The President of Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), Mikhail Pogosyan talked to IDR at the Singapore Airshow where he was promoting its military aviation programmes.
Mikhail Pogosyan said, “In the last 20 years we only developed military aircraft. Now we do have to rely on legacy aircraft. The Sukhoi Su-35 is the best of its generation. Since 2010 we have delivered 10 test aircraft and 12 production aircraft were delivered to the Russian Air Force in 2013. I believe it will find a place in the Chinese market and this will open new opportunities for us now only to supply new aircraft but to develop long-term co-operation with China based on our military aircraft programmes.”
“There is no level of misunderstanding with the T-50 programme in India and we will soon have an answer to all outstanding issues..."
Asked if he thought China would attempt to copy the Su-35 as it had copied Sukhoi aircraft in the past, he said that copying is not an instrument of development. “We have a clear understanding with China on this subject. I do not know of any good copies of combat aircraft. If you see something that was designed four years ago and try to copy it you will not succeed in producing a modern aircraft. We are looking at a different type of co-operation, the copying stage is over. I believe we should look forward, not back.”
On the subject of the T-50 PAKFA he told IDR that all five pre-production aircraft had flown by 2013 and testing by the Russian Air Force is beginning this year. The first production aircraft will be delivered in 2016. Pogosyan conceded that technically the T-50 is not an easy programme either but progress is being made.
When questioned about the status of the Indian Air Force Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) programme which is based on the T-50, he said that the level of transparency and technology transfer demonstrated in India shows a new level of co-operation compared with other companies. “There is no level of misunderstanding with the T-50 programme in India and we will soon have an answer to all outstanding issues. There are very complicated demands associated with the programme and we have established a forum to address these demands. We are now have a good understanding with the Indian Air Force and our Indian partner, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), and the foreign suppliers involved in the FGFA programme.”
He continued by saying that UAC is also in partnership with HAL to develop the Multirole Transport Aircraft (MTA), a twin-jet tactical transport. “We are working hard with India in the pre-design phase and it is important to enter the next stage. Full scale design is under discussion and the maiden flight of MTA is planned for 2016.”
If you see something that was designed four years ago and try to copy it you will not succeed in producing a modern aircraft.
Pogosyan also outlined the future strategy for UAC, saying that until 2010, UAC’s output was 90 percent military. It is now 50 percent military and 50 percent civil. The company increased production in 2013 by 20 percent over the previous year and plans to produce more than 40 aircraft this year, and increase it to over 50 in 2015.
However, Pogosyan admitted that UAC’s biggest challenge is to integrate the experimental design bureaus (OKBs) with the aviation production plants. “We have already integrated the Sukhoi OKB with the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aviation Plant (KnAAZ) and the Novorsibirsk Aviation Plant (NAZ), and the Beriev OKB with the TANK Aviation Plant.
We plan to integrate the Mikoyan OKB with the Sokol Nizhny Novgorod Aircraft Manufacturing Plant, and the Tupolev OKB with the Kazan Aviation Production Association.
We also plan to bring together more than 80 electronics and avionics companies together into one group.”
He finished by admitting that this process would take a long time and be complex.