Russia&CIS Observer№ 1 (44) june 2017

Russia&CIS Observerwww.rusaviainsider.com

special focus on paris air show 2017

20172017

» Reach top executives of the Russian/CIS aerospaceindustry, air transport, military and government

» Deliver your message to all MAKS-2017entrances/exits, chalets, static displays and handdistribution at the show through more than 10,000copies per day

» Learn about the latest developments in theRussian/CIS aerospace industry with the newsreported on-site

» Complement your exhibit presence at MAKS-2017with an ad in the Show Observer

» Create awareness of your company witha showcase advertisement, even if it is notexhibiting at MAKS-2017

» Ensure your message reaches the right people at theright time by using our free-of-charge Russianadvertisement translation service, which is includedin the ad package

» The entire content of the Show Observer issues willbe accessible in graphical and text-only formats at thewww.ATO.ru portal, and will also be available fordownloading via our ATO application forsmartphones and tablets.

The Show Observer is brought to you by thepublisher of the renowned Air Transport Observermagazine, its sister publications and aviation b2bportal ATO.ru — Russia’s only true aerospaceindustry trade media, which are recognizedworldwide for the quality of reporting and in-depthnews coverage. Show Observer is published atMAKS since 2003 and building on the multiyearexperience of our partner — AVIATION WEEK.

Show Observer – the only professionalshow news publication at MAKS-2017

For advertising information about the Show Observer MAKS 2017, contact:Oleg Abdulov, Sales and Marketing Director, Tel.: +7 495 626 5356 ext.16, Мob.: +7 903 225 6779, e-mail: o.abdulov@ato.ru

PUBLISHING DATES: July 18,19&20, 2017

DAILY NEWS PUBLICATIONFOR KEY RUSSIAN AIR SHOW MAKS-2017

РЕ

КЛ

АМ

А

|

AD

VE

RT

ISIN

G

RUSSIA/CIS OBSERVER № 1 (44) JUNE 2017 1

1414

1111

1515

44

AEROSPACE INDUSTRY•

Russia to return

to narrowbody market ..........................2

Russia, China join forces to develop

widebody airliner ................................6

UAC sets up a center for all civil

programs..............................................8

PD-14 enters the home stretch ..........10

Kamov Ka-62 performs first flight ......11

Sukhoi boosts SSJ100 efficiency ........12

Russian titanium gains weight ............13

DEFENSE•

Unmanned future for Russia ..............14

An-132D debuting in Le Bourget........15

AIR TRANSPORT•

Will upgraded fleets lead

to price wars? ....................................16

Sky arithmetic for Russian

airports ..............................................18

IFC leases its first foreign-built

aircraft ..............................................20

SPACE BUSINESS•

Difficult year for Russian

space sector........................................21

New strategy for Russia’s

space industry ....................................23

Russia/CIS Observer is produced by:

PublisherEvgeny Semenov

EditiorinChiefMaxim Pyadushkin

Art DirectorAndrey Khorkov

Sales & Marketing DirectorOleg Abdulov

Commercial DirectorSergey Belyaev

Cover PhotosFyodor Borisov, Leonid Faerberg,

Irkut Corporation

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be

reproduced in whole or in part without the written permission of

A.B.E. Media.

A.B.E. Media cannot be held responsible for any claim,error, omission or inaccuracy in advertising

material supplied by advertisers.

© № 1 (44), June 2017Tel.: +7 (495) 626 5356. E-mail: ato@ato.ru

Correspondence: P.O. Box 127, Moscow, 119048, Russia

Web site: www.ato.ru/rco

2525

Russia &CIS Observerfrom the publisher of № 1 (44) june 2017

Read more news and stories at www.RusAviaInsider.com

RUSSIA/CIS OBSERVER № 1 (44) JUNE 20172

Russia aiming to return tonarrowbody marketThe country’s new MC-21 airliner first flew in late May

Maxim Pyadushkin

Russia is planning to make acomeback to the mostprofitable segment of theglobal commercial aircraft

market with its new Irkut MC-21 nar-rowbody passenger aircraft. The firstflying prototype took off in Irkutsk,Siberia at the end of May.

The first flight lasted for 30 minutes;the aircraft climbed to not higher than1,000 meters and developed a maxi-mum airspeed of 300 km/h, says OEMIrkut Corporation. The airplane wastested for stability and controllability.The aircraft also performed a go-around maneuver, then overflew therunway, climbed and turned.

The first flight went as planned,Captain Oleg Kononenko commented:“No obstacles to further tests have beenrevealed.” First Officer RomanTaskayev confirmed that everything hadperfor med nominally.

The MC-21 is Russia’s first domesti-cally designed commercial narrowbody

aircraft since the collapse of the SovietUnion. The project was selected by thegovernment in 2003 as the replacementfor aging Tupolev Tu-154 and Tu-204airliners.

The development effort was officiallylaunched in 2007 by Irkut Corporation,a subsidiary of the United AircraftCorporation (UAC). Like with Russia’sfirst post-Soviet commercial aircraftprogram, the Sukhoi Superjet 100, theprogram is being led by a combat jetmaker.

Despite the fact that Irkut by 2007was running a very successful SukhoiSu-30MKI multirole fighter produc-tion program, the manufacturer’s aspi-rations went beyond the military sector.In 2004 it acquired Yakovlev DesignBureau, which had developed theSoviet-era Yak-40 and Yak-42 regionalpassenger jet types. Also in 2007, Irkutsigned its first fuselage component sup-ply contract for Airbus A320s.

The MC-21 draft design was ap-proved in 2008. One year later, Irkut se-lected the primary suppliers for the

program. This became Russia’s secondcommercial aircraft effort involvingbroad international participation afterthe SSJ100.

In its maiden flight the MC-21 pro-totype was powered by Pratt & WhitneyPW1400G-JM engines. This variant ofthe PurePower ultrahigh-bypas-ratiopowerplant family develops 31,000 lb ofthrust; it also powers the A320neo, theBombardier CSeries, the MRJ, and theEmbraer E2.

The aircraft’s alternative, Russian-de-signed powerplant, the Aviadvigatel PD-14, has just completed initial trials on anIl-76LL testbed and will now enter cer-tification tests. A Russian certificate isexpected to be issued in 2018. DeputyPrime Minister Dmitry Rogozon hasannounced that a Russian-poweredMC-21 could take off in 2019.

The MC-21’s avionics suite was de-signed by the UAC but features compo-nents supplied by Honeywell, Thales,and Elbit Systems. Other foreign part-ners include Zodiac Aerospace, Eaton,Meggitt, and Goodrich. More foreign

Irku

t

AEROSPACE INDUSTRY

РЕКЛАМА | ADVERTISING

RUSSIA/CIS OBSERVER № 1 (44) JUNE 20174

AEROSPACE INDUSTRY

suppliers have been involved into set-ting up the production line at Irkut’s fa-cility in Irkutsk, and also in deliveringmaterials for production.

The foreign technologies involved inthe program will be retained by Russia:Irkut demands that its partners localizeaftersales maintenance of their compo-nents in the country. The Russianmaintenance partners are to be identi-fied by June this year.

The name MC-21 stands forMagistralny Samolet 21 veka (MainlineAircraft of the 21st Century). It was se-lected to emphasize the innovative na-ture of the program. This will be thefirst Russian commercial aircraft tofeature a high-aspect-ratio supercriticalcomposite wing. Composites are alsoused in the wing box, vertical and hori-zontal stabilizers.

The wing box and outer wing aremanufactured under a vacuum infusiontechnology at UAC subsidiary Aero -Composit. During fatigue tests at theCentral Aerohydrodynamics Institute(TsAGI ) in February, the wing box de-veloped cracks at the point of contact

between the composite skin and the ti-tanium beam. The remedy was to rein-force the wing on the first prototypeprior to the first flight.

The avionics suite includes 9 x 12inch MFDs, electronic flights bags, andalso enhanced vision and synthetic vi-sion systems. The MC-21 will also be-come the first Russian commercial air-liner with active sidesticks, supplied byUS-based United TechnologiesAerospace Systems.

The first prototype, rolled out in June2016, represents the MC-21-300 base-line version with 79,250 kg MTOW. Itcan carry up to 211 passengers to a dis-tance of up to 6,000 km. The shorter,72,560 kg MTOW variant, dubbedMC-21-200. will seat up to 165.

At the start of the MC-21 program,in the mid-2000s, the aircraft was ex-pected to enter service in 2016. Thiswas believed to result in the Russianairliner’s high popularity worldwide, asAirbus and Boeing had not yet finalizedtheir plans for new narrowbody prod-ucts at that time. The timeline eventu-ally slipped due to developmental

holdups (both organizational and tech-nical). In the meantime, competitionhas been mounting. Now it looks likethe Russian aircraft will enter the mar-ket behind the Airbus A320neo, theBoeing 737 MAX, and, probably, eventhe COMAC C919, which might limitits potential sales.

Certification in Russia is nowplanned for 2018, to be followed byEASA certification in 2019.

The MC-21 backlog stands at 175firm orders, mostly from Russian gov-ernment-owned lessors, plus over 100commitments. The launch operator isunderstood to be Russia’s largest carrier,government-controlled Aeroflot. Thecarrier will receive its MC-21s via the lo-cal lessor Avia Capital Services. In April2017, Russian media cited the AeroflotCEO Vitaly Saveliev saying that the firstdelivery was expected in 2019.

Other customers include Russianlessors VEB Leasing, SberbankLeasing, and Ilyushin FinanceCompany, as well as local carriers suchas UTair Aviation, Red Wings, andIrAero.

The MC-21-300 baseline versioncan carry up to 211 passengersto a distance of up to 6,000 km

Irku

t

RUSSIA/CIS OBSERVER № 1 (44) JUNE 20176

AEROSPACE INDUSTRY

Russia, China join forces todevelop widebody airlinerRussia’s UAC and China’s COMAC have set up a joint venture to run the program

Maxim Pyadushkin

Russia’s United AircraftCorporation (UAC) andthe Commercial AircraftCorporation of China

(COMAC) have taken another step to-ward the joint development of a newlong-range widebody commercial air-liner, dubbed the C929 in China. Thepartners officially opened the joint ven-ture China-Russia CommercialAircraft International Corporation(CRAIC) in Shanghai in May. Thecompany will coordinate the parties’efforts on the program, which still hasmany important issues unresolved.

UAC President Yury Slyusar de-scribed the establishment of CRAIC asthe most important pragmatic step inthe framework of the program: “Wewant to develop this widebody aircrafttogether, to organize its production,operations, aftersales support, market-ing and sales, and so on.”

Jin Zhuanglong, chairman of theboard at COMAC, noted that the es-tablishment of CRAIC marked an im-portant milestone for the program: “Wewill cooperate sincerely with UAC, andstrive to make the program a model ofSino-Russian cooperation. We will fol-low the latest international mainstreamairworthiness standards, build morecompetitive long-range widebody air-craft, and strive to provide customerswith better service and make new con-tributions to global aviation market.”

The program, launched in 2014, isbacked by an intergovernmental agree-ment between Moscow and Beijingsigned two years later.

The JV board is chaired by UACvice—president Vladislav Masalov, who

is also president of UAC subsidiarySukhoi Civil Aircraft Company(SCAC). SCAC will gradually take overcontrol on all the UAC’s commercialaircraft programs. Guo Bozhi, head ofthe widebody program at COMAC, isthe CRAIC general manager. The part-ners have four members each on theboard of the new JV.

The JV launch will enable the begin-ning of detailed design work on the newwidebody, seeing as the sides haveagreed on how the workload will beshared, Masalov explains. UAC andCOMAC engineers have been workingon the program in concert since 2013;now the development effort will bepicked up by a joint engineering center,to be set up in Moscow in 2018 with atotal of about 100 engineering person-nel representing both countries.

The UAC will be responsible for thedevelopment of the composite wing,wingbox, wing flap systems, engine py-lons, and main landing gear, Masalov

notes. The Chinese party will work onthe fuselage, empennage, nosecone,nose landing gear, and wing fairings.

Masalov says, the detailed designshould be completed by the end of2018, by which time the partners expectto have identified their major suppliers.Requests for information have beensent to 169 companies. Russian andChinese companies will have priority,followed by foreign businesses with es-tablished joint ventures in either of thecountries.

The UAC and COMAC have alreadyheld initial meetings with airlines andlessors on the future aircraft’s prioritymarket, which is believed to be China.The potential clients asked for the air-liner to come with two powerplant op-tions, Masalov says. The partners are intalks with General Electric and Rolls-Royce, while Russia’s Aviadvigatel PD-35 might be offered at a later stage.

It is understood that the airframe willbe at least 50% composite for lower

The official opening of UAC-COMACjoint venture in Shanghai

Marina Ly

stse

va

AEROSPACE INDUSTRY

weight and higher performance. Theaircraft is also expected to have im-proved aerodynamics, and to be “moreelectrical”, although the final systemchoices have yet to be announced bythe designers.

The baseline will have 280 seats anda range of 12,000 km. A shorter, 230-seat version is planned, as is a 320-seatstretch, but whether or not these evermaterialize will depend on customerdemand.

The UAC’s Slyusar says the newwidebody will help both companies fillthe existing gap in their respective com-mercial product lines stretching fromregional to long-range airliners. For theRussian manufacturer, the C929 is toreplace the ageing Ilyushin Il-96 quadas the largest member of the productrange that also includes the SCACSSJ100 and the Irkut MC-21. TheUAC intends to keep building the Il-96-400M version for government cus-tomers until the new Russian-Chinesewidebody enters service.

COMAC, for its part, will use theC929 to fill the widebody gap in itsproduct line, which currently is repre-sented by the ARJ21 regional jet andthe C919 narrowbody.

The partners are not making any of-ficial statements as to when they expectthe airliner to enter service, saying onlythat the development and certificationprocesses might take up to 10 years.The UAC and COMAC forecast a glob-al demand for 7,000 widebody com-mercial aircraft in 2023-2045, to thetune of $1.5 trillion. The major part ofthis demand is expected to come fromAsia-Pacific, China, Russia, and theCIS, Masalov remarks.

Even with the JV in place the part-ners have yet to agree on several impor-tant issues, and the talks are not goingto be easy. The Russian side wants tomaintain parity in every aspect of theprogram, while China is trying to get asmuch out of the deal as possible, as it isclearly focused on the domestic marketat the moment.

COMAC has been proposing abranch of the engineering center to beset up in Shanghai, and has also beenin favor of parallel certification inRussia and China. Guo Bozhi says acertification application is expected tobe filed in 2019.

Masalov explains that, seeing as theUAC is the designated program inte-grator, the engineering part of the pro-gram is to be completed in Russia.

Another possible bone of contentionis the manufacturing process. It has beenagreed that final assembly will take placein Shanghai. Masalov hopes that theRussian side will at the very least be en-titled to manufacture the components itis going to design. On the other hand, hesays, the possibility cannot be ruled outthat production of these componentswill be given to COMAC if the latter canmanufacture them cheaper: “There is asyet no firm agreement on the compo-nent manufacturing distribution, the is-sue will be finalized closer to the pro-duction launch date.”

РЕ

КЛ

АМ

А

|

AD

VE

RT

ISIN

G

RUSSIA/CIS OBSERVER № 1 (44) JUNE 20178

AEROSPACE INDUSTRY

UAC sets up a center forall civil programs

— What tasks is SCAC facing now thatthe Italian partner has reduced its par-ticipation in the SSJ 100 project?

— Our only task is to ensure commer-cial sales of the aircraft. For this purposewe are intensifying work with potentialoperators and invest maximum effort inorganizing aftersales support.

At the upcoming MAKS air show inRussia in July, we are planning to signanother SSJ100 contract with Aeroflot.Another major operator, Mexico’sInterjet, will receive four airlines this yearand another four in 2018. If we manageto coordinate a number of terms andconditions, Interjet will be prepared tosign a contract for 10 more aircraft.

We are currently in talks with GTLKState Transport Leasing Company overa remarketing scheme which, as our ex-perience suggests, could be popularwith regional airlines.

So the annual output of 35 airframeswe are planning for the next severalyears is very much achievable.

— There are already many SSJ100sin operation. How are you going to de-velop aftersales support?

— I believe the artificial monopoliza-tion of the aftersales support services is

the reason why operators have beenhaving problems with the type. I willwork to involve professional MROproviders in the process.

We hope to sign an agreement shortlywith FL Technics, one of the leadingMRO providers. It would organize baseand line maintenance outstations forour aircraft and would be offering OEMservices to European customers.

Another aspect of aftersales supportis that we need to seriously expand thestock lists at our parts depots. I meanboth our home-based stocks, which weare obliged to provide to customers,and consignment inventories at the op-erators’ end. This will require sizableinvestments, up to 15 billion rubles[$263 million] at the initial stage.

We have also agreed with Interjet oncomponent repairs at their technicalbase in Toluca. We selected 47 compo-nents they are prepared to repair,signed a license agreement, and handedover the relevant technical documenta-tion to the operator.

— What will SuperJet InternationalJV be doing?

— It will continue to customizeSSJ100s for specific customers and dealwith certification issues. All the export-ed airliners will be delivered to ourVenice-based JV, which will install in-teriors, paint and fine-tune the aircraft.

The JV will also continue to run atraining center.

SuperJet International employs arather strong team of marketing con-

sultants and sales managers, so it willcontinue to be responsible for sales.Only now the JV will have closer con-tacts with the SCAC commercial sectorin Moscow. In the past 12 months wehave taken part in all the talks held bythe SuperJet International team.

— What will the UAC civil division’sproduct line look like?

— Apart from the SSJ100, the IrkutMC-21, and the future Russo-Chineselong-range widebody commercial air-craft, it will also include the renovatedIlyushin Il-114 turboprop.

— How will the UAC civil programs bemanaged?

— Everything will be managed throughSCAC. I am planning to incorporate thewidebody aircraft and Il-114 into the ren-ovated SCAC first, to be followed by theMC-21 at a later stage. We are alreadysetting up a department within the SCACdesign bureau that will be working on thewidebody program. We need to bring theadministrative functions, sales, and after-sales support up to the senior decision-making level, i.e. to set up a single cus-tomer support center for all civil aircraftprograms. It could be set up on the prem-ises of SCAC or as a standalone legal en-tity; we will decide later this year.

Seeing as we are incorporating new pro-grams into SCAC, we will need to changethe company name to a more ge neric oneshortly. The rebranding decision, however,will be for the UAC to make.

This interview was prepared byMaxim Pyadushkin

Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) expanded the role of one of its primarycivil assets, Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company (SCAC), which is responsible for theSukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) regional jetliner program. Apart from the revision ofthe SSJ 100 program following the decision by strategic Italian partner Finmeccanicato reduce its participation, it was decided to use SCAC as a center that would manageall the UAC civil programs. SCAC’s new president, Vladislav Masalov, told Russia &CIS Observer how the company will transform and what projects it will take on board.

SCAC

РЕКЛАМА | ADVERTISING

RUSSIA/CIS OBSERVER № 1 (44) JUNE 201710

AEROSPACE INDUSTRY

Artyom Korenyako and Evgenia Kolyada

In late May 2017, the Russian city ofIrkutsk witnessed the maiden flight of

the new-generation Irkut МС-21 airlin-er powered by US Pratt & WhitneyPW1400G-JM engines. Shortly beforethe first flight, the United EngineCorporation (UEC) announced it hadsuccessfully completed the second stageof the flight trials on its newest PD-14engine, the Russian alternative power-plant option for the country’s long-awaited narrowbody aircraft.

“The tests completed mark a signifi-cant milestone in the PD-14 develop-ment program, allowing us to move onto the certification trials on the flyingtestbed, to be followed by engine flighttests with the MC-21,” says UECGeneral Director Alexander Artyukhov.Certification of the new Russian-madeengine is to be completed in 2018-2019.

The PD-14 program is currently infull swing. A total of 12 test engineshave already been assembled, Ar tyu -khov reported at the Russian Go vern -ment Aviation Board meeting in earlyMarch. He emphasized that the pro-gram incorporates 16 critical technolo-gies, allowing the PD-14 to competewith the latest-generation powerplants.The company continues assemblingprototypes and fine-tuning them, in-cluding with the use of environmentsimulation tests inside a climatic testingchamber at the Gromov Flight Re -search Institute and on the institute’sIlyushin Il-76LL flying testbed.

“The engine has already demonstrat-ed the design technical parameters,”Artyukhov stressed. “We are also devel-oping the nacelle as part of the project.This would normally be for the air-framer to develop, but we are dealingwith the challenge successfully. The

PD-14’s core can be used to developengines for various other applications(for rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft, andalso for industrial use) within short pe-riods of time and with minimum risk.”

In March this year, AlexanderInozemtsev, managing director and chiefdesigner of UEC-Aviadvigatel, the PD-14 designer, pointed out that the programwas progressing on schedule despite sev-eral remaining obstacles: “We are in themiddle of multiple trials, and literally allour test benches in Perm are loaded withwork. In a couple of days the engine willleave for Rybinsk again, to commencethe next stage of open rig tests, which wehave already been through once before.There is no doubt that the engine will bea success; our priority at the moment isto complete all the tests.”

Inozemtsev added that the PD-14was to achieve type certification in2018, to be followed by EASA valida-

PD-14 enters the home stretch

Artyo

m A

nikee

v / Tran

sport-p

hoto.com

RUSSIA/CIS OBSERVER № 1 (44) JUNE 2017 11

AEROSPACE INDUSTRY

The Kamov Ka-62 medi-um multirole helicopter

has performed its maidenflight. The flying prototypelifted off from the airfield ofArsenyev-based ProgressCompany, a subsidiary ofRussian Helicopters holding,on May 25, more than a yearafter the first hovering test.

According to RussianHelicopters, during the 15-minute flight the aircraft cir-cled the airfield once, accel-erating to 110 kph. The pro-totype was being tested forhandling and stability, com-mented Russian HelicoptersCEO Andrey Boginsky.

The Ka-62’s flight test pro-gram was launched on April28, 2016, when the helicopter

made its first take-off. Beforeproceeding to horizontalflights, it performed multipleengine runups and hoveringtests. The company is assem-bling two more flying proto-types, which will enter certi-fication trials shortly.

Ka-62 medium twin is thefirst Kamov’s non-coaxialrotor aircraft. It features astandard rotary-wing config-uration with a single five-bladed main rotor and ashrouded tail rotor. The air-frame incorporates a consid-erable share of compositematerials for lower structuralweight. The helicopter ispowered by a pair of SafranArdiden 3G turboshafts with1,776 horsepower at takeoff.

Another foreign componentis the aircraft’s transmissiondeveloped by Austrian spe-cialist Zoerkler.

According to the manu-facturer, the maximum car-rying capacity of the aircraftis expected to make up2,200-2,500 kg or 12 to 15passengers, while the maxi-mum takeoff weight will be6,500 kg. The helicopter willhave a maximum speed of308 km/h and a cruising

speed of 290 km/h. Therange of the craft is set at 770km with use of the main fueltank.

The Russian Ministry ofIndustry and Trade sees thecountry’s defense and law-enforcement sectors as thelaunch customers for the Ka-62. Russian Helicopters isplanning to run a marketstudy to see if the type hasany potential demand amongcivilian operators.

Kamov Ka-62performs first flight

Ka-62 is the firstKamov’s non-coaxialrotor aircraft

Rus

sian

Helicopters

tion in 2019: “We are in cooperationwith EASA experts; they have alreadyvisited our site and familiarized them-selves with the situation. This so-calledshadow certification means that theyhave been taking part in our [certifica-tion testing] work but have not so farsigned any papers. They merely shareadvice so that later on, when we areready to apply for [EASA] certification,we do not have to do some things again.Despite the overall positive impression,the EASA sees that we still have issuesand there is much work left to be done.But the work is going on.”

Powerplant for widebodyAnother priority task for the Russian

engine-makers is to create a 35- to 40-ton-thrust engine, Artyukhov pointsout. This is where the experiencegained from the PD-14 program willbecome crucial. The company says theproject should be based heavily on theknow-how and technology involved inthe PD-14 engine family program.

The Perm-based engine specialist isalready involved in the so-called PD-35program, which will use the PD-35 coreas the basis for a family of heavy-dutypowerplants. The 35-ton PD-35 bypassturbofan is viewed as the baseline for afamily of 22- to 38-ton engines intendedfor future widebody airliners.

“Our design specifications for the fu-ture powerplant guarantee that it will becompetitive and will meet the require-ments for engines of 2025-2030,”Artyukhov noted. We are conductingintensive R&D work as part of the pro-gram; we have already come up witheight core technologies and created thenecessary infrastructure, as well asidentifying a pool of participants, in-cluding various research and develop-ment facilities, design bureaus, anduniversities.” He added that the imple-mentation of this project would en-hance the potential of Russian plane-makers, enabling them to build all typesof aircraft: passenger airliners,freighters, or military transports.

In his March interview, Inozemtsevstressed that the PD-35 was still in theresearch and development phase, in-cluding deep analysis of the next tech-nology cycle required to create the en-gine: “Everything created so far withinthe PD-14 program will be applied tothe PD-35 project. But that will not beenough: scaled-up PD-14 technologiesalone will not make the bigger enginecompetitive. There certainly are nu-ances that we have to bear in mind. Wehave to completely work through thissecond technology package in the nextsix years, and we invite a large numberof academic and industrial facilities tojoin us in this effort. Our goal is intro-duce technologies that will make thePD-35 competitive, to demonstratethem on the prototype core and thenon the demonstrator engine. In order toaccomplish this, we will need to buildtest benches: at the moment there is notest rig for such a big engine in thecountry because the Soviet Union didnot have powerplants of this size.”

RUSSIA/CIS OBSERVER № 1 (44) JUNE 201712

AEROSPACE INDUSTRY

Sukhoi boosts SSJ100efficiencyArtyom Korenyako

In the beginning of June, Irishcarrier CityJet received its sixthRussian-built Sukhoi Superjet100 (SSJ100) regional aircraft.

The airline is wet-leasing the jetliner toanother European operator, BrusselsAirlines.

This is one of the indications of theSSJ100 project being a success, eventhough Russia has so far sold fewerSuperjets than initially planned. On theother hand, no one was expectingSSJ100 with their arms outstretched.The regional aircraft market is highlycompetitive; to occupy a decent placeon it, the Russian manufacturer willneed to invest a lot of time and effort.

Now, 10 years after the first SSJ100presentation, OEM Sukhoi CivilAircraft Company (SCAC) is preparingto build its 150th airframe. In the next

five years the manufacturer is planningto deliver 170 to 180 aircraft (includingin the business jet version), at a rate of35-40 deliveries per year.

The aircraft utilization by Mexico’sInterjet serves as the benchmark, butthe Russian operators’ SSJ100s havenot been operated as intensively. Theaverage utilization rate of the Russian

Superjet fleet stood at below 1,500hours per airframe per year in 2011-15,or about four hours a day. Nevertheless,the share of passenger traffic served bythese regional aircraft in Russia keepsgrowing steadily: from 0.4% in 2011 itclimbed to 0.81% in 2015, and has bynow exceeded the figures for otherSoviet- and Russian-built airliners.

In parallel, SCAC continues to im-prove the aircraft and uses the experi-ence gained in the course of theSuperjet program in new Russian air-liner programs. As of spring 2017,EASA and the Russian aviation author-ities had approved 77 and 51 majormodifications to the SSJ100 design re-spectively, not to mention a vast num-ber of secondary changes which allcombined to improve the aircraft’stechnical characteristics and perform-ance dramatically, as well as enhancingits reliability and maintainability pa-

rameters. The SSJ100 will receive ad-ditional fuel tanks in the business jetversion, will be cleared to operate un-der the ETOPS rules, perform steep ap-proach landings, take off with prede-ployed flaps, etc.

“The main thing that Superjetbrought to the Russian aircraft manu-facturing industry is that it became a

platform for developing other projectsand an example of international coop-eration,” says Igor Vinogradov, theSCAC vice-president for certification.“It has eventually become a mass-pro-duced aircraft operated in variouscountries under various conditions. Atlast we achieved something we haddreamed of. We have finally built anaircraft with which we will return onour investment. We have operating in-come in the offing already.”

Vinogradov recalls that at the begin-ning of the project, the Voronezh andUlyanovsk production factories, sub-sidiaries of Russia’s United AircraftCorporation – SCAC parent company,offered to launch SSJ100 series produc-tion. However, SCAC made the onlyright choice. “When discussing theSSJ100’s influence on the Russianeconomy, one should keep in mind thatthe development of Siberia and the FarEast is one of our government’s priori-ties, says Vinogradov. — A dedicatedmodern plant was built in Komso -molsk-on-Amur to meet the needs ofthe SSJ100 program. The plant was cer-tified by the European aviation author-ities. It is capable of building 50 air-frames per year. Creating a new produc-tion facility in the region was an impor-tant achievement. People in the FarEast needed jobs that would bring themmoney and satisfaction. This problemwas solved, in my opinion.”

Now that the SSJ100 production is-sues have been generally resolved,SCAC is directing major resources todeveloping the aftersales service sys-tem. Those SSJ100 operators which al-so have experience operating foreigntypes legitimately expect a certain levelof technical support. On the otherhand, they all note that the situationhas been improving gradually.

Brussels Airlines already operatesthree wet-leased Superjet 100aircraft in its own livery

Sup

erJe

t Intern

ational

RUSSIA/CIS OBSERVER № 1 (44) JUNE 2017 13

AEROSPACE INDUSTRY

Maxim Pyadushkin

VSMPO-AVISMA, Russia’sleading manufacturer ofaeronautical titanium,continues with its efforts to

build up the output of high-refinedproducts. The company has been devel-oping joint projects with the leading in-ternational aircraft manufacturers. Itslong-standing cooperation with Boeingis being elevated to a new level; a simi-lar project is scheduled to be launchedwith Airbus shortly.

As VSMPO-AVISMA representativestold Russia & CIS Observer, the con-struction of the new production facilityfor the joint venture Ural BoeingManufacturing (UBM) is nearing com-pletion. The JV produces molded tita-nium parts for the US aircraft manu-facturer.

The production and administrativebuildings of the new facility will becompleted this summer, with the vol-ume of investment required for theproject standing at 1.77 billion rubles($207 million). The JV will be equippedwith state-of-the-art metal cuttingequipment, a VSMPO-AVISMA repre-sentative confirmed.

The facility, to be known as UBM-2,will process molded titanium parts forall of Boeing’s civil aircraft programs,including the 787 family and the new737 MAX and 777x types. The Russiancorporation will enhance the process-ing depth and improve the technologi-cal level of production, supplyingBoeing will products whose size will beclose to that of the final parts. “Thenew types of aircraft require more tita-nium, so we are having more work todo,” the VSMPO-AVISMA represen-tative noted.

A similar project is to be implement-ed with Airbus. VSMPO-AVISMA hasbeen discussing a machine processingJV with the French manufacturer’s

supplier Figeac Aero. “Together withour partners we will maintain a parityof shares in the JV,” the VSMPO-AVISMA source said. — “A new pro-duction facility in the Titanium Valleyspecial economic zone (in SverdlovskRegion, Russia – ed.) is one of the waysto develop the JV, but in the first phasewe are planning to use the existing ca-pacities.” The new plant is expected tobecome operational in 2019-2020; thepartners are now actively searching foradditional orders and preparing forproduction launch.

VSMPO-AVISMA reported a recordgrowth in the output of deeplyprocessed products in 2015. The outputof the machine processing workshopgrew by more than 50%. In 2016, thevolume of molded parts grew by 3%.“In the future we are planning formolded parts to make up more than40% of our total output,” the companysource said.

The launch of AlTi Forge, a jointventure between VSMPO-AVISMAand Arconic SMZ, became one of the2016 milestones. Arconic SMZ is man-aged by Alcoa, an American aluminummanufacturer. The companies joined

their unique and complementing tech-nical competencies in producing largemolded parts, and have already begunto manufacture first titanium- and alu-minum-alloy products, such as landinggear and wing parts for internationalaerospace manufacturers.

The Russian corporation has beenactively diversifying its production andexpanding its product portfoliothroughout the recent years. The keyattention is being paid to the develop-ment of high-tech products based ondeeply processed titanium alloys, in-cluding a large variety of molded parts,as well as thin sheets and tubes. VSMPO-AVISMA is now offeringmore than 400 types of molded partson the international market and morethan 1,500 types of molded parts onthe Russian market; these figures keepgrowing as the corporation is taking anactive part in all the new aviation pro-grams. “The aviation market is stableand optimistic today, especially whenit comes to the industry giants,” thecompany source stressed. “We havelong-term contracts with such compa-nies, and this is certainly the mainmarket for us.”

Russian titanium gains weight

VSMPO-AVISMA and Alcoa joined their competencies to manufacture large moldedtitanium- and aluminum-alloy parts for international aerospace manufacturers

VSMPO

RUSSIA/CIS OBSERVER № 1 (44) JUNE 201714

Denis Fedutinov

After the 2008 conflict withGeorgia, Russia becameaware of the necessity formodern unmanned aerial

systems (UAS). The conflict stimulateda range of development projects for un-manned aerial vehicles (UAV) of differ-ent classes. Currently, several of theseprojects are edging toward completion.

Tactical UAVsOne of the Russian UAV projects current-ly under development is the Korsar. Thesystem, an apparent Russian equivalent tothe US-developed Shadow, is being devel-oped by Rybinsk-based Luch DesignBureau. It is planned as a surveillance ve-hicle, and will have a range of 50 km.

In parallel with the development ef-fort, production has begun in Rybinsk.Aleksandr Yakunin, the CEO of theUnited Instrument ManufacturingCorpo ration (UIMC, a part of RostecCorporation), announced in 2015 thattrial examples of the Korsar would be de-livered to the Russian army from the endof 2016. Series production was expected

to begin in the first quarter of 2017.Media have reported that the Russianmilitary was planning to test the Korsarin Syria, but an accident in the courseof the flight testing program likely af-fected these plans.

MALE classThere are also projects underway to de-velop two medium-altitude, long-en-durance (MALE) UAVs. The vehicleswere originally expected to have a takeoffweight of 1 and 5 tons. The similarity oftheir size and weight to the US Predatorand Reaper suggests that their functionswould also be similar. The MALE aircraftwill likely be able to perform long-dura-tion flights of over 24 hours, in additionto carrying observation and intelligence-gathering equipment and weapons.

One of the systems is currently beingdeveloped by Kronshtadt Group for theRussian Defense Ministry. The develop-ment contract worth around 2 billionrubles (some $35.3 million) was signed in2011. According to available data, the air-craft weighs around 1.2 tons and can car-ry 300 kg of mission payload. The UAVwill have loiter time of up to 24 hours.

Russian media reported in the springof 2016 that the aircraft was being test-ed at the Gromov Flight ResearchInstitute in Zhukovsky, outsideMoscow. It appears that the UAV iscurrently undergoing flight tests, butthe development effort is far from over.

The second, heavier MALE system,the Altair, has been under developmentat Kazan-based Simonov Test DesignBureau since 2011. The project costsabout 1 billion rubles. In 2015, follow-ing the first flight, the company re-ceived a contract to carry out researchand development. Series production isexpected to follow eventually.

The Altair is a high-wing, twin-en-gined aircraft with a wing span of justunder 30 m and a V-tail. The UAV willhave loiter time of up to 48 hours and arange of up to 450 km. Its maximumpayload capacity will be around 2 tons.

One of the roles proposed for the twoMALE-class UAVs is monitoring ofRussia’s Arctic regions. To complementthe work being carried out by the militaryand border service, the aircraft could beused for monitoring major facilities inthe north of the country, and also to sup-

Unmanned future for Russia

Artyo

m A

nikee

v / Tran

sport-p

hoto.com

DEFENSE

Unmanned future for Russia

RUSSIA/CIS OBSERVER № 1 (44) JUNE 2017 15

DEFENSE

The Ukrainian airframer Antonov isbringing its new An-132D trans-

port turboprop aircraft to Paris AirShow 2017. The aircraft will be a partof both the static and aerial displays.

The aircraft is a joint development ofAntonov, Saudi Arabia’s Abdulaziz Cityfor Science and Technology (KACST),and TAQNIA Aeronautics, a Saudicompany. The assembly line is expectedto be set up in Saudi Arabia.

The An-132D performed its maidenflight on April 30, 2017. It is a pro-foundly upgraded version of the 40-year-old An-32 transport. The im-provements include new Honeywellavionics, Dowty R408 propellers, andan integrated air system supplied byLiebherr-Aerospace Toulouse.

The aircraft is re-engined with Pratt& Whitney Canada PW150As, whichare also used on the Bombardier Q400turboprop. Antonov says the new en-gines and propellers boost the air-craft’s payload to 9.2 tons, comparedto the An-32’s 6.7 tons. The new air-craft’s service ceiling is 9,000 meters,

as distinct from the baseline’s 8,100meters.

Ukroboronprom, Antonov’s parentcompany, says the aircraft’s flight rangewith maximal payload and 45-minutefuel reserve will be almost doubled, fromthe baseline’s 780 km to 1,400 km.

Antonov first announced plans to up-grade the An-32 in May 2015; back thenthe manufacturer was looking to launchproduction within two years of signing

the contract with the Saudi partners.The Saudi assembly agreement wassigned in early 2016. The partners areplanning to build 80 An-132s, to be usedin transport, intelligence, and electronicwarfare roles. The Ukrainian manufac-turer expects between 260 and 290 suchaircraft to be sold globally by 2035.Potential operators are believed to comefrom Africa, Southeast Asia, the MiddleEast, and Latin America.

port navigation along the NortheastPassage. The Altair entered flight tests inJuly 2016, according to officials repre-senting Russia’s Republic of Tatarstan.Journalists took several pictures of theUAV at KAPO aerodrome in Kazan, in-cluding a photograph of the second fly-ing prototype in an Arctic livery. Seriesproduction should begin in 2018.

High-altitude systemsOne project to create a Russian high-altitude UAV is currently under devel-opment at the Central Aerohydro -dynamic Institute (TsAGI) and Myasi -shchev Design Bureau.

No details are available, but the UAVis assumed to be similar in design to theUS RQ-3, which itself is an alternativeto a stealth high-altitude UAV.

Myasishchev was expected to give re-leased design documentation by late

2015 and started building the first pro-totype in 2016. However, even if every-thing is going to plan, the project willtalk a long time to implement.

Combat unmanned vehiclesSince 2012, Sukhoi has been developingthe Okhotnik heavy reconnaissance/strike UAV. Mikhail Pogosyan, whoheaded the company at the start of theproject, commented at the time that theOkhotnik was to become the first jointproject between Sukhoi and MiG.

The UAV will have a take-off weightof about 20 tons, open sources suggest.It is expected to be an equivalent to theUS-designed Northrop Grumman X-47 and Boeing X-45. Like its Americancounterparts, it will be tailless for re-duced radar cross-section.

In 2014, Oleg Bochkarev, deputychairman of the board of Russia’s

Military-Industrial Commission, said thefirst flight of the UAV was set for 2018.

However, if foreign experience devel-oping such aircraft is anything to go by,even if the 2018 first flight goal is met,full implementation of the project isstill far away.

In the past decade since the conflictbetween Russia and Georgia, theRussian Ministry of Defense has madesignificant progress in equipping theArmed Forces with UAVs. The ministryhas come a long way, from single pur-chases to mass procurement of such air-craft. Currently the Russian armedforces possess more than 2,000 UAVs,and the military has gained significantexperience in operating foreign un-manned systems. This has allowed for abetter understanding of the UAVs’ role inRussia’s defense, and stimulated the de-velopment of domestic equivalents.

An-132D debuting in Le Bourget

The An-132D is poweredby Pratt & WhitneyCanada PW150A engines

Antonov

RUSSIA/CIS OBSERVER № 1 (44) JUNE 201716

Will upgraded fleets leadto price wars?Russian airlines started to expand their fleets as the passenger demand grows

Tatiana Volodina

The average age of Russia’saircraft fleet has slippedfrom 11.2 years at the startof 2016 to 11.6 in 2017,

largely as a consequence of rising leas-ing costs due to a weaker ruble, ob-serves Andrey Kramarenko, a leadingexpert at the Institute for TransportEconomics and Transport PolicyStudies at Russia’s Higher School ofEconomics. The average age trend islikely to continue in the coming years.

The average age of units received in2016 – excluding the re-deliveries ofthe aircraft previously operated of thedefunct Transaero – is 6.5 years. But,with the ex-Transaero aircraft includ-ed, the figure jumps to 8.5 years. Thiscompares to just two years ago, whenthe average age was only 4.5 years andis a trend which suggests a favorable fu-

ture at least for the Russian aircraftMRO industry.

The figures illustrate that the coun-try’s largest carrier Aeroflot remainsthe principal airline to receive new air-craft, while other Russian operatorsacquire brand new aircraft only occa-sionally, and the coming years will seeno change to this trend. In the future,ex-Aeroflot airframes will likely betransferred to its subsidiaries and inparticular to S7 Group, the country’ssecond largest airline.

The fundamental structure of aircraftimports has remained largely un-changed for several years, with Airbusand Boeing contributing some 70% ofthe total airframes received. The re-maining 30% consists of regional air-craft, with that sector experiencing amarket share surge in demand forRussia’s Sukhoi Civil AircraftCompany (SCAC, the manufacturer of

SSJ 100 jet) over the past few years duemainly to governmental incentives.

Although it is expected there will beno significant changes in the deliveriespattern in the coming years, if the ru-ble continues to strengthen making thetourist flow cross over from domesticdestinations to international, then thedemand for widebodied aircraft willstart growing. Russian carriers operat-ed only 79 such aircraft last year,against the previous 58 and 90 in 2015and 2014 respectively. Moreover, withthe strengthening of the ruble, someairlines might consider newer aircraftoperations.

Apart from the 79 widebodied air-craft, Russian airlines collectively op-erated 463 single-aisle and 348 region-al aircraft at of the end of the previousyear. Kramarenko reveals that Soviet-era aircraft carried only two per centof the passengers, with approximately90% carried by Airbus and Boeing air-craft, thus rendering the overall Sovietaircraft replacement potential almostcomplete.

He notes that, in 2016, the Russianmarket returned to the capacitygrowth numbers of middle pre-crisislevels, when airlines were collectivelyreceiving about 100 aircraft per year.“Last year 80% of the new capacitywas subject to mechanistic, uneco-nomic pricing strategies, a develop-ment that will likely mean that, in2017, airlines will be forced to fill theirfleets or leave aircraft on the groundwith all the corresponding losses,” hestresses. Speaking on Russian airlines’fleet growth rate forecasts for the2017-2020 period, Kramarenko stress-es that if Russian airlines adhere to therational market policy, “we can expect

Boeing

Airbus

Bombardier

ATR

Embraer

Sukhoi

Others

41%

29%

11%3%

1%

9%

6%

AIRCRAFT DELIVERIES TO RUSSIA IN 2010-2016,BY MANUFACTURER

Source: www.rusaviainsider.com

AIR TRANSPORT

RUSSIA/CIS OBSERVER № 1 (44) JUNE 2017 17

AIR TRANSPORT

net fleet growth of about 30-40 air-frames of any size per year”.

However, despite the mass aircraftphase-out of the previous years – dur-ing which almost 20% of the country’stotal capacity was removed – opera-tors have nevertheless ramped up theiraircraft capacity too quickly. “This isan irrational capacity managementstance whereby the carriers have start-ed hastily buying new aircraft to meetthe demand – instead of calmly mak-ing money steadily”, Kramarenkowarns. The worst-case scenario couldlead to a fleet growth of 50-60 air-frames (phase-out numbers not in-cluded).

Preliminary estimates show that,despite the end of the economic reces-sion, Russia’s GDP in 2017 will growby 0-2%, with passenger consumer de-mand likely to grow by 2-3%, substan-tially less than the anticipated aircraftcapacity growth. The previous years’scenario – with a 15% passenger traf-

fic growth – “might only lead to pricedumping”.

The indicators are that the marketsituation will strongly reflect onAeroflot remaining the biggest playerand on its policy towards its daughtercompany Rossiya which, in 2016 to-gether with Vim Airlines, introducedthe most aircraft. “These airlines aremost likely to be the main drivers forexcess capacity generation next yearand maybe in the coming years and thiswill result in price wars among the air-lines and also between airlines and therail services”, Kramarenko adds. Thelargest Russian operator is readying fora new round of price wars, having will-ingly or unwillingly combined Rossiyawith the defunct Transaero airlines.

Valery Okulov, Russia’s DeputyMinister of Transport, has said that theaverage aircraft acquisition rate amongRussian operators is about 60-70 air-frames per year. With substitutions in-cluded, the average annual number of

deliveries is estimated at 75-85 aircraft.Two thirds of these units are either inthe 50-110- or 140-220-seat categories.Up to 2035, it is expected that Russianairlines will collectively receive up to2000 airframes, of which up to 1300will offer mainline services.

Meanwhile, according to the UnitedAircraft Corporation, the next surge indemand for wide-bodied aircraft is ex-pected in seven to 10 years. Accordingto Engineering Holding, Russia’s largestMRO provider, the country’s wide-bod-ied and long-haul fleet will almost dou-ble by 2020. The company also expectsthat carriers will phase out all Boeing737 Classics over the next five years.

Russia’s Ministry of Transportationnotes that the world trend for the aver-age aircraft lease period now stands at7-12 years. This is because new-gener-ation aircraft have longer key check in-tervals, a factor which will also influ-ence developments in the Russian avi-ation market.

The average age of aircraft receivedby Russian carriers in 2016 is 8.5 years

Fyodor Boriso

v / Tran

sport-p

hoto.com

RUSSIA/CIS OBSERVER № 1 (44) JUNE 201718

AIR TRANSPORT

Artyom Korenyako

Thus far, three Russian inter-national airports have im-plemented Open Skiesregimes, but their results

have not been immediately impressive.Other airports are also considering theoption – although the Russian author-ities are urging operators to make thor-ough calculations first.

Vladivostok was the pioneer airport ininstituting an Open Skies regime inRussia. Having been constructed fiveyears ago, timed to coincide with the2012 Asia-Pacific EconomicCooperation Summit, the new gatewaywas designed to process 1,360 passen-gers per hour, or 3.5 million a year.Bearing in mind the fact that Russia’sFar-Eastern Federal District is thehome for less than five per cent of thecountry’s overall population, a more ef-ficient mechanism was needed to stim-ulate a faster return on investment andOpen Skies was seen as the solution tofill the comprehensively redesignedVladivostok airport with passengers.The Russian Ministry of Transportationthus made an unprecedented decisionin 2011: to allow foreign airlines to op-

erate international flights to the city, in-cluding fifth-freedom services.

The Far East experience Initially, Russia’s Ministry ofTransportation was eager to clear anyforeign airline for flights to and fromVladivostok, i.e. within the establishedthird- and fourth-freedoms of the air.The airport administration had antici-pated that, in the event of a successfulimplementation of all stages of theOpen Skies project (including issues re-lated to Customs and immigrationclearances), that passenger traffic at thehub would almost double. The airportprojected that foreign airlines wouldlaunch new destinations to Taiwan, thePhilippines, Indonesia, Malaysia,India, Australia, the USA and Canada,as well as increase numbers of frequen-cies and extend the geography of flightsto China, Japan, South Korea,Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand.

But the plan failed. Compared to2011, when Vladivostok airport regis-tered 1.46 million passengers, in 2016the hub served a modest 1.85 million,just 30% more. Unsurprisingly, in early2014, Igor Lukishin, the general direc-tor of the airport, sounded less enthusi-

astic about the role and place of OpenSkies in the hub’s life. “Many peopleanticipated a surge in the airport’s per-formances related to the Open Skiesproject, but I prefer to be more realisticabout these things. The gateway isclosely connected with the area.Passengers travel to the Primorsky Krai(Russia’s Far East region – ed.) ratherthan to just the airport, be that for busi-ness or recreational purposes. What isimportant is that we see growth – andthat it is steady,” said Lukishin.

The airport official noted that theproject has already provided the elimi-nation of commercial restrictions forforeign airlines. However, apart fromSouth Korea, Russian airlines have notbeen granted the same kind of privileges.“To change the situation, new air serviceagreements will be required as the exist-ing ones limit the number of frequen-cies, slots, carriers, regular capacitiesand parties of charter flight operations.Apart from that, Russian air carriers aresubject to domestic restrictions in termsof being cleared for international flights.So, at this moment, the current status ofthe Open Skies program does not allowfor the full extent of its potential andmakes the entire project less attractivefor airlines,” he added.

The sky over the Black SeaAfter the 2014 Winter Olympics anOpen Skies regime was also introducedat the renovated airport of Sochi on theRussian Black Sea shore. A year beforethe event, the gateway’s capacity wasincreased to 2,500 passengers per hour(mobilized to 3,800 during theOlympics). Last year the invigoratedhub airport served a record-breaking5.3 million passengers (29% up on2015 and 68% up on 2014) and becameRussia’s fifth largest airport in terms of

Sky arithmeticfor Russian airports

Five years after theAsia-Pacific Summit,the new terminal at

Vladivostok isemploying only half

of its designedcapacity

Leonid Fae

rberg / Transp

ort-p

hoto.com

RUSSIA/CIS OBSERVER № 1 (44) JUNE 2017 19

AIR TRANSPORT

passenger traffic. But this success canhardly be attributed to the Open Skiesregime. Instead, the growing perform-ances of the Sochi gateway have, to acertain extent, been determined by acombination of bans imposed onflights to popular foreign leisure desti-nations, Turkey and Egypt, along withother factors including ruble depreci-ation and overseas travel restrictionsfor employees of Russian securityagencies. Nonetheless, the official re-sponse of Basel Aero’s press office (theoperating company of Sochi Airport)states that the positive effects of theOpen Skies regime should not be un-derestimated.

The Open Skies regime was intro-duced at Sochi in autumn 2014 forthree IATA seasons (winter 2014-2015, summer 2015 and winter 2015-2016) and, on May 31, 2016, the air-port was informed about its prolonga-tion until summer 2017. In 2015,flights within the program were per-formed by three carriers: Mahan Air(Iran), Turkish Airlines and SCAT.Last year four more – Qeshm Airlinesand Meraj Airlines (both Iran), IsrAir(Israel) and SkyBus (Kazakhstan) –joined the list. Finally, in February thisyear German company CondorAirlines accomplished a program ofcharter flights to Sochi, a developmentmade possible by Open Skies.

Basel Aero emphasizes that it worksnon-stop on enhancing the effective-ness of the Open Skies regime at Sochi.“However, the visa issue – the priceand the lengthy application procedure– hinders the growth of incomingtourism,” a statement points out. Theintroduction of a 72-hour visa-freeregime would give the local air servicemarket a timely impetus. Experts havealready calculated that the introduc-tion of a visa-free regime at someRussian airports would increase thenumber of incoming foreign passen-gers travelling by air by as much as 5-8million annually.

The Baltic says helloKhrabrovo Airport at Kaliningrad is thethird Russian hub to have embraced an

Open Skies regime. The RussianTransport Ministry granted the status tothe country’s westernmost gateway inDecember 2014. Initially, it wasplanned to be active for only three sea-sons – summer 2015, winter 2015-2016and summer 2016 – but later, theregime was prolonged until the end of2017.

In November last year, AlexanderKopytin, the airport’s general director,revealed in an interview with theInterfax news agency that the Open

Skies project had turned out to begroundbreaking. “We were given a greatfavor [with this extension] despite noairline having used it in the previoustwo years. That does not mean that theprogram has no future, quite the oppo-site. Although it can only be tied to for-eign air carriers which will start to comeback to us as we approach the 2018 FIFA World Cup”, he said. Last yearKaliningrad Airport registered 1.57million passengers, up 7.6 and 1.8 percent compared to figures in 2014 and2015 respectively. International trafficthrough Khrabrovo in 2016 dropped by57% year-on-year in 2015 and totalled62,400 people (or four per cent of thetotal passenger traffic).

ContendersIn the past, several other Russian air-ports have shown interest in the OpenSkies regime, including Emelyanovo

(Krasnoyarsk) and Novy (Khabarovsk),both of which are in the process of ac-tively upgrading their infrastructure.Evidently, the most active among themis Pulkovo Airport at St. Petersburg,which is rightly concerned about thegrowing market share influence of theMoscow air cluster, a factor which haslead to less investment in infrastructureat regional airports.

Pulkovo would certainly like to seeair space and visa regulations liberal-ized. Considering the Open Skies

regime has already been introduced atVladivostok, Sochi and Kaliningrad,the St Petersburg airport administrationthinks it would be fair to do the samethere. But in 2015, Pulkovo was refusedthe special status – instead, the city wasencouraged to use the resources of itsbase carrier Rossiya for the develop-ment of the airport.

In early 2017 Alexander Neradko,head of the Russian Air TransportAgency (Rosaviatsia), said that any de-cision about an Open Skies regimeshould be preceded by a thoroughanalysis of a potential outcome that itmight produce over the air service mar-ket. “The thing is that the examples ofVladivostok, Sochi and Kaliningraddemonstrated no significant increase inpassenger traffic or number of foreignairlines,” he explained.

Read the full version at www.rusaviainsider.com

Pulkovo Airport is pinning its hopes onliberalization of air space regulations and the

introduction of a visa-free regime

Tran

sport-p

hoto.com

RUSSIA/CIS OBSERVER № 1 (44) JUNE 201720

AIR TRANSPORT

Russian Aviation Insider provides the globalaerospace community with timely and reliablebusiness news, insights and analysis on commercialaviation in Russia and the other post-Soviet states.Powered by Air Transport Observer (ATO.ru),Russia & CIS’ premier information provider oncommercial aviation with a 20-year legacy, RussianAviation Insider is an invaluable tool both forbusinesses already present in the CIS and thoselooking to enter the region’s air transport market.

RusAviaInsider.com

Bookmark it now

@RusAviaInsider www.facebook.com/rusaviainsiderplus.google.com

DIRECT ACCESS TO RUSSIAN & CIS CIVIL AVIATION INSIGHTSIN A LANGUAGE YOU UNDERSTAND

Moscow-based lessor IlyushinFinance Co. (IFC) has leased

two Bombardier Q400 regional turbo-props to Kenyan low-cost carrier(LCC) Jambojet, a subsidiary of KenyaAirways. This is the Russian company’sfirst contract involving Western-builtaircraft.

The deal was struck shortly after IFCfirmed up one of its five Q400 optionsand added it to its single firm order for

the type. The first aircraft was deliveredto the customer in May.

“The agreement for these next-gen-eration turboprops signifies a key devel-opment in IFC’s international leasingbusiness,” Alexander Rubtsov, thelessor’s general director, commented.“The demand for high-performanceturboprops like the Q400 continues togrow, and we are happy to enter intothis lease deal with Jambojet.”

Willem Hondius, the Hambojet CEO,had this to say: “We are impressed withthe level of professionalism that IFC ex-hibited throughout the process leadingup to this first agreement.”

The second airframe is planned to bedelivered before the end of this year.The two aircraft will bring the totalBombardier Q-series fleet on theAfrican continent up to 120 (this in-cludes 70 Q400 airliners).

“We are proud of the Q400 aircraft’scontinued success in Africa,” com-mented Jean-Paul Boutibou, Bombar -dier Commercial’s vice-president forsales in the Middle East and Africa.“Jambojet’s operations illustrate thecapabilities and qualities of the Q400aircraft that make it uniquely suitablefor the region.”

Jambojet was created less than twoyears ago, and operates flights fromKenya’s capital city Nairobi to domesticdestinations. The airline’s fleet compris-es two Q400s and two Boeing 737s.

IFC leases its first foreign-built aircraft

The first IFC-leased Q400 wasdelivered to Jambojet in May

IFC

РЕ

КЛ

АМ

А

|

AD

VE

RT

ISIN

G

RUSSIA/CIS OBSERVER № 1 (44) JUNE 2017 21

Difficult yearfor Russian space sector

Igor Afanasyev, Dmitry Vorontsov

For the Russian space sector,2016 proved to be one of themost difficult years in thepast several decades. For the

first time in 13 years, the country lostits leading position on the space launchmarket, falling behind China and theUS. Of the 85 launches performedglobally, Russia accounted only for 17.The country’s share of the space launchmarket dropped from 33.72% to22.09%, even with the two Soyuzlaunches from the Guiana SpaceCenter figured in.

The drop in launch activity wascaused by several factors. First, Russiahad completed the creation of its navi-gation and communication satelliteconstellations, and their replenishmentnow only requires rare individuallaunches.

Second, the number of commerciallaunches had gone down noticeably:following a number of accidents involv-ing Russian launch vehicles in the pre-

vious years, some customers switchedto SpaceX and Arianespace as theirservice providers.

Third, a number of launches hadbeen postponed due to the delayedadoption of the federal space programfor 2016-2025 (FSP 2025) and also be-cause of cuts to the space budget. Infact, the entire national space launchprogram for the second half of 2016 haddegraded to five service missions to theInternational Space Station (ISS).

Serious problems involving the qual-ity of Russian space equipment alsotook their toll. A new analysis of the re-sults of random tests on second-stageengines for the Proton-M launch vehi-cle revealed the use of an inferior sol-dering alloy. As a result, RoscosmosState Corporation decided to recall 71engines of the rocket’s second and thirdstages for inspections and repairs.Proton launches were effectively sus-pended until the summer of 2017.

Despite the downbeat end of theyear, 2016 in general was not that badfor the industry, particularly its begin-

ning. Four Russian spacecraft werelaunched into orbit: the Soyuz TMA-20M, the Soyuz MS, the Soyuz MS-02and the Soyuz MS-03. An importantachievement was the beginning of op-erations of the Soyuz MS, the latestmodification of this manned spacecraftseries with an all-digital control system.

Another milestone came in the formof the first launch from Russia’s newVostochny Cosmodrome. On April 28,2016 a Soyuz-2.1a successfully insertedthree satellites into orbit: theLomonosov scientific vehicle, the Aist-2D Earth remote sensing probe, andthe SamSat-2018 student nanosatellite.

From the technical standpoint, thislaunch became an important break-through in the national satellite con-struction sector: the orbiting of theAist-2D gave Russia its first small-sizedremote-sensing probe with high-reso-lution equipment (1.5 to 2 m in thepanchromatic range). This miniatur-ized satellite weighs not more than 530kg; to compare, relatively recently theonly Russian space vehicle with com-

Leonid Fae

rberg / Transp

ort-P

hoto.com

SPACE BUSINESS

RUSSIA/CIS OBSERVER № 1 (44) JUNE 201722

SPACE BUSINESS

parable operational parameters wouldweigh in at around six tons!

The operation of Vostochny will con-tinue in 2017: the cosmodrome is ex-pected to be used for two launches thisyear, and the annual launch rate is setto grow gradually.

The Resurs P No 3 optoelectronicEarth observation satellite was orbitedon March 13. Together with its two sib-lings, which had been launched previ-ously, it is part of a constellation of civilobservation satellites capable of takingphotographs of super-high spatial reso-lution (better than 1 m). On March 24,the Bars-M No 2 military mappingsatellite was orbited. This, in combina-tion with the Persona, Kanopus-V, andAist-2D satellites already in orbit,makes the Russian Earth observationconstellation one of the most powerfulin the world.

The Russian-EU ExoMars 2016project got off to a successful start: onMarch 14, a Proton-M vehicle with aBriz-M booster put a probe consistingof two main modules (the Trace GasOrbiter, TGO, and the Entry, Descentand Landing Demonstrator Module,EDM) onto a trajectory to Mars. TheTGO houses four primary scientific in-struments, two of which, created withactive participation of the RussianSpace Research Institute, and are in-tended for studying the gas composi-

tion of the Martian atmosphere. Equalparticipation in the ExoMars projectgives Russia the opportunity to conductinternational-level interplanetary re-search.

Russian engine builders managed toexpand their presence on the globalmarkets: deliveries of 390-ton-thrustRD-180 engines for US Atlas V launchvehicles continued, and on October 10,two new NPO Energomash RD-181engines, with 196 tons of thrust each,blasted off as part of an Antares 230rocket. The design documentation wasreleased in 2014, and the first benchtest followed in May 2015, after whichfour RD-181s were shipped to the cus-tomer. In March 2016, Orbital АТК,Antares 230 manufacturer, decided tofirm up its option first for eight, andthen for 14 such engines, to be deliv-ered in 2017-18.

In another positive development firetests began on the 40-ton RD162SDdemonstrator (also known as theRD0162D2A) developed by Voronezh-based Chemical Automatics DesignBureau. The engine runs on liquid oxy-gen and methane. The bench prototypeis a scaled-down version of the RD0162reusable engine with over 200 t thrust.

In a milestone development for theRussian rocket and space industry,Russia adopted the federal space pro-gram through 2025. Despite the spacebudget having been cut from the origi-nal 2.8 trillion rubles ($49 billion) to1.4 trillion, the program still lists thekey applied and scientific researchprojects. The document calls for thecontinuation of work on the ISS projectand for further expanding the station’sRussian segment. Unfortunately, someof the projects related to unmannedflights to the Moon and Mars were ex-cluded from the program, as was thecreation of a superheavy launch vehiclefor Lunar flights. Instead, a version ofthe Angara-A5V will be developed,possibly to be used in the initial phaseof the new Lunar program.

Another remarkable 2016 event wasthe signing of a government contractworth around 58 billion rubles betweenRoscosmos and Energia Corporation

for the development and testing of theFederation PPMS. The flight tests willbe implemented in three stages: an un-manned flight to the Earth orbit in2021; an unmanned flight and dockingto the ISS in 2023; and a manned flightand docking to the ISS, also in 2023.

Russian rocket builders announcednew projects last year, including for amedium-class launch vehicle to be cre-ated as part of Project Feniks. The newrocket is expected to be able to insert 16to 17 tons of payload into low-Earth or-bit and up to 5 t into geostationarytransfer orbit. Its first stage could beequipped either with a single 740-tonRD-171M engine or with two RD-180s. The vehicle is to be jointly devel-oped by Progress Rocket Space Center(the lead developer), KhrunichevCenter, Makeyev Rocket DesignBureau, and Energia Corporation.

Feniks is to enter flight tests by 2022.It is intended for the revived SeaLaunch project (it was bought byRussia’s S7 Group) and also as thefirst-stage module for the future super-heavy launch vehicle intended forLunar and Martian missions.

Khrunichev presented projects tocreate the light and medium versions ofthe Proton-M launch vehicle. The de-cision was made to go with the mediumvariant for the time being, which will beable to insert around 5 t of payload intogeotransfer orbit. Seeing as lower-weight (between 3 and 5 tons) telecomsatellites are now entering the market,the rocket will enable launch operatorInternational Launch Services to retainand even expand its share of the com-mercial launch market.

Samara-based Progress Rocket andSpace Center announced a project todevelop the Soyuz-2LK light vehicle,which is to be less expensive than thecurrent Soyuz-2 thanks to the absenceof a third stage, which will be replacedwith the Fregat booster. The rocket willbe able to insert significantly heaviersatellites into sun-synchronous orbitthan the Angara-1.2 and the Soyuz-2.1v: 2 and 3.85 t, depending on thelaunch site location and the orbit pa-rameters.

�China

USA

Russia

Europe (Arianespace)

India

Japan

Israel

North Korea

4

1

1

7

22

22

17

11

SPACE LAUNCHES IN 2016

RUSSIA/CIS OBSERVER № 1 (44) JUNE 2017 23

SPACE BUSINESS

Igor Afanasyev, Dmitry Vorontsov

In February, the steering commit-tee of Russia’s Roscosmos StateCorporation approved the newdevelopment strategy through

2025 and development roadmap through2030. The new strategy is to ensure theindustry’s progressive development inthe country’s interests. This is to beachieved through mobilizing internal re-serves, generating new ideas, and availingof the opportunities provided by the in-ternational and domestic markets.

Roscosmos General Director IgorKomarov commented that the Russianspace industry’s development shouldfocus on commercialization of spaceservices, boosting the efficiency of theInternational Space Station (ISS) op-erations, and improving the quality oflaunch vehicles and space vehicles.

The strategy calls for Roscosmos’revenues to grow 1.85 times by 2030 ascompared to the 2017 level. The shareof the corporation’s revenue on theglobal available market is projected togrow from the current 4.8% to 9.5%.The share of revenues generated by ex-tra-budgetary projects is to increasefrom 25% in 2017 to 50% by 2030.

Russia is to retain a 25% share of thespace launch market, generating $2.8billion in revenues annually. The strat-egy particularly stresses the need for in-creasing the reliability of launch vehi-cles and the quality of spacecraft. By2030, the reliability of launches is tohave grown from the current 93% to99%; the service life of low-orbit satel-lites is to reach 10 years, and that ofgeostationary spacecraft, 15 years.

Roscosmos is planning to increase itspresence in a number of new market seg-ments: to 4.0% in the Earth remote sens-ing segment, which translates to $2.9 bil-

lion in revenues; to 20% in the manufac-ture of automated satellites ($2.2 bil-lion); and to 26.6% in mobile satellitecommunications ($1.8 billion). Russia’sshare in the ISS project, and in providingcrew rotation services, is to grow from 20to 23% ($2.2 billion). The greatestgrowth is expected in the navigationservices and equipment sector, from thecurrent 0.1% to 7.0% ($9.6 billion).

Advanced technologies are to be de-veloped in several segments. In the fu-ture, automated devices are to be usedfor servicing satellites in orbit; there areplans for creating constellations of small-sized spacecraft with the functionality oflarge satellites; and the industry is to de-velop competencies in additive technolo-gies with the use of materials returnedfrom space. In the manned spaceflightsegment, the document calls for devel-oping crew protection methods againstprolonged exposure to radiation; for cre-ating life support and autonomous med-ical and biological systems that could op-erate for prolonged periods of time in in-creased radiation environments; for thedevelopment of robotized devices incor-

porating AI elements; and for advancesin 3D bioprinting. The document alsocalls for testing nuclear energy technolo-gies in space as a step toward long-dis-tance interplanetary flights.

The priority space activity segments areautomated communications satellites,Earth remote sensing probes, navigationspacecraft, and scientific research. Onlyafter these does the strategy mentionmanned spaceflight and launch vehicles.

By the year 2020, the Russian orbitalconstellation will comprise 31 commu-nications satellites, including high-en-ergy vehicles with broadband accessand back-to-back relay. Their numberwill have grown to 43 by 2025 and to 46by 2030, including mobile satellitecommunications vehicles serving massconsumers and new-generation re-peater satellites. A throughput capacitygrowth of nearly 20 times is expected:from 3.3 Gigabit to 60 Gigabit per day.

The Earth remote sensing constella-tion is to comprise 17 vehicles by 2020,including weather satellites in highly el-liptical orbits for Arctic observations andfor all-weather surveillance with the use

New strategy for Russia’sspace industry

The core ofRussia’s futuremannedspaceflightprogram will beparticipation inthe ISS program

NASA

RUSSIA/CIS OBSERVER № 1 (44) JUNE 201724

of S-band radars. The figure is to reach22 by 2025, and the constellation’s func-tions are to be expanded to include full-scale weather support, highly detailedsurveillance in the visible band, and all-weather surveillance in the S and Х radarbands. By 2030, the constellation’s func-tionality is to further expand to includeemergency surveillance in visible and in-frared bands. Spatial resolution is to beincreased from 0.9 to 0.4 m for the visibleband and from 200 to 30 m for infrared.

The GLONASS constellation is to ex-pand from 24 to 30 satellites, and the po-sitioning accuracy is to be boosted fromthe current 2.7 m to 0.6 m globally and0.1 m for Russia. The plan calls for in-creasing the signal availability in adverseconditions from 49% globally and 78%for Russia to 65% and 92%, respectively.New Glonass-K2 and Glonass-VKKsatellites are to enter service by 2025, andare to completely replace the vehicles ofthe previous generations by 2030.

The strategy also calls for launchingthe Spektr-UF and Spektr-RG spaceobservatories, which are to join theSpektr-R lab that has been in orbitsince 2011. The lunar program will in-volve the launching of a Luna-Glob or-biter, two Luna-Resurs landers, andone Luna-Grunt sample return vehicle.The Arka and Rezonans-MKO small-sized satellites will be launched to con-duct scientific research of the Sun and

of the solar-terrestrial relationship.Russia will also continue to participatein the ExoMars interplanetary mission.

The core of the country’s mannedspaceflight program will be its participa-tion in the ISS program. In 2020-25, theRussian ISS segment is to support sci-entific research and experiments (30%of the total workload), testing of criticaltechnologies (25%), and other experi-ments (45%). The latter will includegrowing large superpure semiconductorcrystals and a number of commercial ex-periments sponsored by government andcommercial organizations.

The key objective of the manned partof the strategy will be to minimize gov-ernment spending at the expense ofcommercial profits, for which purposeservices are planned to be provided topartner nations in the form of deliver-ing their astronauts and freights to theISS. Boosting the efficiency of theRussian segment is to be achieved bothby way of increasing the effectiveness ofits use and by way of cutting the stationservicing costs. The share of importantapplied experiments is to be increased,and the number of program partici-pants with “new ideas” expanded.

The document calls for introducingprivate-public partnership practices tothe commercial operation of the ISSand the transportation system, e.g. byestablishing a dedicated operator.

A Russian scientific module will besent to the ISS by the end of 2018, fol-lowed by another two before 2020. Bythat time, the future of Russia’s partici-pation in the program needs to have beendecided. The ISS program has been ap-proved through 2024; should internation-al collaboration cease beyond that date,the possibility cannot be ruled out thatRussia will undock its national segmentand continue to operate it autonomously.

Russia will continue to use the Soyuz-2 series of light and medium launch ve-hicles. New launch vehicle projects in-clude a medium rocket under develop-ment as part of the Project Feniks effortto create a superheavy rocket. Three ver-sions are planned: one to be launchedfrom the Russo-Kazakh Baiterek launchpad at Baikonur Cosmodrome (with thefirst launch set for 2021), another one forSea Launch (the first launch is plannedfor 2022), and the third one intended forRussia’s new Vostochny Cosmodrome.In the latter case, the Feniks is set to liftoff from the site for superheavy rockets,which is expected to have been built by2034. Also at Vostochny, flight tests of asuperlight rocket are expected to begin in2028, and tests of a light launch vehiclewith a reusable first stage from 2031.Launches of Soyuz-2 medium rocketswill continue from Baikonur andPlesetsk. Heavy Proton vehicles will bephased out in late 2025.

SPACE BUSINESS

Russia’s heavy Proton vehicles will bephased out in late 2025Russia’s heavy Proton vehicles will bephased out in late 2025

ESA–Stephan

e Corvaja

РЕКЛАМА | ADVERTISING

РЕКЛАМА | ADVERTISING