SU-30MKM - Take

march 2013 • Special edition for LIMA '13
New combat jets
four RusAF
[p.4,6]
Sukhoi T-50
four prototypes
under trials
[p.18]
Tikhomirov NIIP radars
To see first means to win
[p.14]
Ilyushin 476
undergoing tests
[p.34]
Sin Uservice
-30MKM
with RMAF
[p.8]
Sukhoi Superjet 100 arrives to new customers [p.30]
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GETTING REAL
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The Corporation integrates more than 30 leading Russian helicopter and engine manufacturing companies in 12 Russian regions
Russian Helicopters Company, a subsidiary of OBORONPROM Corporation, is the leading Russian designer and manufacturer
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UNITED INDUSTRIAL CORPORATION OBORONPROM I 29/141 Verejskaya st. Moscow 121357 Russia I [email protected] I www.oboronprom.ru
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HIGH TECHNOLOGIES.
GETTING REAL
OBORONPROM Corporation, a Russian Technologies State Corporation company, is a diversified industrial-investment group
in the engineering and high technologies sectors
The Corporation integrates more than 30 leading Russian helicopter and engine manufacturing companies in 12 Russian regions
Russian Helicopters Company, a subsidiary of OBORONPROM Corporation, is the leading Russian designer and manufacturer
of rotary-wing aircraft equipment
United Engine Corporation, a subsidiary of OBORONPROM Corporation, is the leading Russian industrial group producing
engines for aircraft, aerospace industry, gas compression stations and power plants
UNITED INDUSTRIAL CORPORATION OBORONPROM I 29/141 Verejskaya st. Moscow 121357 Russia I [email protected] I www.oboronprom.ru
eng-200-270-2013.indd 1
1/14/13 10:19 AM
March 2013
Editor-in-Chief
Andrey Fomin
Deputy Editor-in-Chief
Vladimir Shcherbakov
Editor
Yevgeny Yerokhin
Columnists
Alexander Velovich
Artyom Korenyako
Special correspondents
Alexey Mikheyev, Victor Drushlyakov,
Andrey Zinchuk, Valery Ageyev,
Natalya Pechorina, Marina Lystseva,
Dmitry Pichugin, Sergey Krivchikov,
Sergey Popsuyevich, Piotr Butowski,
Alexander Mladenov, Miroslav Gyurosi
Design and pre-press
Grigory Butrin
Mikhail Fomin
Translation
Yevgeny Ozhogin
Cover picture
Marina Lystseva
Publisher
Director General
Andrey Fomin
Deputy Director General
Nadezhda Kashirina
Marketing Director
George Smirnov
Business Development Director
Mikhail Fomin
Special Projects Director
Artyom Korenyako
News items for “In Brief” columns are prepared by editorial
staff based on reports of our special correspondents, press
releases of production companies as well as by using information
distributed by ITAR-TASS, ARMS-TASS, Interfax-AVN, RIA Novosti,
RBC news agencies and published at www.aviaport.ru, www.avia.ru,
www.gazeta.ru, www.cosmoworld.ru web sites
Items in the magazine placed on this colour background or supplied
with a note “Commercial” are published on a commercial basis.
Editorial staff does not bear responsibility for the contents of such items.
The magazine is registered by the Federal Service for supervision of
observation of legislation in the sphere of mass media and protection
of cultural heritage of the Russian Federation. Registration certificate
PI FS77-19017 dated 29 November 2004
Dear reader,
You are holding another issue of the Take-off magazine, a supplement
to Russian aerospace monthly VZLET. This issue is timed to the LIMA '13
Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace exhibition. The show on
the Malaysian island of Langkawi has more than 20 years experience
and is the 12th one this time around. Over the two decades since LIMA’s
inception, the show has grown much in terms of scale and participation,
having turned into a major regional aerospace and naval business forum
in Southeast Asia.
Russia has been a regular major participant in LIMA shows owing,
to a large degree, to the increasing scale of aerospace cooperation
between the two nations. In the mid-1990s, the Royal Malaysian Air
Force commissioned into service the MiG-29N fighters developed in line
with its order. A bit later, Malaysian fire-fighting service Bomba received
Russian-made Mi-17-1V and then Mi-171 helicopters. Today, the most
advanced and perfect multirole combat aircraft in service with RMAF is
the Russian-built Su-30MKM fighters delivered by the Irkut Corporation
in an 18-ship batch during 2007–09. Malaysia also became the customer
for the advanced new-generation MC-21 short/medium-haul airliner
under development by Irkut in Russia.
Although Irkut Corp. successfully fulfilled the whole contract on
18 Su-30MKMs delivery to RMAF in 2009, more fighters of the type could
be in demand in Malaysia soon as it decided to withdraw in the future
its MiG-29N aircraft fleet delivered by Russia’s MiG Corp. in 1990s. In
such case Su-30MKM, possibly in further upgraded version, for example
armed by BrahMos-A long-range air-to-surface missiles or fitted with a
brand-new AESA radar, could become the best choice for Malaysia in
terms of RMAF fighter fleet combat efficiency and operational logistics.
By the way MiG Corp. now has a great experience in upgrading earlier
delivered MiG-29 fighters under the Generation 4+ and 4++ standards.
The first step was MiG-29SMT fighter for Russian Air Force and some
foreign customers. Recently it handed over the first MiG-29UPG
upgraded flighters to Indian Air Force under a contract for more than 60
aircraft – the whole fleet of MiG-29s in service with IAF. So, MiG could
offer such upgrade solutions for Malaysia as well alongside with new
deliveries of modern versions of MiG-29 family including MiG-29M/M2
and MiG-35 fighters. In such case prolonging long-term cooperation with
MiG Corp. could be a good chance for the Royal Malaysian Air Force
having almost 20-years experience of flying with MiG-29s to expand its
traditions and extend its capabilities.
In this issue we have focused on the most important novelties and
recent events in Russian aerospace industry, with preference given to
those of them that could be of special interest to the current and potential
customers of Russian aircraft in Malaysia and Southeast Asia in whole.
I wish you fruitful work at the LIMA ‘13 air show, useful contacts and
lucrative contracts!
© Aeromedia, 2013
P.O. Box 7, Moscow, 125475, Russia
Tel. +7 (495) 644-17-33, 798-81-19
Fax +7 (495) 644-17-33
E-mail: [email protected]
www.take-off.ru
Sincerely,
Andrey Fomin,
Editor-in-Chief,
Take-off magazine
contents
MILITARY AVIATION
Irkut delivers first 15 Yak-130s to RusAF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
First two Su-30SMs delivered to RusAF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
March 2013
More Su-34 and Su-35S aircraft for RusAF. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Su-30MKM in service with RMAF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
To see first means to win
8
Interview of Tikhomirov-NIIP Director General Yuri Bely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
T-50
Four aircraft in flight trials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
14 CONTRACTS AND DELIVERIES
First three upgraded MiG-29UPGs delivered to India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
IAF ordering 42 Su-30MKI fighters more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Russian and India launching MTA co-development. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
As many as 25 Indian An-32s upgraded in Kiev . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
India to receive 71 Mi-17 helicopters more. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
18
Brazil becoming launch customer for Ka-62 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
COMMERCIAL AVIATION
Angara launches An-148 commercial services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
New aircraft for presidential air detachment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
22
Sukhoi Superjet 100 arrives to new customers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
INDUSTRY
Ilyushin 476 undergoing tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
30
Upgraded An-70 in trials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
First Russian Emergencies Ministry An-148 in trial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
First SSJ100/95LR kicking off its trials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Endurance tests under MC-21 programme go on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
PD-14: prototype engine manufacture begins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Last Tu-154M built? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
34
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take-off march 2013
Be-200: first local production aircraft under assembly in Taganrog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Ka-226T to be ready for delivery this year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
www.take-off.ru
military aviation | news
Mikhail Khokhryakov
Irkut delivers first 15 Yak-130s to RusAF
Air Force. Not long before that, on
7 December 2011, the Irkut cut its
first deal with the Russian Defence
Ministry for 55 Yak-130s intended
for RusAF during 2012–15.
The training centre’s aircrews
ferried first three Yak-130s from
Irkutsk to Borisoglebsk on 5
October 2012. Three more aircraft followed the trio four days
taking delivery of Yak-130 combat trainers since February 2010
(first they were fielded with the
State Aircrew Training and Aircraft
Operational Evaluation Centre of
the Defence Ministry in the city of
Lipetsk). Now, Irkut is in talks with
new foreign customers, particularly those from CIS countries, at
the same time with the delivery of
Yak-130s to RusAF.
One of the results produced
by the talks was the contract for
delivery of four Yak-130 combat
trainers for the Belarusian Defence
Ministry, signed in December
2012. The aircraft will be delivered
to BelAF in 2015. The Republic of
Belarus became the first CIS member state to buy Yak-130s.
Sergey Alexandrov
Irkut JSC, a subsidiary of the
United Aircraft Corporation, met
its commitments under last year’s
governmental defence procurement order, having delivered the
first 15-ship Yak-130 combat
trainer batch to the Russian Air
Force. The aircraft were delivered
to the RusAF Borisoglebsk Training
Centre operating 10 Yak-130s, built
by the Sokol aircraft plant in Nizhny
Novgorod, since 2011. Once the
2005 contract for 12 Sokol-made
Yak-130s for the Russian Defence
Ministry was fulfilled in June 2011,
a decision was made that all subsequent Yak-130 orders – both
domestic and export ones – would
be handled by the Irkutsk Aviation
Plant of the Irkut corporation.
In December 2011, Irkut fulfilled
its first export contract for 16
Yak-130s ordered by the Algerian
later, on 9 October. Another two
three-ship Yak-130 batches went
to Borisoglebsk from the manufacturing plant on 21 and 30
November respectively, followed
by last three aircraft slated for last
year’s delivery on 19 December.
The 15 brand-new Yak-130s bearing side numbers 31 through 45
joined the first 10 Borisoglebskbased Yak-130s, bringing the total
number up to 25. The remaining 40
combat trainers under the contract
shall have been delivered within
three years, with 10 options having
been provided for.
The Yak-130’s combat trainer version with its weapons
suite passed its official tests in
December 2009. RusAF has been
First two Su-30SMs delivered to RusAF
Irkut Corp.
On 22 November 2012, the Irkut
corporation delivered two Su-30SM
multirole supermanoeuvrable twoseat fighters to the Russian Air
Force. The acceptance report was
4
take-off march 2013
signed at the Irkutsk Aviation Plant,
a subsidiary of the Irkut corporation.
The first two aircraft were built
under the March 2012 order by the
Russian Defence Ministry for 30
Su-30SMs to be delivered between
2012 and 2015. The Su-30SM is a
derivative of the Su-30MKI fighter that the Irkutsk Aviation Plant
has been made for export since
2000. An official Irkut news release
states the tailoring of the aircraft
to the RusAF requirements, which
had been performed by the Sukhoi
design bureau, pertained “radar,
communication and IFF systems,
ejection seat and a number of
auxiliary systems”. Modifications
had been made to the weapons
suite as well.
The first Su-30SM earmarked for
RusAF made its maiden flight in
Irkutsk on 21 September last year,
followed by the other four days later.
On 19 December 2012, the
Russian Defence Ministry placed
another contract with Irkut for 30
Su-30SM fighters more. Thus, Irkut
is to make 58 Su-30SMs more and
deliver them to RusAF in the coming years.
www.take-off.ru
military aviation | news
Sukhoi
6
take-off march 2013
Lipetsk and have been based in
Voronezh since December 2011.
The next batch (six aircraft with
side numbers from 01 through 05
and 10) arrived to Baltimore AFB in
December 2011.
This year, Sukhoi is going to
have its manufacturing plant in
Novosibirsk build 12 Su-34s more,
thus completing the order landed in
2008. Right after this, it will start
fulfilling the next – unprecedented –
governmental order for 92 Su-34
tactical bombers more to be delivered to RusAF from 2014 to 2020.
Not long before New Year Day,
on 28 December 2012, Defence
Ministry representatives signed
acceptance reports on advanced
Sukhoi planes at the Komsomolskon-Amur Aircraft Plant as well.
The customer received six more
Su-35S supermanoeuvrable multirole single-seat fighters under
UAC
In December 2012, the Sukhoi
company supplied the Russian
defence Ministry with 16 brandnew warplanes – 10 productionstandard Su-34 multirole tactical
bombers and six cutting-edge
Su-35S multirole supermanoeuvrable fighters, having thus fulfilled
its part of the 2012 State Defence
Procurement Order.
The first five Su-34s (side numbers 11, 12, 20, 21 and 22) flew
from the manufacturer’s airfield
in Novosibirsk to Baltimore AFB
in the vicinity of Voronezh on 25
December 2012. Five more aircraft
(side numbers 23 through 27),
which the customer had received
in Novosibirsk in the run-up to
New Year Day, on 29 December,
have arrived there a month later,
on 25 January this year. Thus, the
air base in Voronezh has got as
many as 20 Su-34 tactical bombers. Sukhoi has delivered them
under the government-awarded
November 2008 contract stipulating the construction and delivery
of 32 aircraft of the type during
2010–13.
The first four Su-34s under the
contract (side numbers 06 through
09) were manufactured and delivered late in 2010. At first, they were
assigned to the Aviation Personnel
Training and Aircraft Operational
Evaluation Centre in the city of
UAC
More Su-34 and Su-35S aircraft for RusAF
the August 2009 contract for 48
aircraft of the type.
As is known, the first two
Su-35S fighters (side numbers
are 01 and 02) under the contract were made by KnAAPO (now
KnAAZ – Russian acronym for
Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft
Plant named after Yuri Gagarin, a
Sukhoi subsidiary) and delivered
to the Defence Ministry in May and
December 2011. Another two (side
numbers 03 and 04) were flighttested in Komsomolsk-on-Amur in
January and February 2012. The
four aircraft were ferried to the
Defence Ministry’s State Flight Test
Centre in Akhtubinsk to undergo
their official trials. The six more
aircraft delivered late last year will
join them there in the near future.
Their ferry flight to Akhtubinsk was
slated for late January. Later on,
they will be based at the Aviation
Personnel Training and Aircraft
Operational Evaluation Centre in
Lipetsk, where they will be used for
opeval and the conversion of the
flying and ground crews of RusAF
combat units to the type.
As the head of the United
Aircraft Corporation Mikhail
Pogosyan told Russian President
Vladimir Putin during his last year
visit to KnAAZ, Sukhoi will supply
RusAF with 12 Su-35S fighters
annually during 2013 and 2014
and will deliver the last 14 fighters
under the contract to the military
in 2015. By then, the Defence
Ministry is expected to place a
new, equally big long-term order
for Su-35S fighters that will have
been delivered until 2020.
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United Engine Corporation
Bldg. 141, 29 Vereyskaya str., Moscow, 121357, Russia
Tel./fax: +7 (495) 232-91-63
www.uk-odk.ru
Andrey Fomin
military aviation | programme
Su-30MKM
IN SERVICE WITH RMAF
Andrey FOMIN
Coming summer will mark the 10th anniversary of the landmark contract for 18 Sukhoi/Irkut Su-30MKM two-seat
supermanoeuvrable multirole fighters for the Royal Malaysian Air Force. The aircraft have been successfully operated by
RMAF, being its most advanced and sophisticated aircraft type. The Irkut corporation delivered them to Malaysia between
2007 and 2009. Now all of 18 superagile Su-30MKMs are in service with the 11th squadron of the Royal Malaysian Air Force
stationed at Gong Kedak air base in the Kelantan province, on the coast of the South China Sea, 300 km north of the national
capital, Kuala Lumpur. The international debut of the advanced Malaysian fighters took place at LIMA 2007 airshow at the
island of Langkawi. This time, Su-30MKMs are also the participants of the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace
exhibition and, no doubt, will become the main stars of the demonstration flight programme at LIMA '13.
Worth about $900 million, the contract for
18 Russian-made Su-30MKM aircraft to be
delivered to RMAF was signed on the top
governmental level in August 2003, with the
Rosoboronexport state corporation to fulfil it.
The aircraft were to be developed by the Sukhoi
company and built by the Irkut Corp. Under
the deal, in addition to delivering the fighters,
Russia was to train RMAF flying and ground
crews and provide weapons and other equipment relevant to the effective operation of the
fighters. A decision was taken to have Malaysia’s
personnel trained in their country. RMAF had
taken delivery of the first two aircraft in June
2007 and four more by the year-end, with the
next six in March 2008. The remaining six
Su-30MKMs were delivered in summer 2009.
The Su-30MKM fighter is a derivative of the
proven Su-30MKI that has been in service with
the Indian Air Force (IAF) since 2002. Under
8
take-off march
december
2009
2013
the contracts fulfilled or still under way, IAF is
to take delivery of as many as 272 Su-30MKI
fighters by the end of this decade, of which
50 were built by Russia’s Irkut Corporation and
222 are to be licence-produced by Indian aircraft
manufacturer HAL under a licence programme.
To date, Irkut has shipped 50 fighters of the type
to India as well as more than 120 licence production kits. The first Indian-assembled Su-30MKI
has been flown and handed over to IAF in
November 2004. Since then, the number of
Indian-produced Su-30MKIs in IAF’s inventory has been on the rise. As for today, more than
170 Su-30MKIs – both delivered from Russia
and assembled by HAL – are in service with IAF.
One more derivative of the fighter, the
Su-30MKI(A), was developed by Sukhoi
and delivered by Irkut Corp. The customer is
Algerian Air Force which ordered 28 fighters of the type in 2006 and 16 more in 2010.
Deliveries began in late 2007 and by 2013 a total
of 44 Su-30MKI(A) fighters have been built by
Irkut and delivered to the customer.
“The Su-30MKM is another step in
developing the Su-30 platform further,” the
Sukhoi design bureau’s First Deputy Designer
General Alexander Barkovsky told Take-off.
The Malaysian version is wrapped around the
Su-30MKI design, differing mostly in avionics
but retaining its airframe, AL-31FP thrust vector-controlled (TVC) engines and fly-by-wire
control system. Still, “there have been a number
of radical modifications to the Malaysian aircraft”, Alexander Barkovsky said.
They included, first and foremost, modifications to the IFF transponder, self-defence suite,
display system and podded optronic systems. For
instance, the Su-30MKM mounts an advanced
French-made IFF system, with its ‘plates’ situated on top the nose section fore of the cockpit.
wwwwww.
. ttaakkee--ooffff.. r u
military aviation | programme
the Israeli-made Litening electro-optical pod).
There are two such systems: the LDP Damocles
pod ensures round-the-clock air-to-surface
attack while day and night flight and navigation
is ensured by the NAVFLIR system housed by
the pylon being the hardpoint for the Damocles.
According to the official data at the Thales
web site, the Damocles podded optronic system (the pod weighs 265 kg and is 2.5 m long)
handles the surface search, target acquisition,
identification and tracking, laser spot detection and target ranging and designation for
laser-guided weapons, including smart bombs.
To this end, it has the thermal imaging capability
with the 3–5 micron wavelength as well as two
laser channels: a 1.5 micron eye-safe ranging
laser and a target illumination laser. The thermal
imager’s extra-wide field of vision in the navigation mode measures 24x18°, wide one – 4x3°
and narrow one – 1x0.75°. The twofold electronic magnification (zoom) is possible.
The 3–5 micron infrared NAVFLIR navigation system has the front-hemisphere lookdown/lookup capability with the 24x18° optical
field of view (the electronic zoom with 12x9°
angle of view) and shows the resultant imagery
on the HUD and/or MFDs. The acquisition
and identification range for objects measuring
20x20 m is 10–12 km and those for 100x100 m
objects is 22.5–50 km. The system, except the
pod and cooling system, weighs mere 20 kg.
The rest of the Su-30MKM’s search and
targeting systems are Russian-made and mostly similar to those on the Su-30MKI. They
include, first and foremost, the Tikhomirov
NIIP Bars phased-array radar capable of simultaneously tracking at least 15 aerial threats at a
high spatial angle and engaging four of them at
a time, effectively attacking ground targets and
operating in the air-to-air and air-to-surface
modes concurrently. The passive phased array
of the Bars radar is fitted with the additional hydraulic horizontal turn mechanism and
Marina Lystseva
However, the main difference featured by the
Malaysian variant is its laser warning systems
and missile approach sensors. They were developed and in production by South African company Avitronics, a member of the SAAB group,
and are placed in various parts of the airframe.
Two front-hemisphere laser-illumination sensor
sets are under the nose section and the other
two, which keep an eye on the rear hemisphere,
sit on the sides of the air intakes. Between the
former, there is a UV three-sensor set to spot
incoming missiles in the lookdown mode. The
second such set of UV sensors is on top the
spine fairing aft of the air brake. It operates in
the lookup mode.
In addition to the South African systems,
the Su-30MKM’s self-defence suite comprises
an upgraded Russian radar-warning receiver,
Russian electronic countermeasures (ECM)
system in two pods mounted on wingtips, and
Russian passive IR dispensers in the tail section
(98 cartridges with flares and chaff).
Actually, the share of Russian-made components is larger than that on the Indian variant
due to Russian components replacing some of
the Indian and Israeli ones. Particularly, the
Su-30MKI has two different digital computers (the main one is Russian and the backup is
Indian), while both of the Su-30MKM’s computers are Russian-made.
In addition, the Su-30MKM has more
French-made systems. The Thales wide-angle
HUD has ousted the Israeli ElOp HUD mounted by the Su-30MKI. The Su-30MKM’s colour
multifunction LCDs are French-made as well.
Like the Indian fighter, its Malaysian counterpart houses three 5x5” MFD55 displays at each
combat station in the cockpit, with the rear station also fitted with the fourth, larger display –
the 6x6” MFD66.
Another novelty implemented in the
Malaysian version is the Thales podded
optronic systems (the Su-30MKI can carry
www.take-off.ru
take-off march 2013
9
offers ±70° total scan in azimuth and ±40°
in elevation. The assured acquisition range
for aerial threats with a radar cross-section of
3 sq.m equals at least 140 km.
In addition, the Su-30MKM’s surveillance
and targeting gear includes the OLS-30I IRST
from the Urals Optical & Mechanical Plant
named after E.S. Yalamov (UOMZ) and the
Sura helmet-mounted target designator from
the Arsenal plant in Kiev. The infrared segment
of the IRST tracks aerial targets out at 90 km
in the rear hemisphere and 50 km in the front
hemisphere. The airspace scan zone measures
±60° in azimuth and -15/+60° in elevation. The
OLS-30I’s wide field of view accounts for 60x10°
and the narrow one is 20x5°, with the field of
view being 3x3° in the lock-on mode. The laser
rangefinder ranges ground targets out at 5 km at
the least and aerial ones out at 3 km at the least.
The Su-30MKI’s navigation aids include
the TACAN short-range radio navigation
system, LINS-GPS inertial/satnav system
and VOR/ILS/MRK landing equipment. To
ensure safe formation manoeuvring, the aircraft also is fitted with formation flight lights
on the sides of the fuselage nose section and
air intakes, fins and wingtips. The avionics
was integrated with the use of multiplex databus meeting the MIL-STD-1553B standard.
As far as its weapons suite is concerned,
the Su-30MKM is close enough to IAF’s
Su-30MKI. The types of weapons used remain
10
take-off march 2013
virtually unchanged and include up to ten
RVV-AE medium-range active radar homing
air-to-air missiles, up to eight R-27ER1 semiactive radar homing and R-27ET1 heat-seeking
AAMs (including up to two R-27ET1 AAMs),
up to six R-73E dogfight missiles, Kh-59ME
air-to-surface missiles (two missiles with
TV command guidance), Kh-31A or Kh-31P
(six ASMs with active or passive radar homing
heads), six TV-guided Kh-29TE missiles and
five Kh-29L semiactive laser beam-riding ASMs.
Guided bombs include KAB-500Kr (OD) and
KAB-1500Kr TV-guided bombs and advanced
KAB-1500LG laser-guided bombs. The use of
Kh-59ME missiles is supported by means of the
APK-9E pod carried on the hardpoint under
the port air intake and that of Kh-29L missiles
and KAB-1500LG bombs by the Damocles pod
mounted on the hardpoint under the starboard
air intake.
The non-guided weapons carried by the
Su-30MKM are virtually the same as those
hauled by other aircraft of the Flanker family.
The Su-30MKM carries up to eight HE gravity bombs or 500 kg disposable cluster bomb
units, up to thirty-two 250 kg or 100 kg
blast/fragmentation bombs and 80, 122 and
266/340 mm (420 mm) folding-fin aerial
rockets (80 S-8, 20 S-13 or four S-25 FFARs
in various versions) in four rocket pods or
launchers. The maximum payload mounted
on 12 hardpoints totals 8,000 kg. To cap it all,
Sergey Kuznetsov
Sergey Kuznetsov
cm oi nl it tr aa rcyt sa va i na dt i do en l i| v pe rr oi ge rs a m| mr ee p o r t
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Sergey Kuznetsov
c o n tmr ai lci tt sa r ay n ad v di ae tl i ov en r |i e ps r o| g r ae m
p omr et
the fighter packs a 30 mm GSh-301 automatic
cannon with the 150-round ammo load.
In conclusion, a few words about one other
feature of the Su-30MKM. The aircraft is fitted with the integral oxygen generator from
the Zvezda company in the town of Tomilino,
Moscow Region. Zvezda is known as the developer of the unique K-36D-3,5E ejection seat
the Su-30MKM is fitted with.
The Su-30MKM has a long flying life –
6,000 flight hours or 25 years of operation as far
as the airframe is concerned. Heavy maintenance
is required after the aircraft logs 1,500 flight hours
or 10 years of operation. The AL-31FP engines
from UMPO in Ufa have an assigned life of
2,000 flight hours and a time before first overhaul
of 1,000 flight hours, with their TVC nozzles have
an assigned life of 500 flight hours.
totype completed its maiden flight in Irkutsk
on 9 June 2006 with Vyacheslav and Yevgeny
Averyanovs at the controls. The bulk of the
tests conducted at LII’s airfield in Zhukovsky
and at the Defence Ministry’s State Flight
Test Centre (GLITs) in Akhtubinsk were
complete in late spring 2007, with the assembly of the first production Su-30MKMs being
in full swing at the Irkutsk Aviation Plant.
Both Su-30MKM prototypes remained in
Andrey Fomin
In 2006 the Sukhoi design bureau furnished two prototype aircraft to test the
Su-30MKM’s advanced electronic systems
and integrate it with the avionics suite. Two
preproduction Su-30MKIs serialled 05 and
04 were converted to this end, becoming
the prototypes of the Su-30MKM. One of
them was first flown by Sukhoi’s test pilots
Sergey Kostin and Vyacheslav Averyanov in
Zhukovsky on 23 May 2006. The other pro-
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11
military aviation | programme
During a previous LIMA air show at the
Malaysian island of Langkawi, the Take-off
editor had an opportunity to be granted an
exclusive interview by the chief of the Royal
Malaysian Air Force, General Dato’ Sri Rodzali
bin Daud. Sharing his impressions of the
Russian-made Su-30MKM fighters in service
with RMAF, Gen. Rodzali bin Daud said the
following:
“We are very pleased with the technical
performance and tactical capabilities of the
Sukhoi fighter we have received. Firstly, the
Su-30MKMs have satisfied our need of longrange multirole fighters dual-hatted as both
the fighter and the strike aircraft capable of
operating above land and sea. Previously, we
had had no planes in the class and needed
them much. Secondly, owing to the top-notch
flight and technical characteristics, manoeuvrability, cutting-edge avionics and weapon
suites, the Su-30MKMs brought RMAF to
a radically higher technical level and heavily influenced the development of Malaysia’s
aerospace industry, since we had from the
outset participated in the Su-30MKM development by selecting its international avionics and weapons suites comprising the best
Russian and Western systems.
One of the reasons, for which the
Su-30MKM was selected, was our rather long
knowledge of Russian aircraft, because RMAF
had operated the Mi-29N fighters for a decade
and a half by then and had been satisfied
with the cooperation with your country on the
whole. Again, we have got no problem with
the Su-30MKM aircraft itself and we are very
satisfied with this bargain”.
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december
2013
2009
December 2007. Lt. Col. Norazlan Aris
and Maj. Azman Jantan from RMAF’s
11th squadron became the heroes of the show
due to their fantastic Su-30MKM flight display over Langkawi. By then two more RMAF
pilots were flying the new type of Malaysian
fighter, Maj. Fadzli Sabirin and Maj. Choy
Swee On. All of them previously flew RMAF’s
MiG-29N or F/A-18D fighters or Hawk
trainers and were high-skill military pilots
with a flight backlog of 2,000–3,000 hours.
Later on more and more Malaysian pilots
passed conversion for flying Su-30MKM and
attended the 11th squadron.
With introducing the Su-30MKM into service, RMAF became the second air force
in the world to operate supersonic multirole supermanoeuvrable fighters capable of
thrust vector control and the world’s second
air force flying Russian fighters fitted with
phased-array radars. With air crews given relevant training, they will be able to use dogfight
missiles in the supermanoeuvrability mode as
well. As a result, the combat capabilities of
the Malaysian Su-30MKMs could far exceed
those of the fighters operated by other air
forces in the region.
At present, RMAF is gearing up for issuing tender for a batch of advanced multirole
fighters to replace, in due time, the service’s
MiG-29N aircraft fleet that are to be decommissioned in the future. Rosoboronexport and
Irkut are intent on offering the Malaysians a
new batch of Su-30MKM fighters that have
earned the country’s recognition and can
embody a number of improvements, if the
customer wishes so. For instance, they can
be fitted with an upgraded fire control radar
system that can be equipped with the active
electronically scanned array (AESA) and the
latest weapons, including the Russian-Indian
BrahMos-A heavy multipurpose supersonic
air-to-surface missile. In such a case, RMAF
will get the unique capabilities for accomplishing all of their missions.
Andrey Fomin
RMAF chief Gen.
Rodzali bin Daud
about Su-30MKM
Russia for use under various test programmes
to keep on refining the Su-30MKM and other
aircraft of the family.
The ceremony of acceptance of two first
production-standard Su-30MKMs took
place at the airfield of the Irkutsk Aviation
Plant, a subsidiary of the Irkut Corp., on 24
May 2007. The Malaysian delegation attending the acceptance ceremony was led by the
then RMAF commander, Gen. Dato’ Sri
Azizan bin Ariffin. Less than a month later, on
18 June, an Antonov An-124 Ruslan airlifter
flew both aircraft to RMAF’s Gong Kedak
air base in the Kelantan province, on the
coast of the South China Sea, 300 km north
of the national capital, Kuala Lumpur. Two
more Su-30MKMs joined them in August.
The Subang air base vic. Kuala Lumpur
hosted the ceremony of the Su-30MKM’s
RMAF service entry on 10 August 2007. The
importance of the event was highlighted by
the presence of Malaysian Deputy Prime
Minister and Defence Minister (now –
Prime Minister of Malaysia) Dato’ Sri Mohd
Najib Tun Haji Abdul Razak and Malaysian
Chief of Defence Forces General (Army)
Tan Sri Dato Paduka Seri Abdul Aziz Hj
Zainal. Rosoboronexport Deputy Director
General Victor Komardin, who represented
Russia during the ceremony, handed the
documentation on the delivered aircraft over
to RMAF Commander.
By then, the fighters delivered had been
used by the first group of RMAF pilots for
conversion to the aircraft of a type new to
them, with Russian test pilots Yevgeny Frolov,
Sergey Bogdan and Sergey Kostin of the
Sukhoi design bureau acting as instructor
pilots. Already on 31 August 2007, three
Su-30MKMs flown by Malaysian pilots participated in the air parade dedicated to the
50th anniversary of Malaysia’s independence.
The international debut of the advanced
Malaysian fighters took place at LIMA 2007
airshow at the island of Langkawi in
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TO SEE FIRST
MEANS TO WIN
Su-30MKM basic specifications
V.Tikhomirov Scientific-Research Institute of Instrument Design, JSC
3, Gagarina str., Zhukovsky, Moscow region, 140180, Russia
Tel.: +7 (495) 556-23-48 Fax: +7 (495) 721-37-85
E-mail: [email protected] www.niip.ru
military aviation | interview
Last year, the Tikhomirov-NIIP research
institute launched the flight tests of
an active electronically scanned array
(AESA) radar on board the Sukhoi
PAK FA Future Tactical Aircraft. The
third flying prototype of the aircraft
has logged a number of test sorties
to test the advanced radar that has
demonstrated stable operation in all
modes. At the same time, the institute’s
personnel are participating in the
official trials of the Su-35S multirole
fighter fitted with the productionstandard Irbis passive electronically
scanned array radar, with the trials
having produced unique results. The
success in the development of the Irbis
and the AESA radar predetermined the
choice of Tikhomirov-NIIP in 2012 as
developer of the radars to fit upgraded
and future long-range bombers.
In addition, last year saw the completion
of the governmental test programmes
on the upgraded MiG-31BM interceptor
and upgraded Su-27SM(3) fighter and
the Russian Defence Ministry taking
delivery of the first Su-30SM multirole
fighters, with all of these warplanes
being equipped with improved radars
from Tikhomirov-NIIP.
Tikhomirov-NIIP radars are known well
in India. The Bars electronically scanned
array radar fits IAF’s Su-30MKI fighter
fleet of more than 150 aircraft of the
type, with the contracts signed to boost
the number to 272 over time. The radar
for the advanced Russian-Indian fifthgeneration fighter known as Perspective
Multirole Fighter (PMF) is being derived
from the AESA radar designed for the
PAK FA. In the run-up to the Aero India
2013 air show in Bangalore, the Takeoff had met Tikhomirov-NIIP Director
General Yuri Bely and asked him about
the key achievements of the company he
leads in 2012 and about the prospects of
the cooperation with India.
Interview of Tikhomirov-NIIP Director General Yuri Bely
Mr. Bely, how are things with the development of the AESA radar for the fifth-generation fighter? What are the early results
produced by its flight tests?
Early last year, the third AESA radar prototype was tested and tuned at TikhomirovNIIP’s test rigs and handed over to the Sukhoi
company that installed it in the PAK FA’s
third flying prototype brought to Zhukovsky
from Komsomolsk-on-Amur in late 2011 for
flight tests. The radar’s flight trials began in
July 2012 following the round test cycle on
board an aircraft. Approximately 20 AESA
radar test sorties had been flown by year-end
2012, most of which had been completely
successful. The key result achieved is the
stable operation of the AESA radar in all
air-to-air and air-to-surface modes from the
outset. Having used late last year’s scheduled
improvements of the aircraft, we dismounted
the radar from it and checked it out on a
test bench of ours: its AESA’s operability
and characteristics remained unchanged, no
improvements were required, and the radar
was fit for continued flight tests that are to
resume in the nearest future.
Last year, we made the fourth AESA radar
set. It was sent to Komsomolsk-on-Amur
where it was mounted on the fourth PAK
FA flying prototype and tested on it on the
ground. The T-50-4 flew for the first time in
December 2012 and conducted a ferry flight
to Zhukovsky in mid-January. Thus, we have
got two T-50s, fitted with our radars, in the
flight trials. At present, the fifth AESA radar is
almost complete at Tikhomirov-NIIP and will
soon be shipped to Komsomolsk-on-Amur
for installation in the fifth flying prototype of
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take-off march 2013
TO SEE FIRST
MEANS TO WIN
the PAK FA. Another radar set is being manufactured as well. It is designed for preliminary
ground tests.
Timely delivery of more AESA radar sets to
the customer is ensured through the institute
having two test rigs. One of them, the chief
designer’s rig, is being used for testing the AESA
radar prototype to enhance its operating envelope as well as introduce advanced operating
modes and improved software packages. The
other one is being used for tuning more radar
sets before mounting them on follow-on aircraft.
Overall, we are satisfied with the results produced but realise full well that a lot has remains
to be done. But I would like to emphasise that
the AESA radar programme is on schedule,
with the schedule having been approved by the
customer and the produced results meeting all
expectations. Test pilots praise our radar too.
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military aviation | interview
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tive intended for RusAF. In November, the
first two Su-30SMs were handed over to the
Defence Ministry for participation in the
official test programme. The deliveries of
production-standard aircraft will have gone
on for several years to come.
To date, the air forces of three countries
(India, Malaysia and Algeria) have operated
over 200 Su-30MKI family fighters equipped
with Bars radars. Now, the Bars is entering
service with our Air Force as well, and the
number of the aircraft carrying radars of the
type will have totalled 400 in several years,
given the contracts concluded.
In addition, the experience gained from the
Bars development was used last year in devising the Bars-130 light radar proposal ordered
by the Irkut Corp. The Bars-130 could be
used in advanced versions of the Yak-130
combat trainer, which are being mulled over
by the Yakovlev design bureau. As is known,
production-standard Yak-130s have been
delivered to RusAF since 2010, and the export
deliveries of the type kicked off in 2011. In
parallel with ramping up the production of the
Yak-130 combat trainer that lacks a radar so
far, Irkut is pondering approaches to further
development of the plane as a light strike aircraft, a light fighter aircraft, etc. Such versions
could use a radar that should be lightweight
and small enough, but able to perform a wide
range of tasks as part of air and ground target
seeking and acquisition, terrain mapping, etc.
What about your ‘firstborn’ among the electronically scanned array radars – the Zaslon
designed for the MiG-31 interceptor? Is its
upgrade complete?
The official test programme of the upgraded MiG-31BM interceptor, carrying the
Zaslon electronically scanned radar improved
by Tikhomirov-NIIP and new weapons,
was completed late last year. As you know,
Tikhomirov-NIIP developed the Zaslon way
back in the ‘70s. The Zaslon became the
world’s first airborne phased-array radar. We
enjoy an undeniable priority in this respect.
The MiG-31BMs upgraded in Phase I (i.e.
furnished with the improved Zaslon radar
and an advanced cockpit display system at the
backseater’s combat station) have been fielded
with combat units. In December 2012, successful launches of new long- and mediumrange air-to-air missiles crowned the Phase II
trials. The official tests report is to be approved
in the near future, and aircraft upgraded this
way will start fielding with line units too.
Will you dwell on the Irbis radar that is
surely the summit of the passive electronically
scanned radar technology?
You are right, the Irbis is second to none
in the world, indeed, as far as its test-proven
characteristics are concerned. Last year, the
fight trials involving the Su-35 fighter produced the unique aerial target acquisition
results – much more than 400 km! This is the
unrivalled achievement of the world’s aircraft
NIIP
It is an open secret that the AESA radar we
are developing to fit the PAK FA will serve
the basis for development of the radar system
of the Russian-Indian PMF fifth-generation
fighter. Tikhomirov-NIIP has been selected
as prime contractor for the radar to fit the
PMF. The Indians are supposed to develop
and manufacture some of the subsystems
of the fighter’s radar system, with specific
subsystems being discussed now. Last year,
there was a review of the draft design of the
aircraft and, hence, our part of it – the AESA
radar. Next on the agenda is the signature of
a contract for the development work. As soon
as the contract is signed, the development of
the AESA radar system for the Perspective
Multirole Fighter will shift into high gear.
What is the state of affairs of your work on
passive electronically scanned array radars?
The Bars radar equipping the planes of the
Su-30MKI family has become well known in
the world. What is the status of the programme?
Indeed, the Bars radar designed for the
Su-30MKI fighter family has earned international recognition. Series deliveries of the
radars of the type are performed by our longtime partner, the State Ryazan Instrumentmaking Plant that also assists the Indians in
having the Bars productionised by local companies. Last year, the Bars radar in the final
configuration, designed for IAF Su-30MKIs,
has passed its tests, having incorporated all
software improvements and implementation
of all operating modes under the contract.
Production-standard Bars radars assembled
both in Ryazan and in India are supplied
to the customer in this version now. Earlier
radars fitting the early-batch Su-30MKIs will
be given relevant improvements in due time.
A further IAF Su-30MKI-intended Bars
upgrade programme has been under discussion for several years now. As is known,
a decision has been made in principle a
long time ago, but the contract has not been
signed yet. Initially, the Bars is supposed to
be refined while retaining its current array,
with the improvements to include extended
range, higher resolution and the ability to
support the use of advanced weapons. Then,
the Bars’s array is to be replaced with an
AESA. Obviously, it makes sense to do it after
the AESA radar for the Perspective Multirole
Fighter is tested so that to build on the expertise gained from the efforts.
Another milestone of last year was that
two sets of the Russian Bars version designed
for fitting the first two Su-30SM fighters of
the Russian Air Force were delivered to the
Irkutsk Aviation Plant (a subsidiary of the
Irkut Corp.) in May 2012. As is known, the
Russian Defence Ministry and Irkut struck
two deals for a total of 60 Su-30SM aircraft,
with the Su-30SM being a Su-30MKI deriva-
AESA prototype
take-off march 2013
15
Bars phased array radar
radar industry. Based on the outcome of the
official tests of the Su-35S, a preliminary
report was signed last year, and the delivery of production-standard Irbis-equipped
fighters to the Russian Defence Ministry
begun. The first two production-standard
fighters were delivered late in 2011, with
eight more delivered during 2012. All of
them are fitted with production-standard
Irbis radars, which production was launched
at the State Ryazan Instrument-making
Plant with Tikhomirov-NIIP’s support. The
radar’s basic characteristics have been proven by flight tests. Now, the radar has to take
tactical tests involving launches of various
weapons. As is known, the governmental
contract stipulates the construction of 48
Su-35S aircraft for RusAF throughout 2015.
The deliveries are not likely to be limited
to the number or the deadline. In addition,
export sales of the Su-35 equipped with our
Irbis-E are being looked into.
The order for deriving an electronically
scanned array radar from the Irbis as part of
the upgrade of the Tupolev Tu-22M3 and
Tu-160 long-range bomber fleets, which was
awarded to us last year, is a kind of recognition
of the top-notch performance of the Irbis. This
line of work is new to us, for we have never
developed radars for long-range bombers yet.
However, the lessons learnt from the Irbis
development makes us hopeful that we will
reach the objective. We have worked out a draft
design for Irbis versions earmarked for the
Tupolev aircraft and are preparing the paperwork for launching the development work. If
all goes to plan, the first upgraded Tu-22M3s
and Tu-160s equipped with our radars will
commence their trials as soon as 2014.
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take-off march 2013
Skipping ahead, I hope that the expertise gleaned from the work on the Tupolev
bombers and our successful development of
the AESA radar for the PAK FA will guarantee our success in landing the order for
the development of the radar system to fit
the PAK DA Future Long-Range Aircraft.
In conclusion, which of the results produced by Tikhomirov-NIIP last year seem to
you the most important ones?
Overall, 2012 was rich in events as far as
our company is concerned. I would highlight the beginning of the flight tests of
the AESA radar designed for the PAK FA
and the stable operation of the radar in the
course of the trials, in the first place. Next
goes the issuance of the preliminary report
in the wake of the official tests of the Su-35
equipped with the Irbis and the record-setting characteristics of the radar. Then, there
is the successful official trials of the upgraded
MiG-31BM and Su-27SM(3) fighters fitted
with our upgraded radars. Completing the
testing of the upgraded Bars designed for the
Su-30MKI and launching the deliveries of
such radars to RusAF as part of Su-30SM
fighters. Commencing the development of
a radar for the Long-Range Aviation aircraft. Finally, working out the proposals for
the Bars-130 lightweight small-size radar
designed to fit aircraft in the Yak-130’s class.
Thus, the scope of the work being done
by Tikhomirov-NIIP is increasing. While
we used to make radars for fighters only
(MiG-31, Su-27, Su-30 and its derivatives,
Su-35, PAK FA) as far as airborne radars
are concerned, now the number of carriers
is growing. I believe that the application of
Tikhomirov-NIIP radars will range all the
way from the lightweight Yak-130 to the
heavy Tu-160 in the near future.
We, at Tikhomirov-NIIP, continue to
adhere to the motto of our company, which is
‘To see first means to win’.
NIIP
Andrey Fomin
military aviation | interview
Irbis phased array radar
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SU 30MK
ONLY THE BEST
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www.irkut.com
military aviation | report
T-50
FOUR AIRCRAFT
IN FLIGHT TRIALS
Andrey FOMIN
Photos by Vladimir Ivakhnenko / Sukhoi
The fourth flying prototype of the PAK FA Russia’s Future Tactical Fighter – the T-50 fifth-generation fighter being developed by the
Sukhoi company – came to the airfield of the Gromov Flight research Institute in Zhukovsky, Moscow Region, on 17 January 2012.
It made its first long-range flight, having covered about 7,000 km with several stopovers across Russia from Komsomolsk-onAmur in the Russian Far East, where such aircraft are made by the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Plant named after Yuri Gagarin
(KnAAZ). The T-50-4 (side number 054) was flown by Honoured Test Pilot of the Russian Federation, Hero of Russia Sergei Bogdan.
Thus, as many as four flying prototypes of the T-50 are used in the trials under the PAK FA flight test programme now, with KnAAZ
completing the fifth prototype of the fighter. This year, the prototypes are to be used in the official test programme.
The construction of the fourth PAK FA
flying prototype had been finished by late
autumn last year. On 10 December 2012,
the plane was rolled out to the airfield and
performed its first taxiing run. Two days later,
it taxied two times more, including a highspeed run with nose wheel lift-off. After that,
a decision was made to conduct the first flight.
At 16.50 local time on 12 December 2012,
Sukhoi test pilot Sergei Bogdan took off in
the aircraft on its first flight and landed it
safely onto the runway 38 min later. The first
mission was accomplished, with all systems
operating normally. The test pilot checked
the plane’s stability and controllability and
evaluated the operation of the powerplant and
all systems.
Afterwards, the T-50-4 took off thrice and
was painted then. On 14 January 2013, Sergei
18
take-off march 2013
Bogdan gave the newly painted aircraft a check
flight that proved its being fit for the long flight
to the Moscow Region. As is known, following
several test flights in Komsomolsk-on-Amur,
the first three PAK FA prototypes would be
disassembled and airlifted to Zhukovsky by
An-124 Ruslan transports. The T-50-4 is the
first of the prototypes, which ferry flight from
the manufacturing plant in the Far East to the
Moscow Region was under its own power.
The 7,000-km-long route passed via Chita,
Kansk and Chelyabinsk. The advanced fighter
piloted by Sergei Bogdan set off for long a
road on 15 January. The first overnight stopover was in the city of Chita (Domna airfield).
On the next day, the aircraft flew to Kansk
and arrived in Zhukovsky at about 16.15 h
on 17 January in heavy snow and under the
limited visibility conditions after a stopover in
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military aviation | programme
Chelyabinsk (Shagol airfield). The PAK FA’s
characteristics allow such a long flight to be
made with fewer stopovers, but owing to the
novelty of the aircraft and possible adverse
weather that might have necessitated diverting to a backup airfield that were few and far
between en route, a decision was made against
unnecessary risk. Mention should be made
that the new fighter, which had logged only
five sorties in Komsomolsk-on-Amur prior
to its ferry flight to Zhukovsky, proved itself
in the course of the long-distance flight, with
all of its systems operating like clockwork and
the pilot being quite pleased with his aircraft.
Having arrived to Sukhoi’s flight test facility in Zhukovsky, the T-50-4 will soon join
the flight test programme, under which three
prototypes have been flown here.
The third flying PAK FA prototype’s flight test
phase commenced at Sukhoi’s flight test station
in Zhukovsky in mid-June 2012. Sukhoi’s test
pilot Hero of Russia Sergei Bogdan took T-50-3
prototype for its maiden flight in Komsomolskon-Amur on 22 November 2011. Following
three sorties under the factory acceptance programme, the aircraft had been painted and
T-50-4, PAK FA’s fourth flying prototype, during factory tests.
Komsomolsk-on-Amur, December 2012
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19
Sergey Lysenko
military aviation | programme
T-50-4 approaching Gromov LII Flight Research Institute airfield in snowfall,
17 January 2013
airlifted by an An-124 Ruslan heavy-lifter to
Zhukovsky on 28 December 2011.
The aircraft had been assembled and its systems had been debugged and ground-tested at
Sukhoi’s flight test facility in Zhukovsky for
five months. In particular, the aircraft was for
the first time equipped with an AESA radar
prototype developed by the Tikhomirov-NIIP
institute, and the radar’s operation as part
of the avionic suite was tested. In mid-June,
the T-50-3 was rolled out to the airfield, and
its taxiing and running tests began. Once the
bugs had been troubleshot, the plane was
cleared for a check flight, and Sergei Bogdan
took it to the sky at the Gromov Flight Test
Institute airfield on 21 June 2012. The check
flight took about an hour, and the aircraft with
its systems performed as expected.
The AESA radar continued its tests in July.
First, it was tested on the ground against an
aerial target in the form of the Su-27M (side
number 710) that had been used as a flying testbed for testing the PAK FA’s engine
in 2010. The AESA radar was turned on
and tested in several operating modes during
another test flight of the T-50-3 on 24 July.
In addition to trying the AESA radar, other
advanced avionic systems, which have not
been mounted on the earlier prototypes yet,
will be tested on this aircraft.
According to an official statement by
Sukhoi, “the early tests of the radar’s airto-air and air-to-surface modes onboard the
T-50-3 prototype have produced good stable
results on a par with the performance of the
best existing aircraft. Approaches to refining
these capabilities have been proven. Work has
begun to test the optical channels”.
To date, the T-50-3 has flown about 30 test
sorties, mostly to test the AESA radar and
other avionics.
The second flying prototype, the T-50-2,
has been undergoing improvements in the
run-up to high-g and flying restriction tests.
It conducted its fist flight on 3 March 2011
with Sergei Bogdan at the controls. A month
later, the T-50-2 was carried to Zhukovsky,
and it has flown in the Moscow Region
since mid-August 2011, having logged over
80 sorties.
Early in August 2012, Sukhoi started testing
the T-50-2 for in-flight refuelling. The tests
involved a Russian Air Force Ilyushin Il-78
tanker plane. Test pilot Sergei Bogdan on the
T-50-2 performed a series of approaches to
the tanker and nine hook-ups with the refuelling drogue (the so-called dry refuelling) on a
single sortie, which was recorded on camera
from onboard the Su-25UB escort aircraft
furnished by the Defence Ministry’s State
Flight Test Centre.
According to a Sukhoi news release, the
T-50-2 is also used for research into stability,
controllability and strength within a wide subsonic and supersonic speed bracket in various
configurations.
The first prototype is being used in the
trials too. It had spent about a year, undergoing improvements since the unveiling at
the MAKS 2011 air show in August 2011.
The fourth flying PAK FA getting ready for long-range ferry flight to Zhukovsky.
Komsomolsk-on-Amur, 15 January 2013
20
take-off march 2013
www.take-off.ru
military aviation | programme
The T-50-1 first flew in Komsomolsk-onAmur on 29 January 2010 (it has flown in
Zhukovsky since April 2010). The preparation
of the T-50-1 for extreme angle-of-attack and
supermanoeuvrability test flights had been
completed by last autumn, and its first flight
in the wake of the modification took place
in Zhukovsky on 11 September 2012. It had
performed more than 80 sorties by now.
The 100th test flight under the PAK FA
test programme was performed in November
2011, with the 200th flight took place in
January 2013. This year, the fifth aircraft is
to join the trials. T-50-5 is in assembly at
the plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. It will
be followed by the sixth example. As many
as five Sukhoi test pilots have been flying
the T-50s: in addition to Sergei Bogdan,
who performed the maiden flights on the
four prototypes being tested, they are Roman
Kondratyev, Yuri Vashchuk, Sergei Kostin and
Taras Artsebarsky.
The RusAF commander Lt.-Gen. Victor
Bondarev said in January that the PAK FA
in 2013 would start its official tests at the
Defence Ministry’s Flight Test Centre in
Akhtubinsk. The construction of the six prototypes will be followed by the manufacture
of a low-rate initial production batch for
operational evaluation and then by full-rate
production. According to the media, about 60
production-standard PAK FAs are planned
for fielding during 2016–20. Obviously, the
deliveries will continue past 2020.
www.take-off.ru
From Russian PAK FA
to Russian-Indian PMF
It looks like the programme on the joint development and production of the Prospective
Multirole Fighter (PMF), which is also known
in India as FGFA (Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft), may become the major programme as
part of the Russian-Indian cooperation in the
sphere of aviation in the near future and in
a longer term. The aircraft is being co-developed by Russian and Indian specialists on the
basis of Russia’s PAK FA, with due account of
the Indian requirements.
The programme was officially launched by
the signature of the Russian-Indian intergovernmental agreement on the co-development
and co-production of the future fifth-generation fighters in Moscow on 18 October 2007.
Sukhoi and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL)
were appointed prime contractors. Indian
delegations had paid numerous visits to Russia during several months since then – both
to the Sukhoi design bureau in Moscow and
the plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur where the
construction of the early T-50 prototypes had
been under way since December 2007. Sukhoi’s personnel had gone to India several
times to visit HAL. The key matters pertinent
to the co-development and co-production of
the advanced aircraft were agreed during the
negotiations held. The Russian-Indian nextgeneration warplane programme implies both
its joint financing and the aircraft’s co-production at Sukhoi’s and HAL’s facilities.
During then-President Dmitry Medvedev
visit to New Delhi, Rosoboronexport and HAL
made a contract for the devising of a preliminary design of the fifth-generation Prospective Multirole Fighter on 21 December 2010.
“The contract is the beginning of the practical
development of the Russian-Indian fighter”,
read Rosoboronexport’s official statement released on the occasion.
The Indian press reported at the time that
the Prospective Multirole Fighter was to be
developed by 2017, and Air Chief Marshal
Pradeep Vasant Naik, who was the chief of the
IAF Air Staff during 2009–11, said the Indian
MoD was going to order “up to 250 fifth-generation fighters”.
In turn, Sukhoi reported in February 2011:
“The PMF programme includes the designing
and development of a new-generation fighter
to feature such advanced characteristics as
low observability, supersonic cruising speed,
high manoeuvrability, a highly integrated avionics suite, an expanded situational awareness system, internal carriage of weapons
and the feasibility of a centralised electronic
warfare system. The fighter is being derived
from the Russian PAK FA Future Tactical
Fighter in line with Indian technical requirements. The programme also makes provision
for the designing and development of a twoseat version of the aircraft and the introduction of advanced engines featuring enhanced
thrust. Provision is made for cooperative marketing of the aircraft in third countries”.
In October 2011, IAF command published
more specific information about the number of
Prospective Multirole Fighters to be ordered –
a total of 214 aircraft, including 166 singleseaters and 48 twin-seaters – and confirmed
that they intended to start taking delivery in
2017. However, a year later, in October 2012,
IAF’s Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal
Norman Anil Kumar Browne told Indian magazine India Strategic in an interview that the
number of the fighters planned for procurement had been reduced to 144 aircraft, with
all of them to be single-seaters. The reduction and the rejection of the two-seat version,
which had been planned before, were due
to the attempts to slash the cost of the programme. Now, the first planes are planned for
entering service with IAF in 2020.
A little earlier, on 19 August 2012, the influential Indian newspaper The Times of India
ran a big article on the drafting of a contract
on the Russian-Indian PMF fighter development work, with the contract expected for
signing in late 2012 or early 2013 (when this
issue went to press, the contract had not been
signed yet). The article reported that the PMF
programme had reached a crucial stage and
might turn into India’s largest defence programme with is price tag estimated at about
$35 billion in the coming 20 years. According
to the newspaper, the value of the contract
for the PMF preliminary design signed in December 2010 and submitted to the customer
last summer is $295 million and the value of
the current development contract is estimated
at as many as $11 billion ($5.5 billion for the
Russian and Indian parties each). The newspaper reports that the first PMF prototype
will be made in Russia and may be handed
over to HAL Ozar facility in Nasik for tests
as early as 2014. The second example is to
follow in 2017, while the third one in 2019.
The latter will likely meet all IAF requirements
and become the standard design for full-rate
production, with the production facilities supposed to be launched in Nasik by 2020.
take-off february 2013
21
contracts and deliveries | news
In December 2012, MiG Corp.
delivered to IAF the first three
upgraded MiG-29 fighters – two
single-seat MiG-29UPGs and a
MiG-29UB UPG two-seater. They
were airlifted to the customer by
an Antonov An-124 Ruslan heavy
transport.
The MiG Corp. has been implementing the MiG-29UPG programme under the contract signed
on 7 March 2008 for integrated upgrade of the whole of the
MIG-29 fleet of the Indian Air
Force. In all, 62 aircraft, including
nine MiG-29UB two-seat combat
trainers, are subject to upgrade.
They are to be given more upto-date avionics, with their weapons suite to be beefed up with
advanced missiles. In addition,
airframe and powerplant improvements will extend the fighters’
service life by far, and the aircraft
will switch to on-condition maintenance. The fuel load will increase
owing to a conformal spine fuel
tank aft of the cockpit. At the same
time, the fighters will get the midair refuelling capability.
Overall, the concept of upgrading the IAF MiG-29s corresponds
to that of the MiG-29SMT that has
been in service with the Russian
Air Force since 2009 and mastered
by Russian pilots. At the same time,
there will be a high degree of avionics and weapons commonality with
the MiG-29K/KUB carrierborne
22
take-off march 2013
fighters that entered service with
the Indian Navy on 19 February
2010. At the customer’s request,
systems from various foreign
manufacturers are integrated with
the avionics suite of the upgraded
MiG-29UPG (the so-called international avionics suite). Similar
experience has been gained from
the fulfilling of the Russian-Indian
contracts for upgrade of the IAF’s
MiG-21bis to MiG-21UPG Bison
standard and for development and
manufacture of the Su-30MKI and
MiG-29K/KUB fighters. The experience has showed itself to good
advantage.
The upgraded MiG-29UPG’s fire
control system is wrapped around
the advanced Phazotron-NIIR
Zhuk-M2E slotted-array radar and
OLS-UEM IRST with the laser,
thermal-imager and TV capabilities from the Precise Instrument
Systems Scientific and Production
Corporation (NPK SPP). The same
radar and IRST fit the MiG-29K/KUB.
The cockpit management system
is based on colour multifunction
liquid-crystal displays. The international segment of the avionics
suite includes a helmet-mounted
target designator from Thales, an
inertial/satellite navigation system
from Sagem, an Indian electronic
intelligence system and an Israeli
electronic countermeasures system (the same gear equips the
MiG-29K/KUB).
In addition to the conformal
fuel cell behind the cockpit and
the mid-air refuelling boom on
the portside, visual differences
between the MiG-29UPG and
the baseline MiG-29 include the
underwing chaff/flare dispensers from Bharat Electronics and
advanced antennae of the defence
aids suite under wign and in the
root of the right fin.
The basic weapons carried by
the MIG-29UPG are the same as
those carried by the MiG-29SMT
and MiG-29K/KUB. Unlike the
weapons suite of production
MiG-29s, they also include the
RVV-AE medium-range active
radar homing air-to-air missiles
and such precision-guided air-tosurface weapons, as the Kh-29T
general-purpose TV-homing missile, Kh-31A active radar homing
antiship missile, Kh-31P passive
radar homing antiradation missile,
KAB-500Kr TV-homing bombs, etc.
The MiG-29 has been in IAF’s
inventory since 1987. Overall,
80 aircraft of the type had been
delivered from the later 1980s to
the mid-‘90s, including about 70
MiG-29 singleseaters (version B,
or MiG-29B) and 10 MiG-29UB
twinseaters.
Under the contract, the first
six IAF MIG-29s (four singleseaters and two twinseaters) were
upgraded and tested in Russia,
where they arrived from India in
2008. The first MiG-29UPG made
its maiden flight after upgrade in
Zhukovski on 4 February 2010.
Upon completion of the tests, the
first two upgraded MiG-29UPGs
and a MiG-29UB UPG were
returned to the customer early
in December 2012. Three more
aircraft are slated for delivery this
spring. The remaining 56 aircraft
will be upgraded in India at the
production facilities of the IAF’s
11th Repair Base, using knockdown kits supplied from Russia.
Victor Drushlyakov
MiG Corp.
First three upgraded MiG-29UPGs delivered to India
www.take-off.ru
contracts and deliveries | news
Alexey Mikheyev
On 24 December 2012, during
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s
visit to India, there was the longawaited signature of the contract
for delivery of 42 Su-30MKI multirole supermanoeuvrable fighter
knockdown kits to India. The aircraft
are to be licence-produced at the
manufacturing facilities of Hindustan
Aeronautics Limited (HAL). On
behalf of Russia, Rosoboronexport
Deputy Director General Alexander
Mikheyev signed the contract, with
HAL Chairman R.K. Tyagi and HAL
MiG Complex Managing Director
S. Subrahmanyan signing the contract on behalf of India. According
to the Indian press, the deal’s worth
is estimated at about $1.6 billion.
The Irkut corporation will deliver the
knockdown kits to India.
Today, the Su-30MKI two-seat
supermanoeuvrable multirole fighter
fleet is the trademark of the Indian
Air Force and its most sophisticated
combat planes in service. To date,
the Russia’s Irkut corporation has
supplied IAF with 50 fly-away aircraft
of the type and India’s HAL corporation has been licence-producing the
Su-30MKI since 2004.
Irkut delivered the first 32
Su-30MKIs under the 1996 contract
to IAF during 2002–2004. Later on,
18 more fighters of the type arrived
in 2008–2009 under a “trade-in” deal
clinched in 2007 as a replacement of
18 Su-30Ks delivered in late 1990s.
The contract with India on
licence production of 140 Sukhoi
24
take-off march 2013
Andrey Fomin
IAF ordering 42 Su-30MKI fighters more
Su-30MKIs, AL-31FP thrust vector control engines and avionics,
including the Tikhomirov-NIIP Bars
phased-array radars, was signed on
28 December 2000. It became the
major deal in the Russian-Indian
cooperation, valued at $3 billionplus. The first HAL-assembled
Su-30MKI was accepted by IAF on
28 November 2004.
In 2007, Rosoboronexport and
Irkut, on the one hand, and the
Indian Ministry of Defence and
HAL, on the other, struck a deal
for 40 Su-30MKI knockdown kits
more, with Irkut having completed
the deliveries under the contract
during 2008–10.
HAL Chairman R.K. Tyagi said in
December 2012 that after 42 more
knockdown kits had been ordered,
HAL’s licence-produced Su-30MKI
output would total 222 aircraft, of
which 119 have already been deliv-
ered to IAF. Thus, considering the
ready-made Su-30MKIs delivered by
Irkut, IAF will have a fleet of 272
aircraft of the type in the end.
According to an official HAL
news release, the Russian-Indian
Su-30MKI licence production programme involves 157 Indian subcontractors. HAL’s MiG Complex in
Nasik handles the manufacture of
Su-30MKI airframes and the final
assembly of the planes. The manufacture of AL-31FP engines with the
use of UMPO JSC-supplied components is performed by HAL’s plant
in Koraput. The communication gear
and navigation systems are made
in Hyderabad, while the hydraulic,
pneumatic and fuel units in Lucknow
and cockpit MFDs and satnav systems in Korwa.
Meanwhile, the Su-30MKI programme has not been sitting on
its hands, and the fighter being
delivered to India these days differ
from those supplied earlier in the
decade in greater capabilities of the
fire control system owing to latest operating modes and enhanced
characteristics of the avionics suite.
Since the Su-30MKI production and
deliveries will have continued for at
least four to five years more while
their service life will last at least
25 years, further improvement of
the aircraft by means of even more
sophisticated avionics and weapons
comes to the fore. Such priorities now include the arming of the
Indian Su-30MKI fleet with the cutting-edge BrahMos-A long-range
precision-guided multirole air-tosurface missiles that is under development by BrahMos Russian-Indian
joint venture, which has already
delivered missile’s ship-based and
land-based versions to the Indian
Navy and Army.
In addition, the upgrade will
apply to the fighter’s avionics suite.
The current preliminary agreements
stipulate phased upgrade of the
Tikhomirov-NIIP’s Bars phasedarray radar. The first phase of the
upgrade is supposed to boost the
radar’s performance through introduction of additional operating
modes as well as more-capable
computers and software. This is
to maximise the reliance on the
solutions of the existing phasedarray radar already productionised
by India under Russian license.
Phase two of the upgrade is to see
the Bars’s passive phased array
replaced with an active electronically-scanned array (AESA).
www.take-off.ru
contracts and deliveries | news
A group of 31 design engineers
with Indian corporation HAL came to
Moscow on 4 December 2012 for the
joint work under the MTA advanced
multirole transport aircraft development programme. The co-designing
of the MTA has been under way at a
UAC – Transport Aircraft facility in
Moscow, with the core of the design
team being a group of designers with
Russian airframer Ilyushin.
The contract for the first phase of
the development of the MTA medium multirole transport aircraft was
signed in New Delhi on 12 October
2012 by UAC – Transport Aircraft
(UAC-TA), Hindustan Aeronautics
Ltd. (HAL) and Russian-Indian joint
venture Multirole Transport Aircraft
Ltd. (MTAL). MTAL Director General
N.K. Agarval signed the contract on
the part of the customer, and UAC-TA
Director General Sergei Velmozhkin
and HAL Director T. Suvarna Raju on
the part of the contractor companies.
The contract officially launched
the design work under the requirements specifications approved by the
defence ministry of the two countries
and kicked off the financing of the
work. As is known, Russia and India
signed an intergovernmental agreement on the MTA programme in 2007
and an agreement on setting up the
MTAL joint venture to develop and
produce the MTA on 9 September
2010. The parties were going to invest
$300 million into the programme each
and launch the airlifter’s production in
Russia and India, with the output to
stand at 205 aircraft at least.
According to UAC’s official website,
the MTA medium transport aircraft
will be capable of hauling up to 20 t of
cargo or 140 troops (90 paratroops in
case of an airdrop), or 80 casualties.
Andrey Fomin
Russian and India launching MTA co-development
Its maximum takeoff weight will be
68 t, its range with a 20-t payload
will measure 2,000 km and that with
a 12-t payload – 4,700 km. Ferry
range will account for 7,300 km with
a full fuel load of 25 t. MTA’s cruising
speed is estimated at 800 km/h while
its run and roll at 1,050 m. The crew
of three (pilot, co-pilot and navigator
with the flight mechanic as an option)
will be able to operate the aircraft
from paved or unpaved airfields sitting at sea level up to 3,300 m. The
powerplant is supposed to include
two new-generation PD-14M turbofans with a takeoff thrust of 15,600
kgf. The cargo hold’s lateral cross
section will measure 3.45x3.4 m and
its length will be 14 m.
The MTA is expected to conduct
its maiden flight in 2017, with its
full-scale production slated for 2019.
Vasily Koba
January 2013 has seen the completion of the overhaul and upgrade
of the 25th Indian An-32 airlifter
(serial K2694) in Kiev. The aircraft is the last one in the fifth
group of planes that had arrived to
Ukraine from India under the contract made by the Indian Defence
Ministry and Ukrainian governmental arms exporter Spetstekhexport
on 15 June 2009. 105 Indian Air
Force An-32s are to be overhauled
and upgraded in all, with the first
40 of them being handled by the
Kiev-based government-owned
410th Civil Aviation Plant in conjunction with the Antonov government-owned company and Motor
Sich joint stock company and the
remaining 65 to be subjected to the
same overhaul and upgrade at IAF’s
aircraft repair plant in Kanpur.
www.take-off.ru
Vasily Koba
As many as 25 Indian An-32s upgraded in Kiev
The overhaul and upgrade of the
An-32s in question is to extend
their service life with IAF by 15
years at the least. The upgrade
programme approved by the parties
stipulates for fitting the An-32s with
about 25 advanced systems from
Ukrainian and foreign manufactur-
ers. The upgraded aircraft shall be
designated as An-32RE (RE stands
for ‘re-equipped’).
The first five IAF An-32s arrived
in Kiev for upgrade on 4 March
2010. The first upgraded aircraft
was rolled out in a ceremony on 27
August of the same year, and the
whole of the first five-ship batch
returned to India in May 2011.
Four months later, in September
2011, IAF received five upgraded
An-32REs more. They had been
brought to Kiev in July 2010.
The handover of the third five-aircraft batch of upgraded An-32s took
place on 12 March 2012, and on 4
October 2012, the Ukraine delivered
the fourth batch of five upgraded
An-32RE airlifters to IAF. Thus, IAF
had had as many as 20 An-32RE airlifters by this year, and the number
shall increase to 25 in the near future
with the delivery of the fifth five-ship
batch overhauled and upgraded in
Kiev since May of last year.
Meanwhile, work is under way
on another portion of IAF An-32s.
Another five aircraft came in from
India in September 2012, with the
next batch slated to arrive in January.
This leaves only the last five An-32s
to be upgraded in Ukraine under the
contract, after which the remaining 65
planes will be upgraded to An-32RE
standard by the Indians themselves.
take-off march 2013
25
contracts and deliveries | news
Russian helicopter-making holding company Russian Helicopters has
landed a new lucrative order for Mil
Mi-17 family helicopters from India.
On 24 December 2012, during Russian
President Vladimir Putin’s visit to New
Delhi, the contract for 71 Mi-17V-5
helicopters, of which 59 are earmarked
for the Indian Air force and remaining 12 for the Ministry of the Interior
(including six for the borderguards) was
signed. The value of the deal is estimated at $1.3 billion. The machines will be
manufactured by the Kazan Helicopters,
a subsidiary of Russian Helicopters. The
delivery is slated for commencement in
2014, after the current 2008 contract
for 80 Mi-17V-5s has been fulfilled.
The deliveries under the 2008 contract kicked of in autumn 2011, and the
Mi-17V-5 entered service with IAF in
a ceremony held on 17 February 2012
at Palam airbase, in New Delhi’s suburbs. By then, as many as two dozen
helicopters of the type had been delivered. Another batch of Mi-17V-5s was
headed to India in December last year,
with the 2008 contract to be completed
before this year-end.
The Mi-17V-5s intended for India
are manufactured in an improved
version, with due account of extra
Russian Helicopters
India to receive 71 Mi-17 helicopters more
customer requirements. They are powered by advanced Klimov VK-2500
turboshaft engines fitted with FADEC.
The engines feature enhanced power,
which is especially important on operations in the hot climate and mountainous terrain. The sophisticated
navigation and electronic display suite,
which includes four multifunction displays in the cockpit and had been
tailored to the Indian version of the
Mi-17V-5, enables the helicopter to
operate round the clock under various
weather conditions.
The Mi-8 and Mi-17 helicopters have
long been in service with IAF and a
number of other users in the country. The first Kazan Helicopters-built
Mi-8Ts appeared in India more than
three decades ago, having become very
popular in the course of both routine
operation and several armed conflicts.
In 1986, India started taking delivery of
more advanced Mi-17 helicopters powered by TV3-117MT engines. 53 aircraft
of the type were ordered at the time. In
2000, the Indian Ministry of Defence
ordered another batch of 40 modified
Mi-17-1Vs powered by TV3-117VM
high-altitude engines.
According to the Flight International
weekly, IAF had operated 150 Mi-8 and
Mi-17 helicopters by autumn 2012,
of which 36 were recently delivered
Mi-17V-5s. To date, the latter have
exceeded 50, with the number to be
brought up to 80 by year-end and then
up to almost 140 several years later,
after the new contract has been fulfilled.
Given the gradual writing-off of the
Mi-8T fleet, IAF’s total Mi-17 fleet will
be at least 200 aircraft strong.
Brazil becoming launch customer for Ka-62
26
take-off march 2013
carriage of 15 passengers or 2,000 t
of cargo (2,500 kg if the cargo is
under-slung). Its powerplant is made
up of two Turbomeca Ardiden 3G turboshaft engines with a takeoff power
of 1,780 hp (1,940 hp in emergency
power rating). The developer and supplier of the powertrain, including the
main and tail gearboxes, is Austrian
company Zoerkler. Russian company
Transas is developing an avionics suite
for the Ka-62 and will be its supplier.
The machine has a glass cockpit, with
the pilot seated in the right seat. Owing
to its spacious comfortable cabin, the
Ka-62 is ideal for corporate and passenger services and special operations.
The flight tests of Ka-62 prototypes
are slated for beginning as soon as this
year, and by 2015, Russian Helicopters is
going to have the helicopter certificated
for operation by foreign users, including
Brazil. Under the contract awarded by
Atlas Taxi Aereo, Russian Helicopters,
in conjunction with its regional partners,
will take part in setting up an after-sales
helicopter maintenance centre in Brazil.
The Atlas Taxi Aereo company has
been operating Russian-made medium
multirole helicopters already, having
taken delivery of two Brazil-certificated
Mi-171A1s in 2011. The Mi-171A1 had
come up on top in a tender held by
Brazilian national oil producer Petrobras.
Russian helicopters are in service
with the Brazilian Air Force as well.
In 2008, Rosoboronexport JSC and
the Brazilian Defence Ministry made
a deal on the delivery of 12 Mi-35M
multirole attack helicopters. The first
six machines were delivered during
2009–10. Three more Mi-35Ms were
shipped to Brazil in August last year.
The Mi-35M has been the first Russian
combat aircraft in service with the
Brazilian Air Force.
Russian Helicopters
On 14 December 2012, Russian
helicopter-making holding company
Russian Helicopters, a subsidiary of
the Oboronporm company, snagged an
order for seven advanced Kamov Ka-62
multirole transport/passenger helicopters for Brazilian company Atlas Taxi
Aereo to be delivered in 2015–16. The
deal also provides for seven options.
This has been the first order for Ka-62.
The contract was signed during
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff’s
visit to Russia. Under the contract, the
first two Ka-62s shall be delivered to
the Brazilian carrier in the first quarter
of 2015. Four more aircraft are to be
shipped to Brazil before year-end, with
the seventh Ka-62 to be delivered in the
first quarter of 2016.
The Ka-62 is the latest Russian helicopter being developed in the 6.5-tonne
takeoff weight class. It is designed for
www.take-off.ru
commercial aviation | news
In December 2012, another
Russian carrier, Irkutsk-based
Angara,
started
commercial
operations of its newly acquired
Antonov An-148-100E regional passenger jets built by VASO plant
in Voronezh. The first scheduled
passenger services took place on
the Irkutsk–Novosibirsk–Irkutsk
and Irkutsk–Mirny–Irkutsk lines on
20 December 2012.
The ceremony of the handover of the first An-148-100E (reg.
RA-61713) to the Angara airline was
held in Irkutsk on 30 October 2012.
The aircraft was delivered under the
agreement signed by the Angara
air company, VASO plant (a UAC
subsidiary) and Ilyushin Finance Co.
leasing company on March 2012 as
part of the Regional Aircraft Fleet
Modernisation Programme pursued
with support of the Irkutsk Region
administration. The contract stipulates for Angara to take delivery
of five VASO-made An-148-100Es
in 2012–13, including three before
28
take-off march 2013
year-end 2012 and two in 2013.
There are also five options for delivery in 2014.
Angara’s planes have 75 passenger seats in the economy class
and can operate on routes up to
4,400 km long. Considering the
peculiarities of the expected operations under harsh weather and
cold climate conditions (an ambient temperature above ground of
up to -52°C) and from unpaved
airfields, VASO performed an extra
set of preparations on the planes
prior to their delivery.
The new aircraft are supposed to
expand Angara’s route network by
far both in Russia and abroad.
The first Angara-accepted
An-148-100E (RA-61713, c/n
41-10) was manufactured by VASO
last spring, with its first flight on
22 March 2012. Its non-stop flight
from Voronezh to Irkutsk, which
measured about 4,300 km and 5 h
15 min, took place on 29 October
2012 and was followed by the
handover ceremony on the next
day.
The delivery of the second
An-148-100E (RA-61711, c/n 41-07)
was on 8 November 2012. The
VASO had made the aircraft a year
before. It first flew on 4 October
2011 and was initially earmarked
for the Polyot airline. The third
An-148-100E (RA-61714, c/n
42-01), which had been first flown
in Voronezh on 11 September 2012,
was accepted by Angara on
28 November and brought to Irkutsk
on 15 December 2012. The air company had 10 crews trained last year
to operate the new type, with the
pilots given relevant ground school
and simulator training.
Scheduled flights of Angara’s
An-148s
commenced
from
Irkutsk to Novosibirsk and Mirny
on 20 December 2012. The service to Bratsk was added on
24 December, followed by the
Irkutsk–Novosibirsk–Mirny
line on 25 December. Since
15 January 2013, the new regional
airliners have been operating from
Irkutsk to Yakutsk famous for its
cold climate and to Khabarovsk
in the Russia’s Far East since
25 January. Plans provide for the
introduction of new lines from
Novosibirsk to Yekaterinburg in
February and Chita in March as
well as from Irkutsk to Ust-Kut
in February and Vladivostok in
March, etc. This summer is to see
the launch of international services from Irkutsk to destinations
in China, Japan and South Korea.
The fourth and fifth An-148-100Es
are planned for entering service
with Angara in summer and autumn
2013 respectively. VASO is manufacturing them now.
Angara has been the third Russian
carrier to operate VASO-made
An-148s. Six An-148-100Bs were
delivered to the Rossiya air company
in St. Petersburg in 2009–10, with two
An-148-100Es received by the Polyot
airline in Voronezh in summer 2011.
The Grozny Avia carrier, operating
from Chechnya, is going to take delivery of two An-148-100Es this year.
Mike Syritsa / UAC
Oleg Panteleyev / UAC
Mike Syritsa / UAC
Angara launches An-148 commercial services
www.take-off.ru
commercial aviation | news
Alexey Boyarin
Operating out of Vnukovo Airport
in Moscow, the Rossiya special
air detachment of the Russian
President’s Office remains a major
customer for new Russian-made
passenger aircraft. Several Ilyushin
Il-96, Tupolev Tu-204, Tu-214 and
Antonov An-148 airliners were made
for it in 2012. Early last year, two
Tu-204-300 VIP aircraft (RA-64057,
RA-64058) started their operation,
after having been tesed in Ulyanovsk
in 2011. In spring last year, a special
Tu-214SUS (RA-64524) airborne
command post made in Kazan a year
before followed suit. Two upgraded Il-96-300 airliners (RA-96014,
RA-96017), which had been flown
by the now-defunct KrasAir carrier
(it went bust in 2008), began to fly
for the Rossiya special air detachment last year.
The first of the two new Ilyushin
Il-96-300PU(M1) VIP aircraft
ordered by the Russian President’s
Office (RA-96020) was rolled out
to VASO’s flight test facility in
July 2012. The government placed
the order for these two VIP planes,
designed to carry top governmental
officials, on 26 May 2010. Late in
www.take-off.ru
ordered by the Russian President’s
Office. The airliner is in VIP configuration for 39 seats (two seats in
the highly comfortable ‘main passenger’ cabin furnished with a sofa,
12 seats in business class and 25
in economy class). The contract for
two An-148-100EA aircraft to be
delivered to the Russian President’s
and the new An-148-100EA flew
from the factory airfield to Vnukovo
Airport in the Moscow Region on
17 January 2013. VASO is assembling the second An-148-100EA
under the contract.
Another new aircraft destined
for the Rossiya special air detachment flew from the Kazan Aircraft
Office before December 2013 was
placed on 5 December 2011. A
modified cabin layout and a number of advanced systems necessitated extra certification tests that had
been completed by the end of 2012,
and on 29 December 2012, the IAC
Aircraft Registry issued the modified An-148-100EA with Supplement
Type Certificate CT264-An-148/D09,
giving the green light to the plane’s
operation. The acceptance report
had been signed by New Year Day,
Production Association named
after S.P. Gorbunov (KAPO) on
5 December 2012. It is a Tu-214
VIP airliner (RA-64521) ordered
by the Russian President’s Office –
the seventh Tu-214 made by KAPO
for the customer over the past
several years. It was ordered on
12 January 2011 in enhanced comfort configuration for 150 seats
(12 in business class and 138 in
economy class). The aircraft is
slated for delivery this year.
RA-64521 is the only new
Tu-214 KAPO built last year. Three
more Tu-214s are being assembled for the Russian President’s
Office in the wake of the signature
on 31 October 2012 of a contract
for three more Tu-214SR communications relay aircraft to be
delivered prior to December 2015.
These aircraft are expected to get
registration numbers RA-64526,
RA-64527 and RA-64528. After
they have been delivered, the
Rossiya special air detachment
will operate 15 aircraft of the
Tu-204/214 family, including
13 KAPO-made Tu-214 in various
versions.
Ildar Valeyev
Alexey Filatov
New aircraft for presidential air detachment
December 2012, it was delivered and
has been based in Vnukovo since
11 January 2013. The construction
of the second airliner of the type is
under way in Voronezh. It will have
entered service this year, after which
the presidential air detachment will
operate as many as eight aircraft of
the Il-96 family.
Another new An-148 took to the air
in Voronezh on 16 November 2012.
It was an An-148-100EA (RA-61716,
c/n 42-03), the first of the two
take-off march 2013
29
Yuri Kabernik
commercial aviation | programme
Andrey FOMIN
The Sukhoi Superjet 100 regional jet
was the most productive programme
in Russia in 2012 in terms of new passenger aircraft production. During the
year, the Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company
made 12 SSJ100-95B jets, including
five for Aeroflot, two for Yakutia airline
and five for foreign customers. Six
planes, including one flown in 2011,
were delivered to Aeroflot and one to
Yakutia (the other was delivered in late
January 2013). In addition, the acceptance report on the first SSJ100-95B
intended for Indonesian airline Sky
Aviation was signed in late 2012. Of
two aircraft built and check-flown for
Mexican carrier Interjet, the first one
was ferried to Venice in autumn 2012
for customisation by the Superjet
International joint venture, with the
second followed it in March 2013. Also
in March 2013, the airliner built for
Laotian carrier Lao Central Airlines in
late 2012 was delivered. During 2012,
the SSJ100s type certificate was recognised by three countries – Mexico,
Indonesia and Laos, which enables
them to launch revenue operations of
the new Russian regional jet.
30
take-off march 2013
SUKHOI SUPERJET 100
ARRIVES TO NEW CUSTOMERS
In Aeroflot
The acceptance report for the 10th Sukhoi
Superjet 100 intended for Aeroflot was signed
in Ulyanovsk on 15 September 2012. The
airliner (c/n 95018), which conducted its
maiden flight in Komsomolsk-on-Amur on
12 July 2012, got side number RA-89010.
The aircraft was ferried from Ulyanovsk to
Sheremetyevo airport on 19 September and
kicked off commercial operations by its first
revenue flight on 21 September 2012.
In all, the Russia’s flag carrier has taken
delivery of six new SSJ100s last year out of the
30 it had ordered with four deliveries in 2011.
Next airliners of the type to be delivered to
Aeroflot will have a modified cabin interiors
and eqipment (so called full version). The
assembly of the first of them (c/n 95025)
began last spring, but its rollout and ferry
flight to Ulyanovsk for cabin interior assem-
bly and airframe painting took place in
February 2013. Next aircraft for Aeroflot
(c/n 95029) is now under assembly.
Aeroflot’s SSJ100s fly scheduled services to more than 20 Russian and foreign
destinations. In Russia they fly to Anapa,
Astrakhan, Kazan, Krasnodar, Nizhnekamsk,
Nizhnevartovsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Perm,
Samara, St. Petersburg, Tyumen and
Volgograd now. Several flights are being made
to Ukraine’s Dnepropetrovsk, Donetsk,
Kharkov and Odessa as well as to Belarusian
capital Minsk. European destinations include
Bucharest, Copenhagen, Krakow, Stockholm,
Vilnius and Zagreb.
As of 1 January 2013, Aeroflot’s Superjets
had logged over 8,500 flights totalling in
excess of 16,000 flight hours, of which almost
7,300 flights and 14,000-plus flight hours
were flown last year. A flight averages 2 h, and
www.take-off.ru
commercial aviation | programme
an average monthly flight hours per aircraft
accounted for about 140 h (the maximal
flight hours were logged by RA-89010 in
October 2012, when it accumulated 327 h on
158 services). As of 1 January 2013, the biggest flight hours had been logged by Aeroflot’s
first Superjet (RA-89001) – 2,700 h on
1,495 flights.
All of Aeroflot’s Superjet 100s have the twoclass 87-seat configuration with 12 seats in
business class and 75 in economy class.
In frosty Yakitia
Another Russian carrier to have launched
operation of its SSJ-100s in late January
2013 is the Yakutia air company that had
ordered two aircraft of the type. The first
one (c/n 95019, reg. RA-89011) made its
maiden flight in Komsomolsk-on-Amur on
13 August 2012 and headed for Ulyanovsk for
the assembly of its interior and for painting
4 days later. Its interior was assembled and
the aircraft was painted in October 2012, and
it was displayed at Airshow China 2012 in
Zhuhai in November. Its delivery and ferry
flight from Ulyanovsk to Yakutsk took place
on 18 December 2012 and its first scheduled
passenger flight on the Yakutsk–Khabarovsk
line was conducted on 23 January 2013.
The other Superjet 100 intended for Yakutia
(c/n 95020, reg. RA-89012) conducted its
maiden flight in Komsomolsk-on-Amur on
25 November 2012, then it received its cabin
interior in Ulyanovsk and in mid-December it
Sergey Lysenko
Yakutia airline got its first SSJ100
in December 2012
Yuri Stepanov
SSJ100 c/n 95021, the second jet built for Armavia
in June 2012, is now going to change its customer
SSJ100 c/n 95018 became the 10th Superjet acquired by Aeroflot
and launched its operations in September 2012
www.take-off.ru
take-off march 2013
31
commercial aviation | programme
SuperJet International
SSJ100 c/n 95023, the first aircraft for Interjet of Mexico, after painting
in customer's livery at SuperJet International, Venice, February 2013
was painted in the Czech Republic. Its delivery took place on 31 January 2013 when it was
ferried to Yakutsk. RA-89012 commenced its
scheduled operations on 9 February 2013.
Since early February Yakutia’s SSJ100s
started to operate the Yakutsk–Novosibirsk
line and later on – their first international services to China: to Harbin (since
28 February) and to Beijin (since 2 March).
The company’s short-term plans provide for
launching operations from Novosibirsk to
Nerungri, from Khabarovsk to Magadan and
Petropavlovsk, from Yakutsk to Krasnoyarsk
and Blagoveshchensk, etc.
The Yakutia-operated SSJ100s have a
93-seat cabin, with eight passengers seated in
business class and 85 in economy class.
Armavia’s planes searching for new owners
Early in October 2012, following a
four-month break, Armenian air carrier
Armavia – the Superjet’s launch customer
since spring 2011 – resumed passenger
operations on its SSJ100. Having logged
a bit over 2,000 flying hours on almost
900 commercial flights since April 2011,
the first production SSJ100 (c/n 95007,
EK-95015) flew in to Sukhoi Civil Aircraft’s
facility in Zhukovsky for A-Check routine
maintenance in early June 2012. However,
due to a financial dispute between the manufacturer and operator, the aircraft had
sat there for a long time, while Armavia
changed its mind as for the second Superjet
built for it (c/n 95021, EK-95016) meanwhile. This plane first flew in Komsomolskon-Amur on 3 June 2012 and was prepared
for delivery in the same month. In all probability, the aircraft sitting in Zhukovsky now
will get itself a new customer.
Ultimately, the parties came to terms about
continued operation of the first SSJ100 by
Armavia, and it finally flew from Zhukovsky to
Yerevan on 2 October 2012. It has been flying
32
take-off march 2013
passenger services for Armavia from Yerevan’s
Zvartnots airport to Moscow’s Domodedovo
and Vnukovo, to Krasnodar, Nizhny
Novgorod, Sochi, Ufa and Yekaterinburg as
well as to Dubai, Milan and Tel Aviv.
However, the flights hadn’t lasted long –
the carrier’s financial problems caused the
termination of its Superjet operation on
22 October 2012. In all, the airliner had
logged 2,300 flight hours on 932 flights with
Armavia, and its average monthly flight time
(excluding the four months of sitting at the
tarmac in Zhukovsky) standing at about
166 h (the maximum time is 240 h per
month). The average flight of the Armenian
Superjet lasted 2.5 flight hours and its average daily flight time accounted for 5.5 flight
hours.
The airliner’s cabin layout allows for
98 seats in economy class.
Mexico: Western Hemisphere’s launch customer
On 12 September 2012 another production
Sukhoi Superjet 100 (c/n 95023) made its maiden flight in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, becoming
the first SSJ100 built for a Western air carrier.
The aircraft is the lead plane under the contract
placed by Mexican carrier Interjet that has
awarded 20 firm orders for the type to date. The
supplier of the Interjet aircraft is Russo-Italian
joint venture SuperJet International, which
facility in Venice will be used for assembly
of the passenger cabin interior developed by
Italian designer bureau Pininfarina, painting of
the aircraft and training of customer’s air and
ground crews. For this reason, the unpainted
www.take-off.ru
Sky Aviation
commercial aviation | programme
The first Superjet built for Lao Central Airlines, c/n 95026,
after painting in customer’s colours, January 2013.
Its delivery flight took place on 15 February 2013
SCAC
Indonesian carrier Sky Aviation got its first SSJ100 (c/n 95022) in late December 2012
with its delivery flight took place on 26-27 February 2013
Ulyanovsk for the installation of its cabin interior
and the subsequent painting. The work had been
complete by early December, and the aircraft
was given registration number PK-ECL when it
was being painted in the Sky Aviation colours.
The airliner was handed over to the customer on
29 December 2012, with its arrival to Indonesia
taking place on 27 February 2013. The first commercial service of the SSJ100 with Sky Aviation
was scheduled for the middle of March.
The SuperJet International JV, which handles
aftersales support and training, gave training to
the first crews of Sky Aviation. It trained eight
Indonesian pilots and 18 flight attendants as
far back as late last year and 12 technicians in
January 2013.
Now, there are two more aircraft designed for
Indonesia (c/n 95027 and c/n 95031), sitting in
the SCAC’s final assembly shop. They are to be
rolled out in March and April respectively and
delivered in May and June 2013.
The cabins of Sky Aviation’s Sukhoi Superjet
100s are designed to seat 12 passengers in business
class and 75 in economy class – a total of 87 seats.
Laos got its first Superjet
aircraft flew in to Venice Marco Polo airport on
6 October 2012 following a small series of test
fights in Komsomolsk-on-Amur.
Mexico’s aviation authorities have issued the
type certificate for the SSJ100 in April 2012,
but the new passenger cabin for 93 economyclass seats will necessitate additional certification, due to which the delivery of the first
of Interjet’s SSJ100s has been postponed to
June 2013. The training of Mexican air and
ground crews in Venice is to commence soon.
The Superjet’s Full Flight Simulator (FFS)
has been delivered to SJI facility in Venice in
November 2012 (until recently, there has been
only one SSJ100 FFS at SCAC’s facility in
Zhukovsky; the second one has been brought
to Aeroflot’s training centre in Sheremetyevo
in July 2012).
www.take-off.ru
The second Mexican SSJ100 (c/n 95024) first
flew in Komsomolsk-on-Amur on 16 December
2012 and was ferried to Venice on 8–9 February
for customisation. The third Interjet’s SSJ100
(c/n 95028) has been already assembled, with
its first flight and ferrying to Venice slated
for March 2013. The next two Superjets for
Mexican carrier (c/n 95036 and 95034) are now
being assembled in Komsomolsk-on-Amur.
First SSJ100 for Indonesia
20 October 2012 saw the first flight of the
Sukhoi Superjet 100 c/n 95022 – the first of
the aircraft intended for Indonesian airline Sky
Aviation that had ordered 12 airliners of the type
from Sukhoi Civil Aircraft, with the delivery to
take place between 2012 and 2015. Less than a
week later, on 26 October, the airliner came to
Another Sukhoi Superjet 100 (c/n 95026)
performed its maiden flight in Komsomolskon-Amur on 12 December 2012. The airliner
is the first of the three SSJ100s ordered by
Laotian carrier Lao Central Airlines. On the
third day after its first flight, on 14 December,
the newly built aircraft headed for Ulyanovsk
for cabin interior installation and livery painting.
This done, it was issued with Laotian registration number RDPL-34195. The airliner was
delivered on 15 February 2013. The Laotian
air authorities recognised the SSJ100’s type
certificate in December 2012, which allows the
aircraft’s export to the country and its unrestricted operation by Laotian carriers. Lao
Central Airlines plans to fly its SSJ100s on both
domestic and foreign routes, particularly, to
Bangkok, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Singapore, etc.
The aircraft have been configured for 93 seats –
eight in business class and 85 in economy class.
Sukhoi Civil Aircraft is completing the second of the Lao Central airliners (c/n 95030).
Its roll out is scheduled for April this year and
its delivery for May or June. The third Laotian
SSJ100s (c/n 95037) is having its airframe
components being made. It could be delivered
before year-end.
As of March 2013, Sukhoi Civil Aircraft
Company and SuperJet International have had
179 orders for SSJ100s, of which 14 have been
delivered already. 72 airliners have been ordered
by Russian carriers – UTair (24), Gazpromavia
(10) and Transaero (6) in addition to Aeroflot
and Yakutia. The deliveries to the former two
may kick off in 2013–2014 and to Transaero in
2015. 107 aircraft have been ordered by foreign
air carriers and leasing companies.
take-off march 2013
33
industry | news
Ilyushin 476 undergoing tests
UAC
Last autumn saw the start of
the flight tests of the upgraded
Il-76MD-90A (‘476’) transport
aircraft prototype made by the
Aviastar-SP close corporation in
Ulyanovsk – the first aircraft of the
Ilyushin Il-76 family, built in Russia
(until recently, the previous Il-76
versions were made in Uzbekistan).
The new airlifter’s first flight took
place in Ulyanovsk on 22 September
2012. Two weeks later, on 4 October,
the aircraft was shown in flight to
the authoritative governmental delegation led by Russian President
Vladimir Putin. The demonstration
flight was followed by the signing
of the contract for 39 productionstandard Il-76MD-90As to be built in
Ulyanovsk for the Russian Defence
Ministry, with the total value of the
deal being almost 140 billion rubles
(around $4.5 billion). According to
participants in the event, this has
been the most lucrative deal on
aircraft acquisition for the Russian
Air Force over the post-Soviet years.
The contract has become the launch
order for the Il-76MD-90A and is
expected to be followed by more
orders, since Russian ministries and
other governmental agencies alone
will have needed at least hundred
aircraft of the type until the end of
the decade.
At present, Aviastar plant is manufacturing the first three productionstandard Il-76MD-90A airlifters.
Their construction commenced as
far back as 2010 under the contract
with UAC – Transport Aircraft.
According to Aviastar-SP Director
General Sergei Dementyev, two of
them are to be completed as soon as
this year, with the deliveries to begin
34
take-off march 2013
in 2014. The company’s production
plan provides for a gradual increase
in the annual Il-76MD-90A output
all the way to 18 aircraft per annum
in 2018.
Meanwhile, the first flying prototype of the Il-76MD-90A was painted
late in December last year. Once it
has completed a series of ground
tests and fixes, on 30 January 2013
it was ferried to Ilyushin’s flight
test facility in Zhukovsky, Moscow
Region, where its flight tests will
continue.
According to Ilyushin Designer
General Victor Livanov, the first
stage of the Il-76MD-90A’s official
tests, which includes 50 test sorties, is to be completed in the third
quarter of 2013. One prototype will
be enough for this purpose, because
the official trials of the upgraded
Il-76MD-90 (RA-78854) aircraft,
which were conducted with success
in 2011, will be taken in consideration. This test aircraft made in
2005 on the basis of the Il-76MD
(c/n 81-05) built in 1991 was used
for testing the advanced powerplant
consisting of four PS-90A-76 turbofan engines as well as new avionics
now used in the Il-76MD-90As made
in Ulyanovsk.
The United Aircraft Corporation
expects that the new Il-76MD-90A
airlifter and its derivatives will be
in demand not only in Russia, but
abroad as well. For instance, its
derivative Il-78MK-90 tanker plane
was used by Rosoboronexport JSC
to bid in a tender held by the Indian
MoD that has operated six Il-78MKI
tankers built in Tashkent and delivered in 2003–05. IAF’s advanced
tanker plane requirements are esti-
mated at 12 aircraft. According to
the Indian media, the first six of them
will be Airbus A330MRTTs, but no
decision has been made on the other
six yet, and the Il-76MK-90 may
become a good choice.
The governmental resolution on
the development and productionising of the upgraded Il-76 in the
city of Ulyanovsk was issued on
20 December 2006. Since 1972, the
Il-76 aircraft had been produced in
Uzbekistan by the Tashkent Aircraft
Production Corp. named after
Valery Chkalov (TAPC) that had built
a total of almost 900 aircraft of the
type over four decades. The transfer
of the Il-76’s production to Russia
was caused by the snags hit by the
implementation of the September
2005 contract for 38 Il-76MDs,
including several tanker planes,
for China, with the contract having been awarded to TAPC by
Rosoboronexport. It turned out that
the financial standing of TAPC and
the financial conditions proposed
would not allow the deal to pan out.
In addition, it became obvious that
in addition to future commercial
orders, there would be high demand
for the Il-76 on the part of Russian
users as well, the Defence Ministry
in the first place. To avoid dependence on the manufacturer sitting in
a foreign, albeit friendly, country,
the Russians weighed the pros and
cons and opted for having the Il-76
productionised in Russia, at the
Aviastar plant in Ulyanovsk.
The aircraft developed almost
40 years ago was to be upgraded
heavily and its design documentation was to be digitised, essentially
worked out anew in the form of 3D
digital models. The Il-76’s basic
upgrades included the replacement
of its engines with more powerful
and more efficient PS-90A-76 turbofans made in Perm (by then, the
engine had been tested on Il-76MF
and Il-76MD-90 prototypes) and a
heavy update of its avionics suite,
including the introduction of the
‘glass cockpit’.
At the same time, several considerable design and technological
improvements have been introduced
too. For instance, the wing, which
retained its airfoil section and outline, has been given a new structural
layout – the wing panel became a
one-piece job using long-measuring
panels with riveted stringers, and the
number of the wing spars dropped
from three to two. This allowed
a sizeable reduction in structural
weight and an increase in terms of
manufacturability.
Owing to the new wing and reinforced undercarriage, the airlifter’s
maximum take-off weight has grown
from 190 t of the TAPC-built production-standard Il-76MD to 210 t,
while its maximum payload has
increased from 47 t to 60 t. Owing
to the 12% fuel efficiency increase
of its PS-90A-76, the aircraft have
seen an increase in its range from
4,000 km to 5,000 km with the 52-t
payload. The greater thrust allowed
an improvement in its takeoff and
landing performance, with the length
of the run diminishing from 1,750 m
to 1,600 m. The TA-6A auxiliary
powerplant was replaced with the
more advanced TA-12A to enhance
the operating characteristics.
The Kupol-II analogue flight navigation system has been ousted by
the digital Kupol-III-76M(A), and the
SAU-1T-2B analogue automatic flight
control system has been replaced
with the digital SAU-76 allowing ICAO
Category II landing approaches as
well as RNP and RVSM navigation.
The traditional ‘steam-gauge’ instruments in the cockpit have given way
to the KSEIS integrated electronic
display and warning system comprising eight colour multifunction liquidcrystal displays (MFD). The advanced
BPSN-2 satnav system has made its
way onboard the airlifter too.
www.take-off.ru
industry | news
Vyacheslav Smigunov
On 21 December 2012, the
fuselage of the first productionstandard An-70 short takeoff and
landing airlifter (c/n 01-04) was taken
out of the stocks in a ceremony
at the Antonov aircraft production
plant in Kiev, attended by Ukrainian
Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov. The
fuselage was then moved to the final
assembly shop. It is the first of the
two production-standard An-70s
ordered by the Ukrainian Defence
Ministry in 2004 and laid down by
Antonov as far back as 2001. The
other production An-70 c/n 01-05
is at the fuselage sections assembly
stage. The first production-standard
An-70 built in Kiev may be completed
in 2014.
Meanwhile, the tests of an
upgraded An-70 prototype (c/n 01-02,
reg. UR-NTK) continue in Kiev. The
plane conducted its maiden flight on
27 September 2012 following its twoyear-long upgrade.
Antonov commenced the upgrade
of the An-70’s avionics suite
and powerplant in line with the
specifications requirement approved
by the Russian and Ukrainian defence
ministries in August 2010. The last,
625th, flight of the An-70 c/n 01-02
prior to the upgrade had taken place
on 28 July 2010.
The An-70 upgrade led to the
replacement of the SV-27 propfans
of the D-27 engines with more
sophisticated ones, with the pitch
between the front and rear props
increased by 300 mm. This resulted
in noise reduction and propfan
performance improvement. In
www.take-off.ru
Vasily Koba
Upgraded An-70 in trials
addition, a modified engine FADEC
and propfan control system was
introduced as well as the TA-12-60
auxiliary power unit was ousted by the
TA-18-200-70 one from the Aerosila
scientific and production company
in Stupino (Moscow region), which
features an expanded operating
conditions bracket.
The avionics suite underwent
heavy upgrade owing to its transition
to advanced electronic componentry
and the need of accomplishing new
missions in line with the customer’s
requirements specified more
accurately. In the cockpit, TV-type
CRT displays were replaced with six
colour multifunction liquid-crystal
displays. The ball of the electrooptical system designed for night
landing on unpaved airfields and
round-the-clock airdrop operations
appeared under the nose section.
Antonov news release stressed:
“The mathematical models and
algorithms embodied in the
aircraft control system and aircraft
components remained the same.
This ensured the continuity with the
earlier performed stages of the trials
and guarantees the suitability of the
results produced”.
The upgraded An-70’s preliminary
test programme designed for
20 sorties was completed with
success in December 2012, and the
aircraft entered the final phase of
its official trials, which provides for
75 test sorties, according to Antonov
Designer General Dmitry Kiva.
The flying and ground crews
involved in the programme had
been trained at Antonov’s Training
Centre, where an An-70 flight test
stand was introduced. The stand is
designed for testing aircraft systems,
particularly, the fly-by-wire system,
and checking their fail safety as well
as for preparing pilots or various
situation possible during the trials
and for pilot training. According to
Dmitry Kiva, the test programme is to
be completed in 2013.
The An-70 is planned for
productionising by a pool of Russian
and Ukrainian companies. The final
assembly site for the An-70s intended
for the Russian Air Force Military
Transport Command expecting about
60 aircraft of the type has been
changed repeatedly in recent years.
Russian Premier Dmitry Medvedev
voiced the latest decision in June
2012. A new production facility was
to be built on Gorbunov KAPO’s
premises in Kazan, with the fuselage
panels supposed to be supplied by
the Avistar-SP plant in Ulyanovsk
and the wings and empennage by the
Antonov plant in Kiev.
The D-27 engine co-production will
be run by Motor Sich in Zaporozhye
and Salut in Moscow, while Aerosila
in Stupino will supply SV-27 propfans
and TA-18-200-70 APUs. Early
production An-70s were expected to
be made in Kazan in 2015–16, with
the plant possibly manufacturing up
to 12 aircraft a year by the end of the
decade.
However, the reshuffle of the
leaders of the Russian Defence
Ministry, which took place in
November 2012, may cause a
revision of the plans. At the lateDecember conference chaired by
the new Russian defence minister
General of the Army Sergei Shoigu
and dedicated to the acquisition
of advanced aircraft for the RusAF
Military Transport Command, it was
said that a decision on the An-70
procurement could be put on the
back burner until the completion of
the aircraft’s test programme. The
Russian Defence Ministry will bankroll
the trials and completion of the first
production-standard aircraft in Kiev,
but abstain from allocating money
for the launching of An-70 assembly
in Kazan so far. A decision on series
acquisition of An-70 aircraft and,
hence, on their production in Russia
is expected to be made later this year
based on the outcome of the An-70’s
official test programme and talks
with Ukraine about the intellectual
property matters pertaining to the
programme.
take-off march 2013
35
industry | news
5 February 2013 witnessed
the maiden flight of the first of
the two Antonov An-148-100EM
aircraft ordered by the Russian
Emergencies Ministry. The plane
took to the skies from the airfield of the VASO Voronezh Aircraft
Manufacturing Company. In accordance with the requirements specification, the An-148-100EMs are
built in convertible configuration
providing for quick conversion from
the passenger version to the medical one (five layout versions in all)
and are designed for passenger
operations, quick deployment of
Russian Emergency Ministries rescuer teams and medical evacuation.
The governmental contract for two
An-148-100EM passenger/medevac
convertible aircraft for the Russian
Emergencies Ministry was landed
on 11 November 2010. In line with
the requirements specification, there
are five basic An-148-100EM layout
versions – passenger and combined
passenger/medevac ones. The basic
passenger version for 39 seats has
the cabin divided into three section –
the VIP section with two seats and a
three-seat sofa, eight-seat businessclass section and 30-seat economyclass section. Another passenger
layout version provides for the twoclass layout, with the VIP cabin and
49-seat economy-class section.
The combined passenger/medevac versions provide for replacement of the seats in the economy-class or economy-class and
business-class sections with up to
six medical modules with resuscitation equipment and four seats for
escorting medical personnel. The
conversion of the aircraft from one
layout to another is handled by the
operator, with the installation of
one medical module taking within
40 min.
The passenger cabins of the
An-148-100EM are fitted with the
advanced LED lighting system and
an up-to-date information/entertainment system. Provision also has
been made for a modification to the
navigation suite.
Sergei Lysenko
First Russian Emergencies Ministry An-148 in trial
The assembly of the first
An-148-100EM
(c/n
42-02,
reg. 61715) had been completed
by VASO by late last year – it was
rolled out to the testing facility on
24 December 2012. The modification of the cabin layout and avionics suite of the An-148-100EM
compared to the certificated baseline An-148-100E called for a small
number of extra certification tests
on three sorties in the wake of the
six test flights under the factory
test programme. Then, the aircraft
will be painted and delivered, with
the customer acceptance programme to include six handover
test flights.
The first of the An-148-100EMs
is slated for delivery to the
Aviation Department of the Russian
Emergencies Ministry in April this
year. VASO is assembling the other
aircraft of the type (c/n 42-04,
reg. 61717) which is expected to
be delivered this summer.
First SSJ100/95LR kicking off its trials
36
take-off march 2013
Following
several
sorties
in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, the
SSJ100/95LR c/n 95032 (reg. 97006)
was ferried to Zhukovsky, Moscow
Region, on 15 February for continued
tests. Its flight trials are expected to
last three to four months, after which
its documentation will be submitted
to the IAC Aircraft Registry for pro-
cessing as a type certificate supplement slated for issuance as soon as
this year.
The Gazpromavia air carrier
became the SSJ100/95LR’s launch
customer, having placed an order
for 10 of the type in August 2011.
The first aircraft designed for
Gazpromavia (c/n 95033) is being
assembled by the manufacturing
plant of the Sukhoi Civil Aircraft
Company in Komsomolsk-on-Amur.
Its tests are scheduled to kick off
coming summer. The delivery of
production-standard SSJ100/95LRs
may be on the heels of the
Superjet’s extended-range version
certification.
SCAC
On 12 February 2013, the first
Sukhoi Superjet SSJ100/95LR
extended-range regional airliner, a
derivative of the production-standard SSJ100/95B capable of hauling the same number of passengers
(98) out to 4,580 km (the baseline
model – 3,050 km) took to the skies
for its first flight. Its range extension is owing to a maximum takeoff weight increase from 45,880 kg
to 49,450 kg with minor structural
modifications. In particular, the wing
and wing centre section structures
were reinforced to be introduced
to the baseline model further down
the line. In the future, commonised
design aircraft will be built, which
will be delivered either in the baseline SSJ100/95B configuration or
in the SSJ100/95LR extended-range
configuration depending on customer requirements. The extended-range
version is powered by SaM146-1S18
engines featuring a 5% thrust
increase. The SaM146-1S18 was
certificated by EASA early in 2012.
www.take-off.ru
industry | news
www.take-off.ru
and empennage (AeroComposit’s
production facilities in Ulyanovsk
has been under way since late
2011). The tests being run by
TsAGI are supposed to prove that
any kind of damage to the wing
will not grow in size and affect
flight safety. 7,000 flights had been
simulated at a test bench during
the first phase of the endurance
tests, after which examination and
ultrasonic inspection of the preinflicted impact damage areas were
held. Based on the whole cycle of
tests, TsAGI scientists will perform
experimental evaluation of the
characteristics and properties of
the wing box design, approve the
choice of the wing box’s structural
layout, gauge the actual strength
and survivability of structural areas
and test the standard repair and
test/inspection methods.
Now, TsAGI has four prototypes
of the wing box of the MC-21
composite wing, made by foreign
companies Diamond and Fisher at
the request of the AeroComposit
close corporation. Their strength
tests have been run in TsAGi labs
since summer 2011. The first
and third wing box prototypes
have been subjected to the rigidity, frequency and static tests all
the way to the maximal loading
and disintegration. The landing
gear and engine hinge brackets
have been tested too, which has
allowed the strength of the metal/
composite joints to be evaluated.
MC-21’s fuselage tail section in
December 2012. It was shipped
to Riga for long-term endurance
tests. 300,000 test cycles will be
conducted to prove the manufacturer’s useful life of 60,000 flights.
Now, the Irkutsk Aviation Plant
is manufacturing other examples
of MC-21 structural elements for
trials, including several types of
fuselage panels, longitudinal and
lateral joints, and sections for
bird impact tests, etc. In the near
future, the plant is going to launch
manufacture of a four-ship MC-21
prototype batch – three flying prototypes and one for static tests.
MC-21 prototype is slated for the
maiden flight in mid-2015, with
the certification’s completion by
IAC’s Aircraft Registry and launch
of deliveries scheduled for 2017.
Irkut
The prototype metal section of
the cylindrical section of the central fuselage of the Irkut MC-21
advan ced short/medium-haul airliner was brought to Zhukovsky in
the Moscow Region on 25 February
2013. It had been made by the
Irkut corporation’s Irkutsk Aviation
Plant using the design documentation co-developed by the plant’s
and Yakovlev engineering centre’s
designers. The fuselage section
is designed to be fatigue-tested
for endurance and survivability by
the Central Aerohydrodynamics
Institute (TsAGI). Due to the
fuselage section’s dimensions
(11.5x4.7x4.2 m), it was airlifted in by a Volga-Dnepr-operated
An-124-100 Ruslan heavy transport.
The purpose of having TsAGI
testing the fuselage section is to
experimentally validate its design
and manufacturing solutions in
support of the estimated service
life of the standard design of the
MC-21’s fuselage.
TsAGI has been involved in
MC-21's static strength testing programme since 2011. For instance,
the first phase of the endurance
tests of the second MC-21 composite wing box was complete in
the Central Aerohydrodynamics
Institute (TsAGI) in December
2012. The work is under way on
order by the AeroComposit close
corporation in charge of the manufacture of the MC-21’s ‘black’ wing
The composite wing box and centre wing section have been joined
and sealed using a standard technology for the first time. Plans
provide for the fourth wing box
prototype to be used for researching into the impact of climatic factors on the strength of composite
components.
The MC-21’s empennage shall
be composite too. The first experimental set of the carbon-filled
plastic tail unit expected to kick
off its tests this year is being
manufactured in Ulyanovsk. The
ORPE Technologiya scientific and
production company is the supplier
of the composite elements of the
experimental empennage.
In addition, Aviastar plant in
Ulyanovsk manufactured the
first experimental module of the
Alexey Mikheyev
TsAGI
Endurance tests under MC-21 programme go on
take-off march 2013
37
industry | news
PD-14: prototype engine manufacture begins
under the development programme on
the family of new-generation PD-14
turbofan engines designed for powering
the future MC-21 short/medium-haul
Valery Amotnik
The old year’s most important event
in Russian air engine industry has been
the assembly and testing of the technology demonstrator engine in Perm
airliner and other advanced and upgraded passenger and transport aircraft
(particularly, provision has been made
for installation of PD-14M engines on
the future MTA medium airlifter being
co-developed by Russia and India).
The PD-14 technology demonstrator development had been preceded
by the development of the design and
process flow documentation, productionising, preparation of test benches
and laboratories, conduct of numerous tests, preliminary development of
each engine unit individually and core
engine assembly and tests. All of the
above had been completed on time
owing to a large-scale cooperation of
the subsidiaries of the United Engine
Corporation (UEC), accurate calculation
of the production capabilities, stringent
compliance enforcement and prompt
response to contingencies.
The assembly of the PD-14 technology demonstrator was complete
on 30 May 2012, and its first test-rig
start took place as soon as 9 June.
The open and enclosed test benches
were reconstructed and re-equipped
at the same time with the manufacture
of the engine demonstrator. The tests
were performed in compliance with
the effective standards and with the
use of the cutting-edge measuring and
recording systems allowing real-time
supervision of the tests both from the
observer booth and from test engineer
workstations.
Mention should be made that the
design of the cutting-edge PD-14 is a
radically novel one differing from the
Perm-based developer’s earlier designs
very much. This necessitated a drastically advanced, unique engine assembly technology. The need to use a huge
number of sensors introduced extra
difficulties to the assembly process,
or the engine was fitted with about
2,000 special sensors. Nonetheless, the
engine demonstrator was assembled
on schedule and passed its trials. The
trials proved the operability of all of its
parts and units, including those made
using ‘critical’ technologies (hollow titanium fan blades, monocrystal/intermetallic alloy turbine blades, compressor
blisks, etc.).
In autumn 2012, the engine passed
its tests at an outdoor acoustical test
bench using an antiturbulent air intake.
According to Aviadvigatel JSC, the test
results produced are what the designers
expected them to be.
Another phase of the PD-14 development will be the manufacture and
tests of engine prototypes. At present, work is in full swing in Perm and
at partner plants on making parts
and units for the prototype batch.
According to Aviadvigatel Designer
General and PD-14 programme manager Alexander Inozemtsev, flight
tests of a prototype PD-14 on board
the Il-76LL flying testbed are slated
for 2014.
However, the feasibility of the
completion of their construction at
present seems to be low because
subcontractors are wrapping up the
production of a number of Tu-154
components. Due to this, RA-85042
is likely to become the last production-standard Tu-154M crowning
the programme on the full-scale
production of the airliner in Samara
(the former city of Kuibyshev) that
has been under way since 1969.
Meanwhile, Aviakor will continue
to maintain and overhaul the inservice Tu-154B2s and Tu-154Ms
in the coming years.
On 5 December 2012, a new
Tupolev Tu-154M (RA-85042) took
off from the Aviakor plant’s airfield
in Samara on its first flight. It is the
second of the two Tu-154M VIP aircraft ordered by the Russian Defence
Ministry in November 2008 and,
possibly, the last Tu-154 ever made
over the 40-year-plus history of the
airliner’s production in Samara.
For a number of reasons, the
construction of the two Defence
Ministry-ordered Tu-154Ms dragged
its feet, and the first of them
(RA-85041, c/n 12A997) managed
to fly for the first time only on 9 July
2012. Its delivery was time to the
celebration of the 100th anniver-
38
take-off march 2013
sary of the Russian Air Force – on
8 August 2012. By the end of the
month, the aircraft was ferried to
its base – Chkalovsky AFB in the
Moscow Region.
Given a check flight in December,
the
Tu-154M
c/n
12A998
(RA-85042) has been delivered.
It has become the 920th Tu-154
manufactured since the launch of the
type’s production in Samara and the
316th aircraft in the Tu-154M version. According to Aviakor Director
General Alexei Gusev, the company
has a production backlog of four
Tu-154M airframes in various states
of completion. They can be completed, if orders for them are placed.
Alexey Zakharov
Last Tu-154M built?
www.take-off.ru
industry | news
Beriev
www.take-off.ru
In addition to the delivery
of amphibians to the Russian
Emergencies Ministry, a contract
is being in the pipeline for eight
amphibians of the Be-200 family aircraft to the Russian Defence
Ministry. The Federal Forestry
Protection Agency’s air branch
known as Avialesookhrana may
join the ranks of the customers for
amphibians made in Taganrog too.
Beriev is working on wooing
new customers all over the world,
and an important advantage of the
Be-200ChS is that it has been certificated in Russia and the EU. The
IAC Aircraft Registry certificated the
amphibian as compliant with the
AP-25 aviation rules in 2003. In
2007, the Be-200ES-E received a
supplemental type certificate clearing it for hauling 43 passengers
on medium-haul lines and for basing both at airfields and on water.
Finally, EASA issued the Be-200ES
with the European type certificate in
September 2010.
In line with Beriev’s general strategy designed to promote the Be-200
Beriev
The full-rate production and
sales of Be-200 amphibians are
a priority of Beriev company, and
the Be-200 programme is facing
new vistas.
As is known, the Be-200 amphibian’s baseline model is designed for
suppressing forest fires by airdropping water or an extinguisher onto
flame bases. It served the basis for
the Be-200ChS derivative designed
for the Russian Emergencies Ministry
that was the launch customer for
the plane. The ministry’s air arm
has been operating six Be-200ChS
amphibians.
Four of them (c/n 101, 102, 201
and 202) were made and delivered to
the customer by the Irkutsk Aviation
Plant of the Irkut corporation. The
fifth production-standard aircraft
made in Irkutsk (c/n 203) was
delivered to the Azeri Emergencies
Ministry in April 2008.
In 2011, the Russian Emergencies
Ministry took delivery of two more
new Be-200ChS’s c/n 301 and 302
from Beriev this time around. They
were assembled and check-flown
in Irkutsk during 2010–11 and then
modified in Taganrog to meet a more
accurate requirements specification
issued by the customer.
In May 2011, the government
ordered from Beriev six more
Be-200ChS amphibians for delivery to the Russian Emergencies
Ministry in 2013–14. The assembly of the first of the Beriev-built
Be-200ChS (c/n 303) is in full swing
now, and the manufacture of fuselage parts of the second aircraft
(c/n 304) has begun.
Alexey Mikheyev
Be-200: first local production aircraft under assembly in Taganrog
amphibian on foreign markets,
efforts are being made to obtain
the clearance of the US Air Tanker
Board. The clearance of the Be-200
as compliant with the board’s standards will pave the way for the
Russian plane to the North American
forest fire-fighting market.
European fire fighters, the French
ones in the first place, have displayed
their interest in the Be-200 too.
The Be-200’s fire-fighting capabilities could be in demand on the
other side of the globe, in Asia.
For instance, a Beriev delegation
and Chinese officials met at Airshow
China 2012 in Zhuhai to discuss
the use and acquisition of Be-200
planes. According to the Chinese
officials, they have been looking into
the feasibility of updating their firefighter aircraft fleet and operating a
Be-200 in China in 2013 for the purpose of evaluating its performance
and drawing up a plan of further
cooperation.
In addition to the amphibian’s
fire-fighting role, its potential buy-
ers – those in India and Southeast
Asian countries in the first place –
are interested in its maritime patrol
and SAR capabilities
In this field, Beriev’s cooperation with Italian company SELEX
Galileo in fitting the Be-200 with its
ATOS Airborne Tactical Observation
and Surveillance System looks very
promising.
Another line of refining the
Be-200’s avionics will be the use of
advanced technologies to spot forest
fires and put them out from the air in
poor visibility conditions, including
thick smoke.
The Be-200’s cockpit can be fitted with head-up displays (HUD)
and an optical monitor camera.
Above the windscreen, there may
be an infrared camera installed,
with its footage to be displayed
on the pilot’s HUD. Such a system
has been tested on the Be-200 prototype (side number 21512) and,
at the customer’s request, can be
installed in both in-construction and
in-service amphibians.
take-off march 2013
39
industry | news
Ruslan Denisov
The Russian Helicopters holding
company is completing the certification tests of the upgraded Kamov
Ka-226T light multipurpose coaxial
helicopter. Production of the Allison
250-C20B-powered baseline Ka-226
version is under way at Kumertau
Aircraft Production Enterprise,
Russian Helicopters holding company subsidiary, and Strela Production
Association in Orenburg since 2000.
The plant in Kumertau has specialised mostly in fulfilling orders
awarded by Russian uniformed
agencies, e.g. the Ministry of Interior
and Federal Security Service Aviation
Department. For instance, Russian
police special-purpose air detachments have taken delivery of 12
helicopters of the type, with the 12th
aircraft brought to the Krasnodar
Region in late December 2012.
The company in Orenburg has had
orders awarded by the Gazpromavia
company and Russian Emergencies
Ministry. In addition, Strela delivered
two Ka-226s in 2008, which are
operated in the flying ambulance role
in the Orenburg Region.
In March 2012 the Russian Air
Force took delivery of KumAPE-built
Ka-226s, with five aircraft brought to
Syzran Air Force flying school (affiliate of the Air Force Military Training
and Scientific Centre). Next five
Ka-226s followed them last summer. In all, the Defence Ministry is
intent on receiving about 16 aircraft
of the type by year-end 2013 and
40
take-off march 2013
Alexey Mikheyev
Ka-226T to be ready for delivery this year
using them for training pilots for
Ka-52 combat helicopters. Longerterm plans provide for delivery of 40
Ka-226s prior to 2020.
The future of the Ka-226 hinges on the production launch of
the Ka-226T version powered by
Turbomeca Arrius 2G1 engines that
features a better power-to-weight
capability and can operate at a higher altitude. Two Ka-226T prototypes
have been in flight trials since 2009.
In the 1st quarter of 2013, a
supplement type certificate is to be
obtained based on the outcome of
the certification tests, and then the
Ka-226T will be ready for delivery. The full-rate production of
the Ka-226T is being launched by
the Kumertau Aircraft Production
Enterprise.
Last summer, the Russian
Emergencies Ministry became the
launch customer for the Ka-226T,
having ordered two aircraft of the
type in the medevac version. In all,
the ministry is going to receive 16
Ka-226T helicopters in the coming years. About 10 Ka-226TM
shipborne helicopters designed
for border guard ships may well
be fielded with the Russian Border
Guard later in the decade. The
Defence Ministry, Ministry of the
Interior and Gazpromavia have
plans to switch from the Ka-226s
they are receiving now to the
Ka-226T.
Russian Helicopters pins its
hopes on a potential lucrative
Indian order as well. The holding
company with its Ka-226T is bidding on the contract for the replacement to IAF’s and Army Aviation’s
obsolete Cheetah and Chetak helicopters with advanced light multirole machines. The Indian Ministry
of Defence launched the competition in 2008.
Indian
Defence
Minister
A.K. Antony officially stated his decision on issue a new helicopter tender in April 2008, several months
after the $600 million programme
on buying and licence-producing
197 Eurocopter AS550C3 helicopters for the Indian Army Aviation
had been cancelled in December
2007. Requests for proposals were
issued to Eurocopter, Bell Textron,
AgustaWestland and Kamov. A considerable number of the 197 helicopters ordered is to be licenceproduced by HAL.
The Russian Helicopters with its
Kamov Ka-226T and Eurocopter
with its AS550C3 are on the tender’s shortlist. According to a
number of experts, the Russian
offer is facing good chances to
come up on top. The Ka-226T’s
flight tests conducted in India have
highlighted the unique capabilities of the helicopter, especially in
‘high and hot’ operations. The outcome of the tender is expected to
be announced this year.
www.take-off.ru
march 2013 • Special edition for LIMA '13
New combat jets
four RusAF
[p.4,6]
Sukhoi T-50
four prototypes
under trials
[p.18]
Tikhomirov NIIP radars
To see first means to win
[p.14]
Ilyushin 476
undergoing tests
[p.34]
Sin Uservice
-30MKM
with RMAF
[p.8]
Sukhoi Superjet 100 arrives to new customers [p.30]