. When speaking about num-
bers of newly qualified pilots, one should
always remember the need to maintain
skills of earlier rated pilots. Although we
have two A320 FFS, one is completely
devoted to simulator checks of the existing
A320 crews”.
24
Wrapping up, Tulsky highlights
importance of improving the existing
training system, pending SSJ100 entry
into service and high-rate production
of the type being planned. The Russian
economy is on rise, and so its air trans-
portation and aircraft manufacturing.
Stressing this, he says: “Our contribution
to that is: we give clear vision of the fu-
ture to the young men who want to be a
Superjet pilot. We offer them a two-year
training program on Aeroflot’s account
that they will repay in five years flying
as a co-pilot with our airline, 80 FH a
month on average. These are good and
fair terms, attractive to both sides, so we
expect a positive outcome”. He further
stresses that the A320 and SSJ100 syl-
labuses are intentionally made similar,
allowing wide application of the pre-
cious western technologies mastered
in Russia for the benefit of a domestic
aircraft manufacturing program.
Interviews with the SSJ100 qualified
SSJ100 pilots sound encouraging for
the manufacturer. They say they like the
airplane, and in their view, the Superjet is
“built well and flies superbly”. “It handles
similar to the Airbus narrowbodies. The
Sukhoi has controllability reminiscent of
the A319 and is as flyable as the A321,
which is a good cross”, says Oleg En-
gels. His colleague Igor Treibert added:
“During training flights the angle of attack
peaked at 25-27 degrees, at which the
airplane demonstrated that it is safe to
fly thanks to well-done flight controls and
envelope protection system”. Comparing
the SSJ100 to the A320, Sergei Bodrov
noted that “the Sukhoi is better trimmed
in yaw, bank and pitch channels”, and
“handles better with one engine out, with
the automatics doing all necessary com-
pensations”.
The pilots said their training course
included 24 hours on the SSJ100 simu-
lator without motion system. They then
proceeded to actual flying on the SSJ100
prototype 97005. Each trainee pilot
amassed eight flight hours in some fifteen
missions under guidance of the Sukhoi test
pilots. As mentioned earlier all six speak
highly of the Superjet and see no obstacle
that may prevent the Russian flag carrier
from commencing revenue services soon
after the airplane delivers and cleared for
operations by the aviation authorities.
By Vladimir Karnozov
Engines

A380:
the tool for market dominance
Later this year the A380 is coming to Russia, for MAKS’2011 airshow in August. The world’s biggest
passenger jet comes to the world’s largest country by territory – this seems to be a very symbolic case.
Firstly, the A380, after 3.5 years of revenue service and a difficult initial operations period behind
it, is now mature enough. Secondly, the Russian air transportation system – comprising airlines and
airports – are now mature enough to operate large widebody jets. Thirdly, the A380 is a natural
replacement to the aged Boeing 747-200 and 747-400 operated by Transaero (passenger versions)
and Volga-Dnepr group (freighter variants in service with the groups’ Air Bridge Cargo).
The A380 has been to Russia already, on ing, the use of the A380 seems inevitable inside circles, that he was offered an oper-
a promotion tour. As of June 2011, the gi- – and logic – solution for the Moscow Air able A380 prototype by Airbus for further
ants have visited 130 world’s airports – this Knot. conversion into a VIP jet. By nature of the
number includes Moscow-Domodedovo. There is one more interesting point. Over top-class chronicle, this is all gossiping,
Today, 37 hub-cities concentrate 92% of two hundred business jets, including some especially after the first A380 VIP buyer
the long haul air traffic – each of those converted Boeing 767s, Boeing Business presented himself by his own will. The oper-
destinations serve more than 10,000 daily Jets and Airbus Corporate Jetliners belong able prototype Airbus offered to VIP clients
long haul passenger flights. Sadly, there to Russian owners or companies that serve was sold to Prince Alwaleed bin Talal at the
are no Russian cities among them. But they interests of the New Russians. These people Dubai 2007 show. It will serve the Prince as
should be, taking account of Russia’s human are known as very demanding custom- the Flying Palace.
resources and geographic location at the ers wanting the best flying toys available The airplane destined for the Saudis is
crossroads of the world. elsewhere. Some of them are looking at the the MSN02, one of the five instrumented
The international air traffic continues to A380 with same sparkles in the eye as does prototypes Airbus constructed for the A380
grow. The current forecast predicts further the Saudi Royal family members. flight testing. This airframe is now sitting on
rise at a rate of 4.8% annually over the next Roman Abramovich, a Russian tycoon, the Station 30C in Toulouse, undergoing
twenty years. Also predicted is that in 2030 has been many times named as a possible conversion into a production configuration.
the number of the big hub-cities will reach candidate to have a giant airplane. Some The work shall complete by the end of 2011
82, and the Russian capital will be one of journalists even suggested, referring to and is rather difficult as it involves removing
them. With congestion and slot issues press- the information coming from the informed some test equipment and sensors in hard-to-

26

access zones. Previously, a pair of “lightly
instrumented” test aircraft were placed with
Emirates after reworking .The heavy instru-
mented MSN01 and MSN04 are still with
Airbus, with the former to be used for testing
A350 motors.
But who is going to be a second customer
for VIP-configured A380? “Normally the
VIP customers do not announce who they
are”, says John Leahy, the Airbus chief sales-
man. If that second customer appears to be
a Russian oligarch, he may facilitate intro-
duction of the A380 into the local market.
The A380 is not the only suitable platform
for “Flying Palace” sort of usage. There is
Boeing 747 also. The US maker has sold
some thirty 747s to VIP customers. So, there
is a competition. I asked John Leahy how he
looks at this. “I think the A380 has excellent
prospects in the VIP market. It is a category
for heads of state and the rest who want
the biggest, most comfortable and lon-
gest range aircraft. Boeing has done very
well selling 747s into the VIP market. Up
tilПроверитьl this point it has been the 747,
but we laid a new brick on the block. If you
want the largest airplane, the most comfort-
able airplane, the airplane with the longest
range, it is going to be the A380. It has not
got a high volume, but it is an important
market to us”.
In the primary market sector, that for very
large capacity passenger transports, the
A380 is competing with the 747-8I model,
the recent mutation of the 40-year-old
Jumbo. Airbus claims 90 to 10 distribution of
sales between the A380 and 787-8I taking
account of only firm orders placed by air-
lines and publically announced by them. As
of January 2011, the ratio was 233 against
25 in favor of Airbus. The 747-8I won a
launch order in 2006. Only three years
after that Boeing found a second customer.
The simple reason is that the 747-8I does
not deliver like the A380 does, according
to Airbus.
Most airlines are Ok with the standard
performance charts put into the A380
Technical Review of 2006: 560ton maxi-
mum takeoff weight (MTOW) and 8,000nm
range with 525 passengers. It also applies
to the 49-th deliverable airplane that went
to Korean Air on 24 May 2011. By perfor-
A I R   F L E E T ·3·2 0 1 1 ( 8 8 )
mance, this airplane is able to fly “close re-
gional routes” from Seoul to Bangkok, Hong
Kong and Narita, and also “transpacific
services” to LA, San Francisco and New
York. Furthermore, Korean Air also plans to
employ it on the services to Paris and, pos-
sibly, other European destinations.
The A380 payload-range capability is
impressive. “We did not play any magic”,
says Richard Carcaillet, Director, A380
Product Marketing. He attributes the
airplane’s high performance to the benefits
coming from the extensive use of advanced
technologies. The airplane features most
advanced engines from Rolls-Royce (Trent
900) and Engine Alliance (GP7200), new
lighter and smaller systems. Flight control
architecture with two electrical two hy-
draulic circuits found on the A380 against
a previous standard with three hydraulic
circuits – this reduces weight considerably
and also volume.
Advanced construction materials – more
than 25% in the A380 airframe – reduce
structural weight. State of the art aerody-
namics is another advantage of the A380.
For the big Airbus the takeoff distance is
shorter than that for the 747-400 despite the
former being 40% bigger – this is due to the
high quality of the A380’s modern aerody-
namic design. Airbus believes the A380 is
“generation and a half” behind the vener-
able 747. “After the long Boeing’s monopoly
we produced an all-new, game-changing
aircraft”, Carcaillet concludes.
Starting from 2013, the A380-800 is go-
Aircraft
ing to be available with optional maximum
takeoff weight of 573 tons against current
569 tons, and offer maximum range of
8,300nm. Touching on the earlier limitation
of 560 tons, Tom Williams, EVP Programs,
refers to “natural conservatism” of his engi-
neers. “We are not redesigning the airplane,
but getting more out of the [standard] air-
frame to benefit our customers”, he explains.
This will enable the A380 to fly some more
long haul services. This has been “the key
factor to win some campaigns and satisfy
wishes of our customers”, says Carcaillet.
Reportedly, Emirates sought to fly Dubai to
ALX, while other airlines also thought of long
transpacific routes.
Boeing, on the other hand, does not seem
to be offering payload-range capability
that would satisfy many airline customers.
Whereas A380 operators confirm their new
airplane is 20% more fuel efficient than the
747-400. The – 8I version was supposed to
be 15% more efficient than its predecessor,
but… The following statements are based
on market intelligence in relation to 747-8I
technical performance. Basing on this mar-
ket intelligence, Airbus says the 747-8I has
a 15% higher fuel burn (earlier estimation
8%), “range shortfall” and 19% higher cost
per seat (earlier estimation 14%) compared
to the A380-800.
The heaviest-option A380 has a range
with full cabin of 8,300nm, against the early
Boeing promise of 7,800mn for its 747-8I
and the more likely 7,400nm as it became
known recently. Airbus estimates that the
27
Aircraft
747-8I “has a risk” of having a 15% higher
per seat fuel burn (compared to 8% as
believed earlier) than the A380. Meantime,
the European giant has proved its promise in
airline service of 20% higher fuel efficiency
that the Boeing 747-400. In particular,
Singapore Airlines has confirmed the 20%
reduction promised by the manufacturer.
“The 747-8I does not meet the promise at
entry into service”, Carcaillet says. In par-
ticular, the range shortfall is a serious con- in the airframe, at 2-3%, some people say.
straining factor for some airlines that seek
replacement for the ageing 747-400. “I will
not give names of airlines that wanted more
than Boeing offers. These airlines bought
the A380 because it offered year-round full
payload operation that they did not have
with 747-400. We discovered and verified
this, being able to check in the marketplace”, very fact that this so-called “new wing” had
Carcaillet insists. Poor than expected fuel
efficiency for the 747-8I makes a real dif-
ference on a number of routes, and this is
a factor explaining why Boeing salesmen
are having much difficulty in finding more
customers for that aircraft.
No doubt, the 747 has made its mark
in the history of aviation. But it has been
around for more than thirty years. “It would
be very said to see the last model of this
legendary airplane a failure. Definitely, at
the entry into service the last model of their for the comfort of the passengers quite
aircraft does not meet the promises. But
Boeing keeps saying it does”, according to
Carcaillet.
On several occasions Boeing people
were quoted in the press and sounded as
though the General Electric motors on the
747-8I does not deliver what Boeing wants
from them. At least, Boeing has been asking
28
the engine maker for improvements in fuel
burn of its engines.
But as it appears from the market intel-
ligence, not just engines but also weight and
aerodynamics shortfalls contribute to the
fact that the 747-8I underperforms. “You
cannot get much from a 40 year old design.
At some point it reaches the limit”, Carcaillet
says. Perhaps the most obvious disadvan-
tage is a very low advance material content
Boeing has been talking about a new
wing, but as far as we know it offers same
lift-to-drag ratio as the previous version of
the legendary, but venerable aircraft. It
seems the guys from Seattle have not done
any static tests on the “new” wing, – at
least, nothing has been reported about the
actually been subjected to static testing. “So
it can not be a new wing cause with new
wing you’ve got to do a new static test on
it”. In the flight tests Boeing encountered
significant flutter problems. “They are work-
ing around to suppress it – not eliminate it
physically, but suppress it with an active
control system”.
Passengers and airlines that are flying the
A380 say the airplane has the best cabin
in the skies today. The A380 was designed
consciously whereas the 747 was born as
a freighter, or, better, the military air lifter
– although it lost USAF competition to the
Lockheed C-5A Galaxy. From the airlifter
proposal the 747 inherited the fuselage
cross section that has not changed over the
years.
In fact, the 747-8I is a minimum derivative
design that gives nothing on the cabin. It has
same door distribution as on the 747-400.
The newer version is a stretched aircraft,
and so it is supposed to be bigger in terms
of seat number. But it possibly cannot have
more seats than the 747-400 as it comes
from certification documents, – this is be-
cause of certain certification requirements.
As a result, revenue generation capability is
affected.
Maintenance cost is another very signifi-
cant element for airlines. Advanced tech-
nology found in abundance on the A380
results in more reliable systems. Overall, the
A380 brings about a step-change in cost
efficiency to the airlines. Airbus calculated
that Singapore Airlines get US$7.9million
savings per year and get nearly 27,000
extra profit seats from replacing the 777-
300ER by the A380 on Singapore to Paris
route. Air France says it save Euro 15million
per year and per aircraft after replacing its
A340 and 777 by the A380 on the CDG to
JFK service.
Although the A380 and 777 fall in differ-
ent subclasses of the widebody transports,
people sometimes compare one to another.
The 777 is a lot noisier in flight than the
A380, and offers 18.5-inch seat backs –
same as in the A380, but this only if the 777
cabin comes in nine-abreast layout. At the
same time, many airlines prefer ten-abreast
seating so as to improve efficiency of the
Boeing jetliner. This decision narrows the
seat backs by an inch, and thus reduces
passenger comfort.
From the early A380 operations experi-
ence Airbus finds that it is the opinion of
economy class passengers that drives the
load factors. The A380 is very quiet in flight,
has wider seats and pleasing cabin interior.
When the A350 XWB and the 787 appear,
they will not beat the A380 in terms of noise.
Higher profitability to airlines and good fly-
ing experience with passengers – because
of these two things the A380 has been
generating high load factors. This is known
as “the A380 effect”.
There is a well known difference in the
air transportation market views of Boe-
ing and Airbus. The US maker believes in
point-to-point travel, while Airbus sees “no
fragmentation, not decreasing frequencies,

but traffic growth”. The history tells us that
the air traffic doubles every 15 years. “We
are talking about accommodation of that
growth probably without increasing the ex-
isting frequencies. That’s makes big aircraft
necessary”, Carcaillet says.
This decade was not easy in the terms of
the world economy. But despite that, the air
traffic rises. One year of traffic growth in
this decade is the same as a decade of the
1970s, when the 747 entered service. Today,
90% of the airline traffic goes to or via 30
biggest hub-cities, and the A380 serves 11
of top 15 airports. In future, Asia-Pacific will
become the biggest region in terms of the
air traffic and its growth. Hence, there is a
growing need to connect Asia-Pacific cities
between themselves and to major cities in
Europe and Americas. Cities are magnet for
economic development and, therefore, air
traffic. Hub-to-hub is a very efficient way of
distributing traffic. The A380 is not a tool for
consolidation, a tool for growth.
Since entry into service 3.5 years ago,
the A380 fleet has been steadily growing
in numbers. And this was in a difficult time
when the world came through SARS, local
wars, recession and world-wide crisis.
Some airlines have achieved and maintain
99% reliability on the A380, while the fleet
average is just about 98%.
Airbus gears up A380 production to
meet the growing demand. As of early
June, 79 customer aircraft went through
wing to fuselage join-up in Toulouse, 26
aircraft are in the final assembly process.
Deliveries are gradually picking up, from
18 in 2010 to the target figure of 25 for
2011. As of 1 June, Airbus delivered eight
aircraft and proceeds at two monthly. In
A I R   F L E E T ·3·2 0 1 1 ( 8 8 )
Tom Enders: “It is good to see that the WTO
has fully green lighted the public-private
partnership instruments with France, Germany,
Spain and the UK”
the last two years the final assembly cycle
has been reduced from 14 to 10 months.
This trend continues through small process
improvements, better timing with suppliers
and higher productivity of the employ-
ees people as they master the assembly
process.
Starting in 2012, the monthly produc-
tion rate shall rise to three. China Southern
with five Trent-powered airplanes on order
expects delivery of its first pair before the
end of 2011. Malaysian and Thai will start
getting airplanes next year. Airbus intends
to repeat the two-new-operators-per-year
practice in the coming years.
The A380 is yet to have a big victory
in the US. ILFC is no longer an A380
customer, as the leasing firm changed its
mind and went for more narrow bodies.
Airbus attributes this to “re-setting priori-
ties in the period of crisis”, and prefers
to speak about “not a cancellation but a
business recovery measure”. Airbus says it
talks to two US carriers but so far there are
no names or time suggestions when these
negotiations can result in a contract.
Speaking to journalists at the Airbus
delivery center in Toulouse, Airbus main
salesman John Leahy reminded he sold
ten more giants this year: “I’d like we sell
as many as we deliver, so I am looking
for at least one more customer and twenty
airplanes sold this year”.
Today, Rolls-Royce’s market share is
57% and Engine Alliance’s 43%. The latter
powers 15 A380s delivered to Emirates
(out of 90 on order), 5 Air France (12)
and one Korean Air’s (10). Powerplant
is said to contribute up to 35% of the
A380-800’s US dollar 375.3million sticker
price. As a result of the QF32 incident,
there were many questions to Rolls-Royce
regarding the Trent 900 engines. The
British manufacturer has managed to
convince its customers to stay and intro-
duced a number of improvements to the
Trent series. “We do not see any shifts to
Aircraft
Engine Alliance”, says Tom Williams, while
noticing that the competition is very strong.
“Our airline customers benefit from it, and
Airbus benefits as well”, he added.
Airbus calculated that average seat load
factor for the Singapore Airlines A380
has been 83%, higher than for the rest
of the airline’s fleet. The airline refers to
the A380 as the Queen of the skies, the
title that was previously with the 747. As
of early June 2012, the A380 has won
234 orders. Certainly, the big airplane is
changing the ways of people’s travel. The
airlines realize that the A380 is the aircraft
they need to have to follow the market
development.
WTO dispute (instead of epilogue)
After breakup of the Warsaw Pact and
the Soviet Union, and following transi-
tion of China and Russia from command
to market-driven economies, the mar-
ket demand for civil aircraft started to
change dramatically. The Russian brand
name manufacturers Tupolev, Ilyushin
and Yakovlev, as well as Antonov of
Ukraine, lost their market shares and
sales of their airplanes dried up. Mean-
time, the solvent demand for passenger
liners has been increasing, thus giving
the US and European makers a unique
change of expanding their market pres-
ence. In 1992 the US and EU reached
agreements – the gist of those was that
the two sides agreed to unlimited support
of their manufacturers. By so doing they
29
Aircraft
Roman Abramovich, a Russian tycoon, has been
many times named as a possible candidate
to have a giant airplane. Some journalists
suggested, that he was offered an operable A380
prototype for conversion into a VIP jet
created most favorable conditions for the received governmental aid for some US
North American and European industries dollars 20 billion on very favorable terms.
to rapidly expand production of commer- In 2005 the US applied to the World
cial airplanes in order to fill the gaps in Trade Organization (WTO) and initiated
the market. At the turn of the century this the biggest dispute ever seen in the walls
immediate target was achieved: Airbus of this international organization. In its
and Boeing forged so-called “duopoly” turn, the Europeans replied with their own
in the market for commercial airplanes. claims against Boeing saying that the US
So far so good for the United States. But maker benefited from the multi-billion
then the things started to go wrong for Pentagon and NASA contracts by using
them: airline customers tended to prefer technologies developed in the course of
Airbuses to Boeing products. This fact these programs in the sphere of com-
made some the White House to think that mercial aviation. Since then the US and
the 1992 agreement was more favoring Europe have been locked in a hot dispute.
Airbus. The politicians, lawmakers and In 2010 the WTO issued reports on its
marketologists commenced a search for findings. In particular, they found that
the cause of this unpleasing situation in a Boeing got some US dollar 5.3 billion of
given direction. In 2004 the US formu- prohibited governmental help in the form
lated their claims. They said that Airbus of subsidies not permitted by WTO rules.
In May the US representatives calcu-
lated that during the forty years since
its foundation, Airbus received from the
European governments some US dollar
18 billion on very favorable terms. This
helped the European maker develop all
of the existing Airbus jetliner models. The
US representatives insist that without this
strong governmental backing, Airbus
would have never succeeded. But Airbus
did benefit and this helped it surpass
Boeing in terms of sales and deliveries of
30
commercial jets in 2003. In the middle of
May 2011 WTO issued one more report
in which most of the US claims have
been rejected (WTO Appeal Report on
Large Civil Aircraft subsidy case against
Airbus DS316). Airbus’ President and
CEO Tom Enders provided the following
first reaction to the report: “This is a big
win for Europe. We are pleased with
the results. Congratulations to the EU for
managing the case so successfully and
winning on all key elements. It is good to
see that the WTO has fully green lighted
the public-private partnership instru-
ments with France, Germany, Spain and
the UK. We now can and will continue
this kind of partnership on future devel-
opment programs”. The WTO report
released constitutes a strong blow to the
Boeing-sponsored myth that government
support to Airbus somehow caused harm
to Boeing. The WTO has now confirmed
definitively that government loans are
a legal instrument and that none of the
government loans made to Airbus over
the past 40 years were prohibited. It
also reaffirms that, contrary to Boeing’s
repeated assertions, the subsidies did not
cause any material injury to Boeing. “It’s
time for Boeing to accept this legal defeat
and end the masquerade. The WTO
confirmation of the European loan system
is a big victory for Europe,” said Rainer
Ohler, Airbus’ Head of Public Affairs and
Communications. “We see no significant
consequences for Airbus or the European
support system from today’s decision,
as the WTO has now fully and finally
rejected most of the US claims. Therefore,
the WTO findings are likely to require
only limited changes in European policies
and practices,” he added. The WTO Ap-
pellate Body rejected all of the arguments
made by the US during the appeal and
sided with the EU. The final result further
improves on the already substantial
rejection of US claims at the first stage in
2009 and now rejects 90 percent of all
US claims. It also marks the end of the
road for Boeing’s quest to stop European
government partnership with Airbus.
By Vladimir Karnozov
 INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS AVIATION EXHIBITION

For the first time EVER! Jet Expo 2011 will

be held at a unified site – Vnukovo-3 airport

WE DEVELOP THE SHOW.

WE THINK ABOUT OUR CUSTOMERS.
WE DON’T STOP.
September 14 – 16

WELCOME ONBOARD
2011
www.jetexpo.ru
Engines

Continuous development
is the keystone of success
Russian Corporation VSMPO-AVISMA, one of the world’s largest manufacturer of titanium, increases
its production output and intensively develops its own production in anticipation of market recovery.
Mikhail Voevodin, the Director General of VSMPO-AVISMA Corporation tells about outcomes of
2010 and short-range plans of corporation.
■ question: What are the main finan- has increased in 2010. This trend is a prac- achieve profitable growth in profits in
cial outcomes of 2010 for Corporation? tical result of the investment program and 2010 as compared to 2009.
How would you describe and estimate the will evolve in future. ■ q: What are the values of short-and
dynamics of their changes compared to Analysis of sales revenue for 2010 long-term debt of company at present?
last year of crisis? showed a slight decrease in its level ■ A: Since mid-2009 and through-
■ Answer: In 2010 Corporation compared to 2009 – less than 5 %. This out 2010 the Corporation has provided
VSMPO-AVISMA manufactured 20.7 trend is common to all export-oriented financial program to optimize the credit
thousand tons of final titanium products enterprises and reflects the impact of portfolio. The main work streams in the
that is 10 % higher than set values and the depreciation of American dollar. construction of financial strategy were:
5 % higher than in 2009. The net profit of At the same time, it should be noted decrease in amount and cost of borrowed
corporation has increased by 3.4 times as that company costs are denominated in money, the optimization of the maturities
compared to that in 2009 and equals 588 rubles and strongly influenced by infla- and availability of security.
mln rubles. Revenue of VSMPO-AVISMA tion, which has exceeded 8 % by the end We managed to achieve the following
was 24.7 billion rubles in 2010. of 2010. results in 2010:
Share of sold products with high degree However, successful management The total amount of borrowed money is
of processing (die forgings, disks, rings) of production costs made it possible to decreased from 21.6 billion rubles at the

32
 Metal

beginning of 2009 to 15.6 billion rubles at

the beginning of 2011 or by 28 %.
The average interest rate on borrowed
funds is decreased up to a level of 5 %. This
result was achieved by reviewing the ap-
proach to formation of the credit portfolio
in the context of currencies. Borrowed funds
in rubles (which deposit rate was over 14 %
per annum) have been replaced by dollar
credit lines (deposit rate of 5–6 % per an-
num). A large-scale work on the refinancing
of credit portfolio in order to attract more
cheap credit affected the rate decrease.
Average maturity of borrowed money
is increased from 10 to 20 months, which
made it possible to neutralize the torque
amplitude fluctuations in the repayment
of credit portfolio and to ensure a smooth
depreciation of credit lines. In 2010 Corporation VSMPO-AVISMA developed
Currently, almost the entire credit port-
folio is an unsecured mortgage that also 20.7 thousand tons of final titanium products
improves the economic sustainability of
Corporation. that is 10 % higher than set factors and 5 %
■ q: Earlier, the experts noted the sub-
stantial amount of idle production capaci- higher than in 2009
ties due to economic crisis which affected
the implemented plans to expand produc-
tion. What is now? in contacts, ensuring that capacity utiliza- of increasing the share of exports die forg-
■ A: For 2010 capacity utilization of tion of Corporation. VSMPO-AVISMA ings in its release. In 2010, VSMPO sup-
titanium segment was about 70 %. Total Corporation has long-term contracts with plied more than 400 codes of die forgings
production of titanium products of Cor- major consumers of the aerospace industry for export, and this number is increasing
poration has increased by 3.7 % in 2010 for 5 years or more, about 70 % of exports as VSMPO actively participates in all new
compared to 2009. are shipped under the terms of the long- aircraft programs. We have a very close
Considering the fact that currently the term contracts. Long-term portfolio of or- collaboration with our key customers on
largest aircraft manufacturers have resumed ders: Boeing, Airbus, Embraer, Goodrich, development of new unique products, al-
their development and production programs, Messier Dowty, Eurocopter,Liebherr, Rolls loys and technologies to expand the use of
VSMPO-AVISMA Corporation are also Royce, Safran, Pratt&Whitney Canada, titanium in their structures and improve the
expecting production growth in 2011–2012. TEST, BTI etc. Currently, 5–6 projects of economic efficiency of aircraft and engine.
■ q: What are Corporation plans for long-term contracts are being discussed. The next step in the last few years was the
the development of long-term collabora- ■ q: Do you plan to change the struc- transition from delivery of die forgings
tion with manufacturers of aircraft and air- ture of export deliveries and deliveries to to the delivery of parts with rough machin-
craft engines? Who are the new customers the domestic market for some industries? ing. Currently VSMPO-AVISMA Corpora-
of Corporation in this field? Why? tion increases the number of equipment for
■ A: Long-term contracts are a certain ■ A: Corporation is a vertically inte- machining that allows delivering parts with
guarantee to minimize the risks, both for grated manufacturer of a wide range of the rough and prefinished machining.
suppliers and consumers of titanium al- products of titanium and its alloys. One Nowadays, VSMPO delivers over
loys. And both of them have the ability to of the main elements of VSMPO-AVISMA 1,000 codes of die forgings to domestic
predict their development for a sufficiently corporation strategy is development of the market. Changes in structure of supplies to
long period. Thus, in recession period, ma- product portfolio, which includes exten- the domestic market is mainly due to new air
ny customers have reduced the volume of sion of the range of supplied products and and energy projects in Russia. Corporation
purchased products, but companies work- improving service for customers. actively participates in developing parts for
ing on the basis of long-term agreements, Since the late 90s VSMPO has been the future of advanced long-haul aircraft
kept the minimum volume of orders agreed consistently implementing the strategy MC-21. In addition, corporation supplies
A I R   F L E E T ·3·2 0 1 1 ( 8 8 )
33
Metal
the turbine blades having length of up to
1,300 mm for nuclear projects of Nuclear
Power Station, and works out the turbine
blades having length of up to 1,500 mm.
In order to increase the production, cor-
poration completes the production of new
product – precise bar of a small diameter
and wire in the U.S. Such products are in
great demand in medical and aviation (fas-
tening) industry. With the commissioning
of this production we hope to fill this gap
in the line of products of VSMPO-AVISMA
which is intended for the manufacture
of medical products and fasteners, and
provide ourselves the opportunity to enter
a new business with products of smaller
range and greater accuracy of incom-
ing stock.
A new rolling mill, which makes it pos-
sible to expand the range of seamless
tubes used in aircraft hydraulic systems,
In January 2011, it was announced about
opening of affiliated company VSMPO-Tirus
in China to support our customers in the Asia-
Pacific region (Japan, China, India, Korea,
Taiwan, Malaysia and others)
34
has been put into operation at VSMPO-
AVISMA tube plant in Ukraine.
■ q: What prospects for exports are
now in markets of China, India and the
Asian region as a whole, where you are
actively working in new directions for
Corporation?
■ A: The Asian region as a consumer
of titanium products has a great potential.
Economy of Asian countries is ahead the
U.S. and Europe on rates of recovery and
growth.
The Chinese industry, including avia-
tion, is rapidly growing, powered by the
government. VSMPO-AVISMA Corpora-
tion collaborates with Chinese companies
more than 10 years. The Chinese state
company AVIC is the official agent of
VSMPO-AVISMA Corporation in China
for sales of products for aerospace,
engine-building and other industries.
VSMPO actively collaborates with
COMAC Corporation and Shanghai
Aerospace Manufacturing Co. on delivery
of titanium semi-products for program
of regional jet ARJ-21 and advanced
program of long-haul aircraft C-919. In
January 2011, it was announced about
opening of affiliated company VSMPO-
Tirus in China to support our customers in
Asia-Pacific region (Japan, China, India,
Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia and others).
Corporation supplies titanium prod-
ucts to various units of Indian Aerospace
Corporation HindustanAeronauticsLimited
(HAL). Among the customers are unit HAL
Aircraft Division, which is a subcontractor
of AIRBUS Corporation and manufacturer
of components for Airbus A320 as well
as helicopter unit HAL Helicopter Division.
Upcoming collaboration trend is VSMPO
participation in Indian engine-building
programs. Supply of various types of
titanium semi-products on several interna-
tional engine-building programs is being
discussed.
Moreover, VSMPO-AVISMA success-
fully collaborates with Korean compa-
nies – subcontractors of world’s largest
aircraft – and engine-building concerns.
Large volume of supplies is on the indus-
trial sector of the Asian market.
■ q: What are the plans for the expan-

sion of production capacities of corpora-
tion in coming years? Tell about the main
objectives of the investment program.
■ A: Implementation of the strategic
objectives of Corporation defines the fol-
lowing priority directions for development:
–– increase in production capacities of
titanium in order to ensure release of
40–42 thousand tons per year of semi-
products and final products;
–– improving the melting capacities of
Corporation, including reduce in costs
of melting ingots due to increase in
involvement of recyclable wastes to
the charge material on vacuum arc fur-
naces (VAR) and cold-hearth furnaces
(ELU, scull furnaces);
–– further development and improvement
of the unique metalforming integrated
complex in order to increase the
production of die forgings for aircraft
industry;
–– increase in production capacities of
deeper conversion products including
machining of structural die forgings
and die forgings of aircraft engine-
building industry.
■ q: What is the volume of investments
into production development and R&D and
what is their share of total revenue?
■ A: Volume of investments into produc-
tion development was 150 mln dollars
in 2010 which is 25 % higher than in
2009. Investment share of total revenue
was 18.4 % which is 3.8 % higher than in
2009. Share of R&D cost is 1 % of revenue
and is 8 mln dollars on average.
■ q: Previously, corporation planned
to increase investment into production
development by a quarter. To what extent
did you manage to implement these plans
in last year?
■ A: The plans, outlined in early 2010,
were fully implemented, investments were
Revenue from sold products (mln $)
Investments into production (payments) (mln $)
R&D (mln $)
Investment share to revenue (%)
Investment share + R&D to revenue (%)
A I R   F L E E T ·3·2 0 1 1 ( 8 8 )
Investments into production
300
250
200
mln doll.
150
100
50
0
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
150 mln dollars. The main directions of
investment into production development:
development of production capacities
on sponge titanium, melting, metalforming
mln doll.
capacities and capacities for die forgings
machining.
■ q: As far as we know, corpora-
tion has placed a strategic stake on the
development of the machining process and
improving the technical complexity of the
products released. What is the implemen-
tation dynamics of these plans?
■ A: In parallel with the creation of a joint
venture UBM (Ural Boeing Manufacturing)
on machining of die forgings Corporation
develops its own capacities in this field.
Currently, Corporation capacities on
machining of die forgings are 23 units of
modern high-performance machines.
Plans for further development include the
construction and phased commissioning
of the acquired machines for machining of
landing gears:
–– 3-spindle two-gantry machine (2 pcs)
–– 5-spindle two-gantry machine
–– 4-spindle two-gantry machine
–– processing centers (12 pcs)
Negotiations on acquisition of an ad-
ditional deep-hole drilling lathes and 2
lathes are being held.
■ q: Are the main customers willing to
purchase products with the higher de-
2009 2010
820 815
120 150
8.3 8 the depth of products processing, increases
14.6 % 18.4 %
15.6 % 19.4 %
Metal
2011 plan
Investments into science
10
8
6
4
2
0
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 plan
gree of machining, or such a direction is
intended for new markets?
■ A: For our customers, obviously, it
is very important to get products having
a deeper processing for many reasons:
decrease in costs for purchase (exception
of the supply chain from one to almost
all the “extra” units), decrease in their
inventories, reducing of administrative
costs (fewer procurement staff, reducing of
costs for quality and production audits). At
the same time consolidation and increase
in business volumes of one supplier makes
it possible for the customer to receive
preferential prices, and we can predict a
substantial increase in business volumes.
A striking example of the willingness of
our customers to collaborate in high-tech
products field is a joint venture with Boe-
ing – Ural Boeing Manufacturing, which
is equipped with the latest metal-cutting
equipment and is engaged in machining of
die forgings for Boeing 787. As a result of
UBM, Boeing receives stocks, similar in size
to the final part, and Corporation increases
the technological level of production.
The practice of establishing joint (sub-
sidiary) enterprises with products with high
35
Metal
Long-term portfolio of orders: Boeing,
Airbus, Embraer, Goodrich, Messier Dowty,
Eurocopter,Liebherr, Rolls Royce, Safran,
Pratt&Whitney Canada, TEST, BTI etc.
added value will be widely developed in
the special economic zone of industrial-
production type “Titanium Valley”, which
will be organized on the territory of Verkhe-
saldinskiy urban district of Sverdlovsk
region, in close proximity to Corporation.
■ q: Corporation placed a stake on a
long-term collaboration with United Air-
craft Corporation in due time. There were
even plans to establish a joint venture simi-
lar to Ural Boeing Manufacturing. What
are the relations with UAC at present?
■ A: We are contacting closely with the
United Aircraft Corporation on all projects
36
both existing and newly developed ones.
VSMPO-AVISMA Corporation covers the
entire need of companies which belong
to UAC in titanium and a significant part
of aluminum. From the perspective of a
joint venture – now the process is not
evolving but now titanium is being deeply
processed and machined forgings and die
forgings are being delivered.
■ q: What are the prospects and risks
for companies in the aircraft world market
nowadays?
■ A: The main outcome of 2010 was a
general recovery and further development
of the global economy, which replaced
a period of unprecedented financial volatil-
ity, which was accompanied by the most
severe for the decades global economic
slowdown and the collapse of trade perfor-
mance. Since the development of the world
titanium market is dependent on the general
state of the global economy and the activity
level of the main consumer of titanium pro-
duction – market of manufacturers of com-
mercial aviation, constituting about 40 %
of world consumption of titanium -today
prospects of the industry are safe. Today
we can safely say that aircraft manufactur-
ing industry will develop rapidly, because
the market situation in the sector of civil
aircraft manufacturing market was charac-
terized by the following in 2010:
–– for airline companies 2010 was a year
of recovery after a crisis;
–– international Association IATA regis-
tered a long-awaited return to profit-
ability: Growth rate by 7 % in the
 Metal

segment of passenger traffic and by

19 % – in transportation;
–– deliveries of passenger aircrafts by
Boeing and Airbus companies have
reached a historic peak – 972 aircrafts
(Airbus – 510, Boeing – 462);
–– in 2010 aircraft manufacturers (Airbus
and Boeing) received a total of 1,492
orders for new aircrafts, which is much
higher compared to 2009, when only
587 aircrafts were ordered;
–– boeing Company is planning to deliver
the first batch of 787 Dreamliner aircrafts
at the end of the third quarter of 2011;
–– the first aircraft A350 is expected
to enter into service in the middle
of 2013.
According to prediction of Boeing
Company, in the next 20 years, until 2029,
the global market will be supplied with
30,900 new aircrafts (4,000 airliners in
China) to the total amount of 3.6 trillion
dollars. 960 aircrafts to the amount of
90 billion dollars for Russia and CIS are
among them. 56 % or 17,410 aircrafts of
the total amount will be used to expand
existing parks of airline companies and
44 %, or 13,490 airplanes – to replace
the old aircrafts. By 2029 5,400 aircrafts
delivered before 2010 will remain in op-
eration, according to Boeing company
information.
The most dynamic and fast- grow-
ing segment will contain the single-aisle (IATA) predicts the industry to make a and certification and commissioning into
aircrafts with capacity from 90 to 220 profit of 8.6 billion dollars. Thus, the net production of new generation titanium
seats. This segment includes Boeing 737 и profit will be 46 % less than in 2010, when incorporated aircrafts Boeing B787
Airbus A320, russian MC-21 and chinese the industry made ​​a profit of 16 billion dol- Dreamliner and Airbus A350 causes the
COMAC C919 and canadian C-series are lars. IATA recorded a growth in passenger drop in demand for titanium rolling and
also aimed to it. flow 8.9 %, in 2011 – by 5.2 %. Growth is accumulation of large stocks of rolled ti-
The second largest segment (by the num- predicted due to more intensive use of the tanium. Increase in average oil prices and
ber of new aircrafts and in terms of invest- fleet while recording the fixed costs at the an increase in the share of jet fuel in the
ment in procurement) would be wide-body same level. operating costs of airline companies (ap-
aircrafts with capacity ranging from 200 According to analysts, demand for proximately 26 %, twice as large the rate
to 400 passengers. This segment includes titanium in the commercial aviation sector in 2001–2002), which can lead to higher
Boeing 767, Boeing 787 and Boeing 777, is predicted to reach 42,000 tons in 2011 prices for transport and to decrease in
as well as Airbus A330, A340 and A350 and exceed 49,000 tons since 2012. By their volume, decrease in profit of airline
in the long term. 2016, despite the past crisis, consumption companies, and in consequence, and to
The third segment – segment of regional rate can increase to 75,000 tons. decrease in orders of aircraft manufactur-
jet with capacity from 60 to 90 seats. The main risks in the aircraft industry ing concerns.
2,000 of such jets having a total cost can be related, primarily, to unstable It shall be mentioned that everyone
of 60 billion dollars are predicted to be situation in the oil market and the delay understands that business without risk is not
delivered in the next 20 years. of aircraft programs. For example, the the case, and we confidently look to the fu-
International Air Transport Association delay in plans for development, testings ture, and are ready for any developments.
A I R   F L E E T ·3·2 0 1 1 ( 8 8 )
37
Navigation

COMPASS in the World of High-Tech

Compass MDB is an up-to-date research & production complex majoring in development and man-
ufacture of consumer professional equipment for high-precision navigation operated by signals of
GPS/GLONASS satellite navigation systems (GALILEO and COMPASS in the long run).

The company has a rich history starting

from 1918, when the Soviet government
issued a decree on establishing a plant for
manufacturing telegraph devices. Compass
MDB created the first ever powerful (for
that time) transmit-receive airborne radio
station of up-to 5,000 km operational
range, which provided the record-breaking
flight, Moscow - North Pole –Vancouver,
by Valery Chkalov’s crew aboard ANT-25
between 18 and 20 July 1937.
In 1948, Compass Design Bureau was
detached to become an independent
structure dealing with the development of
navigation and communication equipment.
As an item of the radio navigation
equipment products, the Bureau developed
a radio 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
automatic portable device of relatively low
energy consumption, featuring wide use of
the digital signal processing techniques and
almost maintenance-free.
When developing hardware, the staff
of Compass MDB relies on the most up-
to-date technologies, for the company
mainly specializes in supplying products for
aviation and rocket-and-space facilities.
In the 1970s, the digital signal
processing techniques were largely used in
the enterprise’s innovative developments.
Those techniques helped to dramatically
reduce the weight, size and power
consumption of the hardware, and to
create:
Mikhail Pestrakov, –– For the Air Force – A-723 radio naviga-
Commercial Director, Director tion receiver-indicator which operated
for Special Projects and Special Missions at Compass with Alpha and Omega ground radio
MDB, OJSC. navigation phase systems of global

38
 Navigation

coverage, as well as with pulse phase discoverable and vulnerable for destruction GLONASS/GPS/GALILEO, has been
systems, including Chaika and Loran-S; by appropriate means. developed. The development of the satellite
–– For the Navy – Mars-75 multi-fre- The enhancement of digital components navigation system simulator turned to be a
quency phase radio navigation system of navigation hardware allows minimizing complex task, with the use of most modern
designated for supporting ship navi- the share of analogous devices. When techniques of digital signal processing.
gation, executing hydrographic and the hardware is mounted on different The range of the functions fulfilled by the
operational works, as well as servicing vehicles, their capabilities have to be simulator in the industrial and research
flights of aircraft at speeds not exceed- modified in conformity with specific tasks field is very broad. It includes, for example,
ing 1,000 km/h. and parameters of a vehicle. In terms of definition of technical solutions at the stage
The GLONASS, GPS and GALILEO analogous equipment, it would mean of consumer navigation equipment (CNE)
global satellite navigation systems are serious problems of adaptation, up to development, adjustment and settings, the
subject to active radio interference, due to restarting the development cycle. For the assessment of work quality during the
the low strength of signals emitted by space digital equipment, in most cases it is enough production process at the manufacturing
vehicles. On the horizon of earth surface, to update the software, thus obtaining new plant, issues of incoming inspection and
they are 40 decibels weaker than natural qualities of the product. periodical checks during the CNE life
radio noises. The signals of such a low In order to enable efficient execution of cycle, training technical staff in operating
level are effectively suppressed by radio all the above mentioned procedures before it, conducting a complex of scientific and
electronic warfare facilities, where a noise mounting a product in vehicles, the satellite laboratorial researches, as well as in-line
interference transmitter of 1 watt’s power navigation system simulator, modeling simulation with the goal of defining a
would disturb the operation capacity
of satellite radio navigation systems’
hardware within a radius of 32 km.
In order to level down the influence of
natural and artificial interference, we have
created satellite navigation equipment
which features a higher level of interference
immunity.
Taking into account the imperatives of our
era, the hardware is being worked out for
aviation and guided weapon systems, and
the research and development works are
going on to enable the accomplishment of
combat tasks in the environment polluted by
enemy radio electronic countermeasures.
To jam the new equipment, an enemy
would need jamming stations of such a
high capacity that would make them easily
A I R   F L E E T ·3·2 0 1 1 ( 8 8 )
39
Navigation
place for mounting the CNE in the vehicle,
including highly dynamic systems, working
out scenarios of CNE-mounting vehicle
movement in the prescribed trajectories
with the consideration of complex impacts
of atmosphere, ionosphere (radio 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
aviation. Today, the products of this series
are mounted almost 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
constituents, and to receive the exact time
reading, since the use of satellite navigation
enables to tie to the unified time system.
The A-737 product provides the basis
for several modifications which support
additional functions and enhance the
product capabilities in precision of
position finding. For instance, the A-737I
product brings together the capabilities
of satellite navigation and navigation
based on terrestrial pulse and phase radio
40
systems. Such a technological solution
is due to the fact that the interference
resistance of receiver-indicators of satellite –– small size automatic direction finders for
navigation systems is not very high, and
as for the signals of pulse-phase systems,
it is much more difficult to jam them. In
combat environment the use of two-system
equipment would largely enhance the
capabilities of combat 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
data about the space vehicle movement
parameters (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
vehicle position. The second error is related –– equipment of navigational medium
to the fact that the signal emitted by the
space vehicle goes through the ionosphere,
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,
especially when high precision in position
finding is required, for example, in the
guided weapons operational employment,
the differential error-corrections are
used. These corrections are formed by the
terrestrial segment of the system, enabling
to increase 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 had to
be primarily solved for the correctable
aviation weapons. We created the satellite
navigation hardware specially for that
purpose. During the testing of the product
by means of the differential mode, we
succeeded in achieving the circular
probable error calculable in single meters.
The hardware belonging to this class is
mounted to the correction-enabled aviation
weapons.
Compass MDB currently deals with the
issues of development and production of
radio navigation systems in various lines:
all aircraft of military and civil aviation
(ARK-32, ARK-35, ARK-40);
–– a series of A-737 aviation receiver-
indicators for the high precision posi-
tion finding of different vehicles by
GLONASS/GPS satellite navigation
system signals (GALILEO in the long run)
and terrestrial radio navigation pulse-
phase and phase systems;
–– products for ground-supported trajec-
tory measurements of boosters, upper-
stage rockets and space vehicles
(disposable 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
aircraft special employment tasks, oper-
ates with signals of GLONASS/GPS
satellite navigation systems;
formation: local system of differential
error-corrections, retransmitter of satel-
lite signals;
–– instrument-guided landing system for
aircraft (helicopters) onto aircraft carri-
ers and unequipped loading sites;

–– portable receiver-indicator for the per-
sonal use of signals of GLONASS/GPS
satellite navigation systems (GALILEO in
the long run);
–– a number of aerials of different pur-
poses;
–– dedicated jam resistant consumer
navigation equipment operating with
GLONASS/GPS satellite navigation
systems for aircraft of all kinds and
purposes;
–– monitoring, security and centralized
control systems for rail transport;
–– dedicated navigation equipment for the
control systems of automobile transport.
One of the main lines of activities of
Compass MDB, OJSC is the development
of navigation complex for helicopter to
land onto ship.
We have successfully created such
system. Its main difference from the
standard systems is that it operates in the
mode of relative navigation. That is, when
the system is activated, the aircraft ‘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 open up new alternatives of using
the system in civil industries. Today, the
topical issue is providing the helicopter
communication with shelf-based drilling
plates, ensuring flights of deck-based
aviation of the icebreaking fleet, scientific
research ships and other sea vessels.
In 1996, the plant created navigation
means providing ground-supported
trajectory measurements for products
of rocket-and-space industry: boosters,
rockets, upper-stage engines and
disposable load. The equipment functions
very efficiently and reliably in rocket-
and-space vehicles and is demanded by
rocket manufacturers. Apart from other
reasons, the demand for such equipment
is explained by the need for high-precision
control of trajectory parameters. There is no
secret that the rocket, when deviating from
the trajectory beyond the admissible limits,
has to be destroyed. Since the creation and
maintenance of terrestrial complexes of
A I R   F L E E T ·3·2 0 1 1 ( 8 8 )
ground-supported trajectory measurements
is a very expensive activity, the use of
satellite navigation equipment facilitates the
task significantly.
While gaining certain experience, our
enterprise has succeeded in creating
equipment of smaller size, less weight,
with better characteristics. Compared to
the first product installed in the booster
which was of 4.5 kg mass, the equipment
now weighs 1.5 kg, and there is a trend
of further reduction of the weight and size
characteristics. 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. We applied it to
reconfirm the possibility of using satellite
navigation hardware at very high vehicle
movement speeds.
The obtained high results in the use of
satellite navigation in the high-precision
weapons, namely aviation weapons,
primarily, the correctable aviation bombs,
lead to the fire accuracy enhancement, in
the context of cannon artillery.
The new trend in the context of
diversification of company’s product mix
is the development of search and rescue
system with the use of GLONASS/GPS
Navigation
equipment, as well as the “Gonets” satellite
communication segment. The above-
mentioned system will help significantly
reduce time for search and rescue of those
in distress as well as improve the search
operations efficiency. It is notable that the
existing systems do not allow appropriately
performing the set tasks.
A search and rescue operation begins
with reception of distress message which
can appear as a signal of distress received
or vehicle’s fallout from the radar’s screen
or missing radio contact for a certain
period. After establishing the fact of distress,
it is necessary to find the location of those
suffering distress with the sufficient accuracy
for rescue groups to contact those in
distress directly.
For the sake of accomplishment of
search and rescue tasks, fast and effective
coordination of actions of the search and
rescue forces, the two-way information
exchange between them and those
in distress is required to decrease the
detection time and reduce the duration of
search and rescue operations. Impossibility
of such information exchange should be
considered as one of the main drawbacks
of the existing systems.
In order to remove the mentioned
shortcomings of the system, the space
system of search and rescue is now under
41
Navigation
development. It envisages two-way
data exchange between the distressed
and rescue services. The system being
developed is comprised of three segments:
–– the space segment is represented
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 signals
in critical conditions (for example, in
case of ecological or other emergen-
cies);
–– the control system consists of the Uni-
fied Coordination Center (UCC), which
collects information about emergencies
observed, and a network of regional
command and control posts. UCC
functions include the monitoring of the
whole system too.
42
The emergency radio buoys define
their positions through GLONASS/GPS
navigation signals. When simultaneously
using two global satellite positioning systems,
the probability of finding exact position
of ARB increases much. An emergency
message formed in ARB is delivered to UCC
through the radio channel of global satellite
communication systems. The emergency
message contains ARB’s identifier, the exact
position of the ARB at the time of sending
emergency signal or message, the accident
time and the accident characteristic. UCC
forms a response (acknowledgment) to the
received emergency message; it goes to
the distressed ARB through the channel of
global communication systems.
This system does not require
development of the communication
system, since there is a possibility of using
the formerly developed and currently
operating global satellite communication
systems which allow not only organizing
a two-way communication channel, but
all-weather and round-the-clock radio
communication. The main advantage
is that there are no interruptions in the
communication sessions. Therefore, the
information about the distressed will be
delivered to UCC within the minimum time.
The use of the two-way data exchange
will enable the fast and effective
coordination of actions of search-and-
rescue teams and those in distress;
therewith, the distressed will be informed
that their distress signal has been detected
and the search-and-rescue services have
initiated a rescue operation.
The enterprise’s future plans are
related with improvement of the radio
navigation equipment, increase of the
interference resistance, 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
for Special Projects and Special
Missions at Compass MDB, OJSC
 Navigation

A I R   F L E E T ·3·2 0 1 1 ( 8 8 )
43
Engines

Russian
weapons trade
Russia remains world’s second largest arms exporter after the US with state arms vendor
Rosoboronexport claiming a backlog of 40 billion dollars. Fifty eight nations took deliveries of
Russian military equipment worth US$8.6 billion in 2010.

Weapons trade carries strategic impor-
tance as it helps the Kremlin build good re-
lations with governments of other countries,
and brings these nations into a closer alli-
ance with Russia in the spheres of industrial
cooperation and national defense. Another
important aspect is that such activity helps
domestic manufacturers stay in the busi-
ness and develop critical technologies.
Military export from Russia is central-
ized. All sales of ready-to-use weapons
(not counting some minor items) go
through Rosoboronexport. Separately, 21
different Russian companies (all being
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
logistics – and none holds the right to
supply weapons systems independently of
Rosoboronexport.
With exports of those 21 other compa-
nies summed up with Rosoboronexport’s,
the total figure for the whole of Russia
comes to 10 billion dollars in 2010.
Last year was a success for Rosobo-
ronexport, as the company celebrated
its tenth anniversary since foundation in
November. Speaking to international
media on this occasion, general direc-
tor Anatoly Isaikin noted that the sales
over that time rose by two and a half
times. The grand total of delivered goods
and services since foundation exceeded
60 billion dollars. On average, every
year added up 500–700 million dollars
on the top of the previous year’s figure,
Isaikin said.
Fitting in recent trends in the global
marketplace, Rosoboronexport tries not to
sell an item, as it used to, but rather sell the
whole lifecycle of a given weapons system
including repair and overhaul, mid-life up-
grade and modernization up till retirement
and with inclusion of personnel training.
“Today, we offer not only ready-to-use sys-
tems, but also technologies, joint produc-

44

tion of subcomponents – and sometimes
even sell licenses for local production of
ready-to-use weapons”, Isaikin says.
The Russian arms trade grows steadily
and is far from some kind of a natural
limit, he insists, and stresses that “the rise
continues and we will act so as to support
it in future”.
One of the factors that make purchas-
ing nations go for more Russian weapons
is the recent local wars, like that in the
Persian Gulf, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan
and Libya. The interest lies chiefly in anti-
aircraft systems especially modern ones
able to withstand powerful air forces of the
leading nations. Rosoboronexport believes
export of the anti-aircraft systems will rise
sharply in some point in not so distant
future and perhaps reach and go beyond
sales of fighter aircraft – now the best sell-
ing asset in the Russian arms arsenal.
Negotiations with overseas clients have
been very active in the past few years
on advanced air defense systems such
the S-400, codenamed the Triumph. “It
is a brand-new system being developed
for Russia’s Air-Defense Forces. Once
the Russian customer’s needs are fulfilled,
the system will be available for export,”
Isaikin told reporters. “We are in consul-
tations with Russian 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.”
Another point of growth is equipment for
special forces, including paratroopers and
commandos, homeland security, police
and anti-terrorist units. Isaikin comments:
“In my opinion, the security systems are
going to sell in larger volumes due to
the growing need to fight terrorism and
provide safer conditions for the popula-
tion and public institutions. Police, border
guards, customs and security structures
want more advanced equipment. Russia
has something to offer, including certain
systems with unique capabilities. To market
those, Rosoboronexport established a spe-
cial unit five years ago, and since then our
sales have been increasing”.
Rosoboronexport says that in its 2010
deliveries aviation assets accounted for
A I R   F L E E T ·3·2 0 1 1 ( 8 8 )
Commodity-Money-Commodity
43%, and anti-aircraft defense means
13%. In 2009, equipment for land forces
was on the 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.
With the election in 2010 of pro-Russian
president Victor Yanukovich, ties between
the Ukrainian and Russian defense indus-
tries are expected to grow even stronger.
This also brings about some new perspec-
tives before the Russian and Ukrainian
makers in the global marketplace. If the
two nations go serious and in truth join
forces in the sphere of air lifters, their sales
will go up considerably. This is what the
experts say in both countries.
They note that Ukraine possesses a very
competent Antonov company with huge
experience in airlifters, but it lacks suf-
ficient funding and manufacturing capabil-
ity to produce An-70 and other superb
designs in large numbers. Russia does
have the required production capacities
and competent arms salesman to complete
the cycle.
The hope is put in the An-70, which
effectively is the only truly next-generation
airlifter currently flying in the Eastern
world. On the wave of warming relations
with Kiev, Russian Defense Ministry lead-
ers – including Minister of Defense Ana-
toly Serdyukov – began to speak about
the need to finalize a contract on delivery
of forty to fifty An-70s to the Russian air
force. If this happens, such a contract may
finally get this development project off the
ground and open export opportunities for
the aircraft.
Rosoboronexport is keen to sell the
new Antonov aircraft. Isaikin told report-
ers: “In the today’s situation, airlifters are
in demand all around the world; every air
force needs or wants to have an efficient
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
commercial passenger jetliner – which is
in production within Russia (at the VASO
plant in Voronezh) and in Ukraine (at An-
tonov’s plant in Kiev). Today, the An-148 is
most modern Eastern-built airliner, and it
is in service with Rossiya – Russian Airlines
(operating six An-148-100Bs since Janu-
ary 2011) and Ukraine’s Aerosvit airlines
(three An-148-100Bs in service).
Russia and Ukraine are trying to sell
the An-148 and its derivatives in the
Indian market. They have won soft orders
from five Indian airlines. This enabled the
45
Commodity-Money-Commodity
partner nations to launch an An-148 type
validation campaign with India’s Direc-
torate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)
in May 2010. Furthermore, the An-148
is also considered in the role of basic
platform for Indo-Russian MTA (Multirole
Transport Aircraft).
Furthermore, Ukraine and Russia are
jointly work on the super-heavy Antonov
An-124 Ruslan outsized cargo aircraft.
Besides, Russia is re-starting production
of the Il-76 airlifter able to carry fifty tons
of payload as a modernized Il-476 air-
lifter. First operable example shall take to
the air in October this year. China is being
urged to renegotiate the stalled deal on
some forty Il-76-series aircraft in favor of
the more advanced Il-476. India is likely
to be offered either Il-476 or An-124 if it
initiates a new strategic airlifter tender.
Meantime, fighters remain the best sell-
ing item of all Rosoboronexport’s wares.
Deliveries of the Sukhoi Su-30MK series
aircraft continues to Vietnam, India, Indo-
nesia and Algeria, and of MiG-29 series
to India and Myanmar. In the next five
years, the evolving Flanker and Fulcrum
series of fourth-generation fighters will be
succeeded by the Fifth Generation Fighter
Aircraft (FGFA). The FGFA effectively is an
exportable version of the Russian air force
PAK FA combat aircraft, which has been in
flight test since January 2010. Isaikin says
that Russia currently has received a pro-
posal to cooperate on joint development
of fifth-generation weapons systems from
46
“In the past, China needed modern
one country – India. The Indian initiative
was given a positive reception, and now
Russia and India are working together on
opportunities for both the FGFA fighter
and MTA airlifter, he added.
Russian helicopters are also best-sellers.
This mostly applies to the Mi-8/17, Mi-
24/35 and Ka-28/31 series machines.
There are the newer Mil Mi-28N and Ka-
mov Ka-52 attack helicopters – these are
being supplied to the Russian armed forces
and available for export. “We are already
talking to some customers in a belief that
these models, along with further improved
Mi-17, will be our best sellers in coming
years”, Isaikin said.
Computer-based simulators are becom-
ing increasingly popular and the Russians
are trying to keep ahead in their develop-
ment. Isaikin comments: “There is a new
trend, for expended range of objects with
whom a trainee pilot can cooperate in the
battlefield by means of using communica-
tions equipment, including naval and land
forces assets. We have developed and
now offer such extended simulators for
training of helicopter pilots”.
Another new development is Rosobo-
ronexport’s recent revision of its marketing
and product-promotion policy. In 2010
the company exhibited at thirty shows.
From now on the focus shall be put on
quality of product presentations using 3D
technologies and newly-invented “wide”
formats”. “We aim at more sensational,
yet fair presentations so as to better
exhibit the qualities of the Russian weap-
ons and their competitive advantages in
comparison with foreign products”, Isaikin
says.
Rosoboronexport used to sell up to 90%
to China and India. These days, China
is getting less interested in importing
weapons, while India is diversifying its
purchases and investing more in “home-
grown” production. China’s share in
Russian military export is likely to continue
on a downward trend. “The fall of military
trade with China is easy to explain: the
local military production there develops
quickly and well,” according to Isaikin.
weapons systems because its domestic
manufacturers could not fulfill the require-
ments of the Chinese armed forces. Today,
Chinese manufacturers have improved,
and they can produce more competitive
systems in greater numbers for the Chi-
nese customers.”
India is another matter. Also buying a lot
from the west, New Delhi demands same
level of services and customer support
from Moscow. To be able to serve the cus-
tomer better, Rosoboronexport established
a special company in India, Rosoboron-
servis. This company provides after sales
support for aircraft and warships in the
Indian service. Similar technical centers
are to be opened in other countries.
Rosoboronexport has been widening
the geographic distribution of its sales. To-
day, about 90% of export deliveries go to
ten nations. Latin America is an emerging
market for Russian weapons. Big contracts
were recently signed with Argentina, Bra-
zil, Cuba, Venezuela, Peru, Mexico, Co-
lumbia and Uruguay. Some prospects are
related to Bolivia and Chile. Furthermore,
volumes of weapons sales grow in relation
to Azerbaijan, Belorussia, Kazakhstan
and other members in the Commonwealth
of Independent States (CIS).
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 Russian
connection.
By Vladimir Karnozov
 Navigation

Professional translation and interpretation services

technical
translation

consecutive
interpretation

telephone call
interpretation

simultaneous
interpretation

St.Petersburg, Russia • tel.+7 (812) 331 27 77

A I R   F L E E T · 3 · 2 0 1 1 ( 8 8 )
www.li-terra.ru
47
Test & Search

The mankind has entered the twentieth

century, discovering new era. The era of tech-
nical progress. People invented the various
cars and mechanisms. Speed and capacities
were increased. Sometimes they went out of
control. In this situation ground tests began to
play the increasing role. There were special
ranges worldwide. Bombs were blasted, cars
and tanks were tested, rockets were launched
there. Of course, aircrafts did not escape
the fate. There are ranges of ground tests of
aviation technics and weapons ranges in any
developed country of the world, Russia is not
an exception. The one of such ranges is near
capital of Russia — Moscow. There is The
Federal Governmental Enterprise “State Gov-
ernmental Scientific-Testing Area of Aircraft
Systems” (FKP “GkNIPAS”). It was founded
in 1941.
■ question: Mr. Koshelyev what was
the purpose of the Scientific-Testing Area of
Aircraft Systems ?

GkNIPAS: RelIAbIlIty
oN the eARth – SAfety IN AIR
■ Answer: The main aim of its creation
was the providing of aviation system tests,
and also the researches in the field of aero-
dynamics and aeroballistics. Thousands
unique experiments and tests have been
performed. Nowadays the test range is one
of the largest in Russia. Its experimental base
allows to perform tests and exercises of the
major units and aircraft fighting components
and fighting complex trials. The test range
stands allow to work with fighting products,
simulating the conditions of their real ap-
plication. The main hallmark is practically
unlimited range of information received with
smaller risk and expenses, in comparison
with flight tests. The hallmark of the test
range is the high-speed rail track. Nowa-
days the length of it is 2,5 km, but in the
nearest future will be extended up to 7 km.
The track has really unique construction. Its
Our partners trust, their interest in the mutual
cooperation is the guarantee of our prosperity
hydro-brake system allows to perform tests were conducted there. The track allows to
with the preservation of tests object. conduct researches in the field of high-speed
■ q: What kind of tests and experiments aerohydrodynamics and sonic boom effect,
does the Scientific-Testing Area perform? as well as different tests of missile warheads
■ A: We have been performing tests to and detonating fuze to the blows, load-
the emergency escape out of the aircrafts, factors and tests to brake mechanisms. One
starting up of ammunition, the various tests of the major kind of experiments is the test
for dynamic influences and the function of to compatibility of the aircraft with its arms.
the system. Almost all planes and helicop- The true to life conditions of flight modeled
ters of State Aviation Industry were tested on the stand. There is a specially equipped
here. The rail track was already mentioned shooting gallery in the testing range where
in our conversation. Many experiments with aerial gun system evaluations, reliability
various systems of rocket arms, tests of para- of capture inspections, shooting drills with
chute systems, aircraft seats, and also tests modeling the flight modes are performed.
of aircraft constructions to the birdproofing The damage control plays the huge role for

30
48
 Test & Search

tions of an aircraft crash landing. Today

ANDREY IVANOVICH KOSHELYEV the stand “Seat” is unique in Russia, corre-
Andrey Ivanovich Koshelyev has been working at the training range since 1981 af- sponds to the international requirements and
ter graduation of Tyulskiy Polytech Institute. Nowadays Andrey Ivanovich is the Head certified to have the right to perform certi-
of The Federal Governmental Enterprise “State Governmental Scientific-Testing Area fied tests. By this time dynamic tests have
of Aircraft Systems” (FKP “GkNIPAS”). It is the first enterprise in Russia. been conducted for the seat equipment for
Andrey Ivanovich Koshelyev’s career is filled with creativity, activity directed to- the planes of the leading companies.
wards the creation, development and improvement of the aviation test data systems. ■ q: Mr. Koshelyev, tell us couple words
One cannot but notice the distinguish feature of Mr. Koshelyev – his sense of respon- about the prospects of development of
sibility for the business and the training range future. A.I. Koshelyev proved to be cre- stand tests?
ative professional, active, just and demanding leader. He got government rewards. ■ A: Modern aircraft of civil airlines
development requires the expansions of
possibilities of the created stand equipment.
Besides, similar test technologies with a
the planes and helicopters. Special tests to ■ q: You told us about tests with the help quantitative trauma estimation of crew mem-
aircraft constructions durability and also the of military technics, but do you conduct bers should be taken into not only for the
efficiency of fighting parts of rockets are es- peaceful tests? civil aviation technics, but also for military
timated. The various situations are simulated ■ A: The military subject is not the only aircraft that proves to be true with foreign
here. For example, shell hit into an aircraft en- one in work of experts at the testing range. experience. In connection with the urgency
gine or a fuel tank. There is a special stand for The most perspective and actual tests are of this kind of work, the enterprise finds fi-
the safety of fuel systems optimization. Fuel the tests towards peace. Tests for the manu- nancial resources and continues researches
tanks are being tested to the fire and explo- facturers of civil aviation technics. In this ar- to expansion of possibilities of the stand
sive tests in this place. ea, Officers from the FKP “GkNIPAS” have equipment for tests in the terms of high-
■ q: As far as I know the special subject the vast experience in this field. Perhaps, it speed aircraft and land vehicles crashes.
in the operation of the testing range is experi- is possible to name the most demanded
ments connected with missile usage. direction of experiments at the stand seat. Eduard Voytenko
■ A: That’s right. The rockets and their mis- The stand differs from foreign analogues,
sile parts are being tested to the variously in because the principle of the turned move-
the range To define, the way the missile part ment is realized here. This principle allows
will be during the hit shell or another foreign to save the object of the test.
object, the missile parts are being shot away ■ q: Today the great attention is given to
by the special nucleus. Rockets are being safety of crew and passengers. Could you
heated up with the help of incoming flow, please tell us more about the tests?
simulating supersonic speed of flight, engines ■ A: The FKP “GkNIPAS” has been
and airborne systems are taken the same tests engaged more than ten years in working
too. How long-term storage does effect a mis- out the methods and the stand equipment
sile? How long a missile could be stored for? for the tests of trauma safety and securities
The special test allows to answer these ques- of crews and passengers of aircraft in the
tions. The test takes part in a special climatic terms of emergencies. The analysis of avia-
chamber. The safety is the main requirement tion incidents and accidents shows that their
at work with any product containing explo- big parts are connected with the takeoff and
sives, especially it concerns rockets. There are landing modes at which there are destruc-
several stands where their safety estimations tions of aviation seats, fastened systems and,
can be checked in the training range. as the result, serious trauma. Domestic and
The wide experience received during foreign aviation regulations require equip-
the result of the various tests, influenced ex- ment tests and an interior of cabins of pas-
perts to create the number of independent senger aircrafts in the terms of a crash land-
researches which are realized in the pilot ing. At the Federal Governmental Enterprise
production. Among them are combat parts to “State Governmental Scientific-Testing Area
aircraft guided missiles of the air-to-surface of Aircraft Systems” founded and certified
class, grenades with the penetrating effect for in the Russian Technological Regulation and
the grenade discharger and exclusive work- Aviation Registration a stand “Seat”, that
ing out – anti helicopter mine. helps to test the aviation seats in the condi-
A I R F L E E T · 3 - 4 · 2 0 1 0( ( 8 3) )
31
A I R   F L E E T ·3·2011 88 49
Engines

India tries to join

exclusive Club
of 5th Generation
Fighter Owners
52

From Top-3 to Top-4
These kind of fighters are today
increasingly becoming a symbol proving
that a country has an independent
aviation industry, capable of developing
combat aircrafts and India intends to join
this exclusive club.
Also to stay ahead in this race, India is
not only actively developing its aviation
industry, but also seeking to develop a
FGFA. But looking at the costs involved,
it would not be feasible to start from
scratch and so coordination with Russia
is critical to India in this respect.
Analysts and defence experts are of
the opinion that the real concern is
more towards the Chinese that who
have prompted India to enter this space.
The only two countries that have made
much advancement on this front so
far are the United States, built its F-22
Raptor and is testing the F-35, while the
Russian counterpart – T-50 fighter – is
still being tested.
In fact, both the US aircraft are
manufactured by a consortium led by
Lockheed Martin. Reports indicate that
the combat-ready fifth-generation fighter,
the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, has
since entered service with the US Air
Force in 2005.
Lately India and Russia have intensified
efforts to build their advanced fighter
plane if they are not to lose the race to
China. Yes that’s the truth, a defence
expert says. The Chinese J-20 fighter
tested recently will be a direct rival
to the Russian-Indian fifth-generation
aircraft. The Chinese plane is expected
to be ready by 2020. Even though the
major military powers and defence
experts have long known that China
has been developing new combat-
The race is on for the fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) is referred to as the most
advanced and is designed to incorporate numerous technological progress over the
earlier class the fourth generation. India will shortly join the exclusive club to develop
and manufacture this kind of aircrafts. The major super powers – the United States and
Russia – have made much advancement on the design front, while China also reported
A I R   F L E E T · 3 · 2 0 1 1 ( 8 8 )
to have tested an initial prototype of the fifth-generation aircraft.
Cooperation
aircraft designs, so the revelation of the
Chengdu J-20 did not come as a shock
to anyone. But it still remains to be seen
just what this next-generation combat
aircraft capabilities and development
schedule will be, and particularly the
extent to which it can challenge rival
aircraft for air superiority.
Indian defence experts have expressed
concern about the security on the region.
The development of a new Chinese
combat aircraft, however, must also be
set against the background of regional
competition.
India and Russia had earlier signed
an agreement to jointly develop and
manufacture the fifth generation
fighter aircraft way back in 2008. The
agreement was signed in the presence
of Indian Defence Minister A. K. Antony
and his Russian counterpart Anatoly
Serdyukov.
Aircraft worth of $30 billion was
considered the biggest defence deal
ever in the history of India. The deal on
FGFA was signed between Hindustan
Aeronautics Limited (HAL) of India and
Rosoboronexport, Sukhoi of Russia.
Russia’s Sukhoi Design Bureau has
been developing the stealth fifth-
generation fighter PAK-FA with a range
of more than 5,000 km since 1990s.
Sukhoi’s T-50 prototype stealth fighter
is intended to replace the Russian Air
Force Su-27 Flanker aircraft towards
the end of this decade. Russia and India
concluded an agreement in December
under which New Delhi will ‘piggyback’
on the T-50 program, in return for a
substantial financial contribution, with
the aircraft expected to enter into
service in India around the end of the
decade. India is also bolstering its air
53
Cooperation
inventory in the near term, acquiring
additional Su-30MKI multi-role fighters.
India’s another ambitious projects ie
developing the Medium Combat Aircraft,
a twin-engine fifth-generation stealth
multirole fighter apart from Sukhoi/HAL
FGFA project is being jointly developed
with Russia. The main purpose of this
aircraft is to replace the aging Jaguar and
Dassault Mirage 2000 range of fighters.
India is however, yet to decide on
the winner of its medium multi-role
combat-aircraft competition, for which
there are at least six bidders still in the
running. Russian aircraft manufacturer
Sukhoi – is also in the race to bag this
major deal.
The extent to which the Chinese
J-20 project could in time challenge for
air dominance is a key question. Into
this calculation will come not only the
timeframe in which those aircraft could
enter service, but also the future role
to be played in Western air forces
by unmanned combat aerial vehicles.
It is clear that the West’s recent
comparative neglect of crewed next-
generation combat aircraft has not been
mirrored completely by other major
powers.
Russian Sukhoi T-50 PAK-FA
54
Role of India and Russia
It is no surprise that India has chosen
the Russian aircraft as the prototype
for its Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft
(FGFA) program. Now that the T-50 is
already in the air and passing its tests
with flying colors, India and Russia can
confidently sign an final agreement to
develop a prototype on its basis
Russia wants a “5th generation” fighter
that keeps it competitive with America
and China. India wants to maintain
technical superiority over its rivals, and
grow its aerospace industry’s capabilities.
They hope to work together, and
succeed like its earlier aviation projects.
Cooperation with Russia is critical
to India in this respect. In turn, Russia
needs financial support to finish work on
its fifth generation fighter.
The joint development of a fifth
generation fighter aircraft or FGFA has
moved to the fore of Russian-Indian
cooperation. The issue was discussed
during Russian Defense Minister Anatoly
Serdyukov’s recent visit to India in 2010.
So far, preliminary cooperation
agreements have been signed between
Sukhoi/United Aircraft Corporation, for
a platform based on Sukhoi’s T50/PAK-
FA design.
The FGFA aircraft to be jointly
developed is termed Perspective
Multi-role Fighter (PMF). The PMF
draws upon the basic structural and
system design of the Russian FGFA
Technology Demonstrator PAK-FA
with modifications to meet the more
stringent specifications of the Indian Air
Force. The fighter will have advanced
features such as stealth, supercruise,
ultra-manoeuvrability, highly integrated
avionics suite, enhanced situational
awareness, internal carriage of weapons
and Network Centric Warfare
capabilities.
At the Indian Air Force’s 78th
Anniversary last year, the Chief of the
Air Staff, Air Chief Marshall Pradeep
Vasant Naik, said, “We are looking
for about 200 to 250 fifth generation
fighters and will start rolling them out
by 2017. He added saying that some of
the essential features we would like the
aircrafts to have include the swing role,
fly for longer duration without refueling,
super cruise, better reliability and
maintainability, higher level mission etc.
The broad scope of bilateral
cooperation during the joint project
covers the design and development of
the PMF, its production-ising, and joint

marketing to third countries. Options
include the design and development of
a twin-seater variant and the integration
of an advanced engine with higher thrust
at a later stage. With an expected outlay
running in to the hundreds of billions,
the total cost including options and the
value of production aircraft will make
FGFA/PMF, the biggest defence program
in the history of India.
The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
(HAL) would be the Indian designer
and builder of the stealth fighters.
India’s contribution for the research
and development would amount to
about 30 percent. This includes stealth
fighter project, and mainly focus on
the composite components with the
stealth function and some electronic
equipments, such as avionics, electronic
warfare systems and cockpit display.
India will also be responsible to design
from the single-seat stealth fighter
into a wo-seater type, which would be
deployed by the Indian Air Force. Russia
on the other hand, its Sukhoi Design
Bureau has been developing the stealth
generation fighter PAK-FA with a range
of more than 5,000 km since since the
1990’s.
Indian designers will also be
responsible for re-modelling Russia’s
single-seat fighter into a two-seater
version for the IAF. The PMF planes are
expected to start rolling out around
2017, but delays cannot be ruled out,
judging by past experience.
FGFA: the cost and main phases
The design and development of
advanced fifth generation fighter aircraft
(FGFA) is estimated to cost about $295
million.
Both the air forces are set to induct
the FGFA by 2017-18, making a quantum
leap in air power. India is expected to
fork out an estimated $30 billion (Rs
1,35,000 crore) towards inducting 300
fifth-generation fighters.
Air force chief Air Chief Marshal P
V Naik in an earlier press conference
highlighted that the fighter aircraft would
have supercruise ability, allowing it to
A I R   F L E E T ·3·2 0 1 1 ( 8 8 )
The official signing of the contract between Rosoboronexport and HAL
for creating a draft technical design of India’s version of the FGFA
fly at supersonic speeds for extended
periods without kicking in fuel-guzzling
afterburners. The FGFA will be based on
the Russian Sukhoi T-50 PAK-FA design.
So experts indicate that the total costs
of development could run into $8 to $10
billion and following which both HAL
and Russian Rosoboronexport’s Sukhoi
would also be manufacturing about 250
fighters with a price tag of $100 million
per each aircraft.
It is now official that India has kicked
off the development of the ambitious
fifth generation fighters since the later
half of 2010, as per a defence official.
India is expected to spend about $2
billion dollars in the next 18 months to
indigenously develop its new generation
stealth fighter, according to an Indian
defense official.
The development includes two
technology demonstrators and seven
prototypes in different phases, as quoted
by an Indian local newspaper. It said
that the defence agency Aeronautical
Development Agency (ADA) has
received the government-sanctioned
fund of more than $20 million dollars.
The fighter would be a twin-engine
aircraft as the existing MIG-29 fighter
with its total weight at about 20 tons. it
will have a small radar cross-section, and
all weapons will be placed in the internal
bays to ensure the stealth effects.
Those fighters claimed the capabilities
of “first-look, first-shot, first-kill” by
being designed from the start to
Cooperation
operate in a network-centric combat
environment, and to feature low
signatures employing advanced materials
and shaping techniques.
The DRDO is expected to finish the
definition of the new generation fighter’s
technical and operational requirements
and lay out the broad concepts for the
new fighter’s development within about
one and half a year.
The fighter is designed to carry out
multi-purpose tasks, including executing
air-to-air combats with missiles and
neutralizing the vital ground targets with
the precision-guided weapons, it said.
The ADA is likely to finish the
technical and operational requirements
and layout for its development so the
maiden flight test is expected to be
made by 2017.
India is also reportedly to spend $6
billion dollars to develop a type of the
fifth generation fighters in partnership
with Russia.
According to defence experts, the
FGFA projects would also have to
add additional features including all-
aspect stealth even when armed, Low
Probability of Intercept Radar (LPIR),
high-performance air frames, advanced
avionics features, and highly integrated
computer systems capable of networking
with other elements within the theater
of war in order to achieve an advantage
in situational awareness.
By Manu Sharma
55
Cooperation

Maiden flight of Indo-Russian

MTA in 2017-18
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has formed a joint venture company (JVC) with the Russian
partners for the co-development of Multi-role Transport Aircraft (MTA). The MTA is a medium-
lift transport aircraft which will be manufactured by HAL and United Aircraft Corporation (UAC)
of Russia. The aircraft will replace the Indian Air Force’s ageing AN-32 transport aircraft. The
aircraft is capable of performing the regular transport duties and can also deploy paratroopers.

MTA is a 15-20 tonnes payload
capacity Aircraft which would meet the
requirement of the Indian Air Force and
the Russian Air Force. The project has been
approved by both the Government of India
and the Government of Russian Federation.
The Aircraft will have two engines,
state of the art features such as fly-by-
wire, full authority digital engine control,
modern avionics and glass cockpit. Total
development cost is around USD 600.70
million (approx Rs. 2900 crores) to be
equally shared by both the sides. It is
planned to manufacture 205 aircraft with
50:50 work share between HAL and the
Russian partners.
The JVC is headquartered at Bangalore,
India for executing the MTA project.
The MTA would have a maximum
takeoff weight 65 tonnes, cruise speed
800 kilometers per hour, range of 2500-
2700 kilometers and service ceiling of 12
kilometers.
HAL Chairman and Managing Director

56

(CMD) Ashok Nayak confirmed that India
would acquire 45 aircraft and Russia 105.
There would be scope though for exporting
this aircraft, both for civil and military use,
and more MTAs could be manufactured.
The aircraft could be powered by
Russian-made Aviadvigatel PD-14
turbofan engines attached to top mounted
wings, and has a T-shaped tail. The cabin
size will be the same as the Ilyushin Il-76
but will be half the length. The payload will
be 18.5 tons of military or civilian cargo,
with a range of 2500 km and a speed of
870 km/h.
The main features of MTA are: Maximum
take-off weight 65 tonnes, Payload
Capacity 15-20 tonnes, Cruise Speed 800
kmph, Range 2500-2700 km, Service
ceiling 12 km. The Aircraft will have two
engines, state of the art features such as fly-
by-wire, full authority digital engine control,
modern avionics and glass cockpit.
According to sources, the agreement
A I R   F L E E T ·3·2 0 1 1 ( 8 8 )
also contains the agreed joint intention to
spin-off (to be pioneered by HAL's Aircraft
Research and Design Centre, Bangalore)
and market a civilian variant of the MTA
in the form of a 100-seater passenger
airplane for which HAL will be the lead
partner and principal integrator.
The Indian part of serial production of
the MTA, when ready, will take place at
HAL's Transport Aircraft Division in Kanpur.
On June 6, 2001, a protocol on
the commencement of work on the
development of a joint multi-role four-
engined turboprop transport aircraft IL-214
was signed between Russia and India on
June six, 2001. It was then promised that
it to be the most promising aircraft of the
21st century.
In India, the new aircraft is proposed to
replace 110 An-32 transport aircraft.
In the course of a detailed working out
and harmonization of the requirements
set by Air Force of Russia and India, the
MTA project was significantly changed
from the Il-214 baseline, and the aircraft's
payload capacity and cargo compartment
dimensions were increased.
On 06 June 2004 a protocol was signed
between Russia and India on beginning
the joint construction of an Il-214 multi-role
military cargo jet. The decision on MTA's
full-scale launch was made in November
2007, when a special agreement between
the two countries' governments was signed.
This long-planned Russian-Indian project
brought to life a next-generation tactical
airlifter with maximum takeoff weight about
70 tons and a payload capability of 20
tons
In March 2008 Hindustan Aeronautics
Limited (HAL), clarified that the withdrawal
of the Russian company, Irkutsk Aviation
and Industrial Association as a partner
from the MTA joint venture is an internal
Russian affair and did not indicate a
collapse of the project.
Rosoboronexport, Russia's state-owned
monopoly liaison agency for the export
and import of defence related and dual
use products, technologies and services
identified the Ilyushin Aviation Complex as
the new prime nodal agency
Dassault in place of
Rafale
Irkutsk.
Cooperation
The MTA is meant to replace the ageing
Antonov (An)-12, An-26/ 32 turboprop
transport aircraft which first entered service
in the 1970s. While the Indian Air Force
plans to acquire 45 of these aircraft, the
Russians are committed to acquiring
around 100 over 12 years.
Recently, HAL Chairman Ashok Nayak
said that the Russian-Indian military
transport plane could make its maiden
flight by 2018.
"The MTA will be most likely developed
on the basis of the Il-214 twin-engine
military transport aircraft designed by the
Ilyushin Design Bureau. The new aircraft
will feature a takeoff weight of around
55 tons, flight range of 2,500 kilometers
(1,550 miles) and a payload of up to 20
tons", Nayak said.
The Tactical Transport Aircraft
development program will significantly
broaden the horizons of Indo-Russian
military-technical cooperation. While
implementing this innovative program,
Russian and Indian engineers will acquire
invaluable experience and expertise in
joint creation of the top-of-the-line aviation
product.
Featuring a semi-monocoque fuselage,
the aircraft's structure would be made
of advanced aluminium alloys and
composites. Perfect aerodynamic layout
with high-swept advanced wing and
T-shape tail is optimized to ensure the flight
safety and enhanced cruise speed.
The airlifter would capable of operating
from elevated airfields with paved/
unpaved runways, in adverse weather
conditions. The avionics' open architecture
approach provides essential capacity
for future innovations and upgrades.
Sophisticated concept of the unified inform-
and-control "field" envisions integration of
six multifunctional displays with two head-
up indicators.
The spacious cargo cabin will
accommodate up to 18.5 tonnes of cargo.
The rear ramp will contribute to efficient
airdrop operations, as well as to ease
of loading/unloading. Two telphers, a
cargo winch, and rollers comprise cargo-
handling equipment.
The IL-214 is an aircraft with top-
57
Engines
mounted wing and T-shaped tail
empennage. The aircraft would be
equipped with twin bypass turbo-
jet engines of 9-10 ton thrust. As a
prospective powerplant, the PS-9 engine
manufactured by the JSC "Perm' Motor
Works", Rolls-Royce BR-170, D-436T
engines are contemplated. The cargo
cabin is 13.85 m long (with account for the
ramp - 17.8 m), and would be 3.0 m high
and 3.15 m wide.
The military transport version of the
airplane would have the cargo ramp
in the tail section and capable of
paratroops deployment at flight speed
of approximately 250 km/h. The aircraft
estimated operational life is 20000 flight
hours.
Initially, Ilyushin had the intention to
build an aircraft with a payload capacity
of 15 tons and maximum take-off mass
of 47.3 tons. While the project proved to
be of little interest in Russia, it did attract
a major from India in the late 1990s.
Thus, the Il-214 project - known as MTA
aircraft (Multipurpose Transport Aircraft)
and the IRTA (Indo-Russian Transport
Aircraft) - was included in the Russian-
Indian program on military and technical
cooperation for a period through 2010.
As a prototype of the new airplane,
a military transport project of IL-214
aircraft was selected, the one that is being
examined by the Air Force of Russia as a
replacement for the obsolete Antonov An-
12 as well as An-26
By expert evaluation, the IL-214 could
become a good alternative for the C-130,
C-160, C-123, G-222 aircraft that
operate in dozens of countries of the world
in huge numbers. Financing of the project is
planned in equal shares of the Parties. The
production would possibly be run at both
58
Indian HAL Corporation factory and the
JSC "IAIA".
Unlike the Brazilian KC-390 program
that dramatically took off in 2009, the
Indo-Russian MTA has been in the making
since 1999, with the first Memorandum
of Understanding (MOU) signed between
HAL and the Russian companies Ilyusihin
and Irkut in 2001. It took six years for the
parties to agree on common requirements
and specifications for the plane
The inclusion of the Russian defense
export agency is expected to streamline
export activities to countries where Russia
has extensive defense exports, particularly
in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East
where MTA will run head to head with the
Brazilian KC-390.
The twin-jet powered MTA will have a
Maximum Take-Off Weight of 65 tons and
payload capacity of 15-20 tons. Its length
will be 33.2 meters, with a wingspan of
30.1 m’ and height of 10m’. Powered by
two Aviadvigatel PD-14 turbofan engines,
MTA will be able to cruise at a speed of
800 km/h, to a range of 2,500-2,700
km with full payload. Service ceiling will
be 12 km. meeting the requirement of both
Indian and Russian Air Forces. The aircraft
will feature fly-by-wire system, full authority
digital engine control, and avionics suite
configured as a modern ‘glass cockpit’.
The MTA will be capable of takeoff and
landing from a runway of 1200 meters.
The MTA would be a typical military
aircraft, capable of short landings and
take-offs and ferrying 80 fully equipped
troops, or infantry fighting vehicles like the
Soviet origin BMPs and equivalent western
systems, artillery pieces and ammunition
and also for executing battlefield medical
evacuations.
It would be designed to replace India’s
Multi-Role Transport Aircraft
100-plus Soviet vintage AN 32 aircraft,
which are now under overhaul and
upgrades in Ukraine. The first AN 32 had
arrived in India in 1984.
There would be scope for exporting this
aircraft, and the plan is to produce a total
of 205 aircraft.
India’s Cabinet Committee on Security
(CCS) already cleared the contribution
for HAL while the Russian government had
done this earlier for giving its share through
the UAC and Rosoboronexport (ROE), the
latter being the sole state-run arms trading
Russian company.
The aircraft would have a glass cockpit
for electronic instrument displays, fly by
wire controls, full authority digital engine
control (FADEC) engines, 800 kmph cruise
speed, and a range of 2,500 km. The
service ceiling would be 12 km.
The joint venture company would be
called MTA Ltd, and the aircraft also simply
as MTA.
Russia has maintained its traditional
Soviet days lead in supplying military
aircraft to India. Over nearly last one
and half decades, it has won orders for
supplying nearly $ 20 billion worth of
aircraft, systems and support elements
including maintenance and upgrades for
272 SU 30 MKI combat jets, 139 Mi 17
V5 helicopters, and upgrades for SU 30 as
well as old Mig 21bis and Mig 29 aircraft.
The two countries had signed the Inter-
governmental Agreement for the MTA
project in November 2007 after a visit of
Defence Minister A K Antony to Moscow.
Sunny Jerome
Managing Editor,
AEROMAG ASIA
Specially for Air Fleet magazine
 Engines

A I R   F L E E T ·3·2 0 1 1 ( 8 8 )
59
Engines

It’s Dassault Vs. Eurofighter

for MMRCA contract in India
The stage is set for the opening of commercial bids for India’s $10.4 billion tender for 126 medium range
multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA), which will address Indian Air Force’s long-standing demand of
replenishing its combat aircraft inventory. The tender saw participation from six global fighter aircraft
manufacturing companies – Lockheed Martin and Boeing from America, MiG RCA from Russia, Saab
Gripen from Sweden, Eurofighter, a European consortium and Dassault from France.

A long-winded technical and field evalu-
ation process has seen the shortlist whittled
down to two contestants –Dassault and
Eurofighter.
The opening of the commercial bids
would reveal the lowest bidder and allow
commercial negotiations to commence.
Reports suggest that though Dassault
may boast of low costs, Eurofighter’s offer
of industrial partnership may turn out to be
a game changer.
French defence minister, Gerard Longuet,
and his Indian counterpart, A K Antony,
recently held talks in the Indian capital of
New Delhi. Longuet had a dig at his Euro-
pean counterparts. ‘’We have one single
speaking partner (Dassault) instead of four
partners (Italy, Germany, Spain and UK),’’
Longuet said, referring to the consortium of
EADS, Alenia Aeronautica and BAE Sys-
tems, which make the Eurofighter Typhoon
through the consortium, Eurofighter GmbH.
German ambassador Thomas Matussek,
said: ‘’The Typhoon represents the most
advanced and cost-efficient machines”.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, on
a India visit around the same time, also
tried to hard sell the Eurofighter Typhoon
fighter jet, claiming that it was the best
plane on offer.
“With the Eurofighter we have made
good proposals and want to intensify our
relationship with India. The Eurofighter is
the best product on offer. We will not exert
any influence on the procurement process
and we shall wait and see,” said Merkel.
Both US bids for the contract lost be-
cause of technical faults – not US export
control policies or corruption in New Dehli,
reports said.
The IAF selected the Dassault Rafale
and the Eurofighter Typhoon as finalists

60

for the MMRCA, and excluded the other
contenders – the Boeing F/A-18E/F and
the Lockheed Martin F-16 – as well as the
Saab Gripen and MiG-35.
According to reports, the F-16IN bid
received low marks in the technical
evaluation for a slow turn rate and poorer
handling performance due to the addition
of conformal fuel tanks.
Those deficiencies made the F-16IN
less competitive in dogfights against older
F-16 Block 50s, which are operated by
Pakistan.
The Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
was the US government’s best shot to win
the contract, but it was also hampered
in the Indian evaluation by poor ma-
noeuvrability compared to the European
fighters.
Boeing’s bid proposed to improve the
Super Hornet’s power by introducing the
General Electric F414 enhanced perfor-
mance engine (EPE), with 20% higher
thrust, but it was seen as a developmental
item.
The IAF preferred an aircraft with strong
dogfighting performance over a combat
style emphasising beyond visual range
engagements using long-range sensors.
Nidhi Goyal, Director, Deloitte in India,
said: “In a Medium Multi-role combat
aircraft (MMRCA) deal for the supply of
A I R   F L E E T ·3·2 0 1 1 ( 8 8 )
Eurofighter Typhoon
126 state-of-the-art fighter jets to the In-
dian Air Force, the selected supplier would
require to meet offset obligation of 50%
of the foreign exchange component of the
value of the total deal of USD 10.8 billion.
Out of which an estimated offset business
to an extent of USD 4 billion is likely to
be generated for the Indian industry. It is
expected to stimulate growth in the Indian
defence industry which should be able to
absorb the cutting edge technologies to
Dassault Rafale
Tender
acquire domain expertise in aerospace
manufacturing and defence electronics.
The Indian industry would also get an
opportunity to tie up with defence public
sector undertaking in order to build robust
independent private defence industry
which will eventually substitute imports.
Further, with other big ticket procurements
such as maritime aircrafts, helicopters,
sea-hawks, anti-submarine warfare in
military aerospace segment, business for
the Indian industry atleast to the tune of
USD 8 billion is likely to flow over a period
of 5-10 years.”
The proposals from the contenders were
first technically evaluated by a profes-
sional team to check for compliance with
IAF’s operational requirements and other
RFP conditions. Extensive field trials were
then carried out to evaluate the perfor-
mance. Finally, the commercial proposal
of the vendors, short-listed after technical
and field evaluations, were examined and
compared.
The aircraft are likely to be in service
for over 40 years. The vendors are
required to provide a life time support
and performance based warranty for the
aircraft. Ministry of Defence officials have
confirmed that great care has been taken
to ensure that only determinable factors,
which do not lend themselves to any sub-
61
Tender
Saab Gripen
jectivity, are included in the commercial
selection model. The selection would be
transparent and fair.
A majority of the MMRCA would be
produced in India under transfer of tech-
nology. The vendor finally selected would
also be required to undertake offset obli-
gations in India. It is expected that the ToT
and offset contracts would provide a great
technological and economic boost to
the indigenous defence industries, which
would include DPSUs, RURs and other
Boeing F/A-18
62
eligible private sector industries. Foreign
vendors would be provided great flexibil-
ity in effecting tie-up with Indian partners,
for this purpose.
There were three guiding principles for
this procurement scheme. First, the opera-
tional requirements of IAF should be fully
met. Second, the selection process should
be competitive, fair and transparent, so
that best value for money is realised. Lastly,
Indian defence industries should get an
opportunity to grow to global scales.
According to reports, India aims to
ensure that deliveries of the 126 fighters
begin from December 2014 onwards
to stem IAF’s fast-eroding combat edge.
Plans were afoot to base the first MMRCA
squadron in the western sector, most prob-
ably at Ambala, by end-2015.
The first 18 jets will come in “fly-away
condition” from the aviation major – only
Eurofighter Typhoon (EADS) and French
Rafale (Dassault) are now left in conten-
tion – finally selected for the project.
Subsequent batches of the 108 fighters,
to be manufactured in India by Hindustan
Aeronautics (HAL) after transfer of technol-
ogy, will progressively be based in other
operationally relevant locations, with spe-
cial focus on the eastern front with China.
“The first fighter built in HAL should roll out
in December 2016. Thereafter, HAL will
deliver six jets per year, which will go up
to 20 per year later. HAL will achieve
85% technology absorption by the end,’
sources said.
With plans clearly chalked out, MoD
ruled out any scope for comebacks by the
eliminated four fighters – American F/A-18
‘Super Hornet’ (Boeing) and F-16 ‘Super
Viper’ (Lockheed Martin), Swedish Gripen
(Saab), and Russian MiG-35 (United
Aircraft Corporation).
“We should be ready to open the
Typhoon and Rafale commercial bids in
July,’’ sources said. Thereafter, it will take
 Tender

another month to determine the lowest

Lockheed Martin F-16
bidder (L-1) because of “huge mathemati-
cal and data verification’’ of the lifecycle
costs of operating the jets over a 40-year
period. Commercial negotiations with the
L-1 vendor will then begin before the final
contract is ready for signing by December.
Sources said only Rafale and Typhoon
were found “compliant’’ on all the
643-660 technical attributes or ASQRs
(air staff qualitative requirements) laid
down to meet IAF’s specific operational
requirements.
“Our test pilots flew 222 sorties, over
270 hours, on the six fighters in different
weather conditions in India and abroad.
Each vendor was informed of its jet’s per-
formance at every stage... they have no
reason to complain,’’ sources said.
On the crucial AESA (active elec-
tronically scanned array) radar, which is
operational only on American fighters at
present, MoD said the ASQRs did “not
require a flying AESA radar’’. Instead,
vendors had to demonstrate “a baseline
radar model in flight or on a test-bed, the
complete working model in a lab and either in performance or had limitations in ing a word on extension of commercial
how it would be integrated’’ on the Indian terms of future upgrades. proposals on the last day, April 28, but got
MMRCA. “Rafale figures a notch higher than to know that only Dassault Aviation and
Overall, MoD and IAF are confident Typhoon in terms of performance and Eurofighter have been invited for discus-
there are “enough safeguards’’ built into involves easier adaptability as it is sions,” said a representative of Saab AB.
the project, which include “performance- logistically and operationally similar to Those who lost out have made it known
based logistics’’ to ensure India “gets the Mirage-2000, used extensively by our that they would raise issues concerning the
best machine, spares and product sup- boys during the Kargil conflict in 1999. price and other attributes of Rafale and Ty-
port’’. The French government has also cleared phoon. The two aircraft are said to be the
Just why has the Indian Air Force (IAF) the technology transfer, including the highest priced among those in the contest
short-listed the French Rafale and the AESA (active electronically scanned array) when looked at from a unit price point
Eurofighter Typhoon ahead of four other radar,” sources in the IAF said. of view. Second, the Eurofighter’s AESA
contenders, including the US F-16 and The other discreet offering by Das- radar is still under development. Only the
F/A-18 fighters, for the contract? sault Aviation too made sense: save on two US fighters have operational AESA
The down selection at the end of a pro- the $1.5 billion project to upgrade 52 radars on them.
longed evaluation of the six fighter jets Mirage-2000 jets by acquiring the Rafale. If India finally picks the Rafale, it would
was evidently based on the fact that the Interestingly, all six fighters were in the be only the second air force after the
Rafale and the Typhoon were the most race till April 17, the deadline for submis- French Air Force to induct these fighters
modern airframes and better equipped sion of modified offset proposals. The rep- into its fleet. India has asked Dassault SA
compared to F/A-18 Super Hornet and resentatives of these firms were informed and Eurofighter GmbH to hold their price
F-16 IN of the US, MiG-35 of Russia, of the Union government’s decision to bids until the end of the year. The deal is
and JAS-39 Gripen of Sweden, media relax the offset policy mentioned in the expected to be signed by March 2012.
reports said. request for proposal (RFP).
The Rafale and the Typhoon met most of The original rider that half the value of Sunny Jerome
the 630 technical attributes mentioned in the $ 10.5 billion contract be passed on to Managing Editor,
the request for proposal (RFP) by the min- domestic firms was modified, fixing it at 30 AEROMAG ASIA
istry of defence, while the others lacked per cent of the deal. “We were all expect- Specially for Air Fleet magazine
A I R   F L E E T ·3·2 0 1 1 ( 8 8 )
63