take off iss. 30

8/9/2019 take off iss. 30

1/48Sukhoi Superjet 100: a year in Mexican skies[p.22]

Il-76MD-90Aprogramme

progress[p.36]

Mi-28NEexport

kicking off[p.20]

Angara LVfirst blastoff

[p.42]

for RusAF and PLAAF

november 2014 Special edition for Airshow China 2014

SSuu 5-35[p.12]


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tisement


4/48

Dear reader,

You are holding a new issue ofthe Take-Off magazine, a special

supplement to Russian monthly national

aerospace magazine VZLET, that has

been timed with Airshow China 2014.

By tradition, the aerospace exhibition

in Zhuhai has been attended bynumerous Russian participants and businessmen. Small wonder, because

the Russian-Chinese aerospace cooperation has been given a strong

impetus over the past more than 20 years. As a result, China has become

in 1990s a top importer of Russian aircraft, first and foremost, Sukhoi jets.

Today, the Russian-made Sukhoi Su-27SK/UBK and Su-30MKK fightersare the mainstay of PLAAFs new-generation fighter fleet while two dozens

Su-30MK2s serve with PLANAF. Moreover, Chinas own aerospace

plants have mastered Su-27SKs license production. The next step will

be a contract for deliveries of the advanced Sukhoi Su-35 multirolesupermanoeuvrable fighters to be signed in the nearest future.

Aero engines deliveries also have been high on the priority list of theRussian-Chinese aviation cooperation, with these turbofans powering

both Russia-supplied and advanced indigenous Chinese fighters, the J-10

and FC-1 (JF-17), prototypes of Chinese 5th generation fighters, the J-20

and J-31, as well as Chinese brand-new heavy transport aircraft, the Y-20

debuting at Airshow China 2014. Russian experts also consult their

Chinese counterparts developing new aircraft with advanced ChineseL-15 and L-7 trainer aircraft among them.

However, the Russian-Chinese cooperation does not limit itself to

fixed-wing aircraft. China operates more then a hundred Russian-made

Mil Mi-17 and Mi-171 helicopters and deliveries go on. Russian-made

Mi-26TC heavylifters have got a great success here in firefighting andrescue operations. Recently China received new batches of Kamov

Ka-28, Ka-31 and Ka-32A11BC helicopters. So, the cooperationhas been on the rise, with new contracts for aircraft deliveries

and joint projects development to be placed in the future. One of

the most promising projects of such joint programmes could become

a prospective widebody airliner which Russian and Chinese engineersare going to develop together.

I wish all participants and guests of Airshow China 2014 to meet their

partners, establish useful links and snag lucrative contracts.

Sincerely,

Andrey Fomin,

Editor-in-Chief,Take-off magazine

News items are prepared by editorial staff based on reports of our

special correspondents as well as press releases of production companies

Aeromedia, 2014

P.O. Box 7, Moscow, 125475, RussiaTel. +7 (495) 644-17-33, 798-81-19Fax +7 (495) 644-17-33E-mail: [email protected]

November 2014

Editor-in-ChiefAndrey Fomin

Deputy Editor-in-ChiefVladimir Shcherbakov

Editor, air transport section

Artyom Korenyako

Editor, avionics and weapons sectionsYevgeny Yerokhin

ColumnistAlexander Velovich

Special correspondentsAlexey Mikheyev, Victor Drushlyakov,Andrey Zinchuk, Ruslan Denisov,Alexey Prushinsky, Sergey Krivchikov,Anton Pavlov, Alexander Manyakin,Yuri Ponomarev, Yuri Kabernik,Marina Lystseva, Natalya Pechorina,Sergey Popsuyevich, Piotr Butowski,Alexander Mladenov, Miroslav Gyurosi

Design and pre-pressMikhail Fomin

TranslationYevgeny Ozhogin

Cover pictureAlexey Mikheyev

Publisher

Director GeneralAndrey Fomin

Deputy Director GeneralNadezhda Kashirina

Marketing DirectorGeorge Smirnov

Business Development DirectorMikhail Fomin

Special Projects DirectorArtyom Korenyako

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.


5/48take-off november 2014 www . t ake -o f f . r u22

c o n t e n t s

MILITARY AVIATION

Su-30SM for Russian Naval Aviation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

New Sukhoi jets from Amur shores for Russian Air Force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Su-34: half-hundred advanced tactical bombers already in service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

New MiGs for Russian armed forces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Defence Ministry taking delivery of second Tu-214ON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Landing on motorway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Cadets learning to fly Ansat-U. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Russian Air Force fielding Su-35. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

CONTRACTS AND DELIVERIES

The fourth Il-96 for Cuba. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Angara enhances its An-148 fleet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Red Wings to beef up its Tu-204 fleet with Superjets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

SSJ100 for Russian Emergencies Ministry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Mi-28NE: export kicking off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

COMMERCIAL AVIATION

SSJ100: a year in Mexican skies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Alexander Rubtsov: IFCs Chinese Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

INDUSTRY

MC-21: prototypes manufacturing begins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

PD-14: testing goes on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Fourth Mi-38 commences tests. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

The first Taganrog-built Be-200 to be ready in 2014. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Mi-171A2 starting its flight trials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Mi-26T2 production kicks off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Antonov starts first An-178 assembly. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

SATELLITE electronic countermeasures equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Il-76MD-90A: first production-standard airlifter got airborne. . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Yuri Guskov: Phazotron-NIIR ready to offer active phased-array radar

cooperation to Chinese partners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Chinese vector of MOTOR SICH. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

COSMONAUTICS

Angaras first blastoff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4242

November 2014

20

12

36

22

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7/48take-offnovember 2014 www . t ake -o f f . r u

m i l i t a r y a v i a t i o n | n e w s

4

On 19 July 2014, the Irkut corpora-

tion delivered three Sukhoi Su-30SM

two-seat supermanoeuvrable multirole

fighters built by the Irkutsk Aviation

Plant for the air arm of the Russian

Navy. On the same day, they headed

off from Irkutsk to their new station,the Russian Naval Aviation Combat

Training and Conversion Centre in the

town of Yeisk, Krasnodar Territory. The

aircraft, serialled 35, 36 and 37 after

having been painted, have been made

and factory-tested in May and June

this year and become the first ones

built under the contract for five Naval

Aviation-designed Su-30SMs, landed

by Irkut in December 2013.

The three Su-30SMs delivery to

the Russian Naval Aviation Combat

Training and Conversion Centre in

Yeisk is the first step towards the

conversion of several Russian Naval

Aviation units to the type. When the

first contract for five aircraft of the

type was ordered by the Russian Navy

last year, it was reported that new

contracts were being mulled over for

a total of 50-plus Su-30SMs designed

to oust the obsolete Su-24 tactical

bombers and Su-27 fighters in Naval

Aviation units. At last, 6 September

2014 saw the Defence Ministry and

Irkut make a contract for seven more

Su-30SMs for Naval Aviation during

the Gidroaviasalon 2014 air show in

Gelendzhik. The deal increased the

number of the Navys firm orders for

the type to 12 aircraft.

The Su-30SM is expected to be

fielded by 2015 with the Russian Navy

Black Sea Fleets air arm, where the

replacement of the obsolete Su-24s

has been long overdue. The Baltic

Fleet naval aviators are anticipating the

advanced aircraft too.

At the same time, the Irkut cor-

poration continues to deliver

Su-30SM fighters to RusAF under two

2012-awarded contracts for 60 air-

craft. 16 fighter of the type had been

accepted by the Air Force Training

and Operational Evaluation Centre

in Lipetsk and Domna AFB vic. the

city of Chita by early 2014. 10 more

Su-30SMs had gone to Domna this

year (between late May and late

September), where the composite air

regiment stationed there is having its

second air squadron converted to the

type. The conversion is to be com-

plete by year-end. The Domna-based

regiment has operated as many as

20 Su-30SMs by October 2014.

By November 2014, more than

30 Su-30SM fighters have been built

and flight-tested in the city of Irkutsk

under all of the current contracts, with

17 aircraft having been made and

test-flown since early this year. Irkut

President Oleg Demchenko said early

this year that a total of 21 Su-30SMs

were slated for production for the

Russian Defence Ministry in 2014.

Su-30SM for Russian naval aviation

New Sukhoi jets from Amur shores for Russian Air Force

A handover ceremony for new air-

craft took place at the Sukhoi companys

Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Plant on

10 October 2014, the day of united new

materiel handover regularly held now by

the Russian Defence Ministry. Another

batch of warplanes delivered includ-

ed three Su-35S supermanoeuvrable

single-seat multirole fighters and two

Su-30M2 multirole twin-seaters. They

were delivered to two fighter regimentsin the Russian Far East.

The previous batch of four

Su-30M2s was delivered to RusAF in

Komsomolsk-on-Amur on 5 August

2014. The deliveries are under the

16-aircraft deal struck by Sukhoi and

Defence Ministry in December 2012.

The four August-delivered Su-30M2s

are intended for RusAF units stationed

in the Southern Military District.

The first four Su-30M2s made under

the 2012 contract were delivered and

fielded with three RusAF combat units

in the Southern and Eastern MilitaryDistricts last December. In 2011,

the same units had accepted four

Su-30M2s manufactured under the

contract made in 2009.

Thus, by November 2014, Sukhoi

had delivered to RusAF 14 Su-30M2s

a version of the Su-30MK2 two-seat

multirole fighter tailored to the Defence

Ministry requirements. The Su-30MK2

is widely exported. It is in service

with the air forces of China, Vietnam,

Indonesia, Venezuela and Uganda. The

final Su-30M2s under the current con-

tract are expected to be delivered toRusAF in 2015.

NikolaiBalabayev

YuriK

abernik

YuriKabernik


8/48

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) 721-37-85E-mail: [email protected] www.niip.ru

TO SEE F IRS TTO SEE FIRST

M E NS TO W INMEANS TO WIN

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6

Six Su-34 multirole tactical

bombers were delivered to the

Defence Ministry in a ceremony at

the Sukhoi companys Novosibirsk

Aircraft Plant on 15 October 2014.

The planes were fielded with the

bomber air regiment stationedat Morozovsk AFB in the Rostov

Region, where the previous-gen-

eration Su-24M tactical bomber

fleet is being replaced now.

The Su-34 entered the inven-

tory of the Russian Air Force

under a 20 March 2014 resolution

of the Russian government, thus

having completing the protracted

and complicated development and

testing of the advanced aircraft

that will considerably influence

the future of the tactical aircraft

fleet of the Russian Air Force for

many years to come.

Mention should be made that

the Su-34 is the first advanced

warplane, which acquisition

RusAF has started in the post-

Soviet era. The early production-

standard Su-34s were delivered

to the Defence Ministry in late

2006, but the type had faced sev-

eral years of the official trials yet.

Now, they have been completed,

having proved the full compliance

of the Su-34s characteristics and

combat capabilities with the cus-

tomers requirements specifica-

tion.

The RusAF combat units, which

had earlier operated the Su-24M

tactical bombers, began to con-

vert to the new-generation Su-34s

in 2011. Under the three cur-

rent government-awarded orders,

RusAF shall have received almost

130 aircraft of the type until 2020,with up to 50 having been fielded

to date. After the collapse of the

Soviet Union, the Russian Defence

Ministry has never bought so many

new combat aircraft of any type.

RusAFs overall Su-34 requirement

is estimated at 150200 aircraft,

and, probably, their acquisition

will go on past 2020. Hence, new

governmental orders for the type

could be landed by the end of the

decade.

The first batch of production-standard Su-34 was ordered for

the Defence Ministry in February

2006. In all, Sukhois aircraft in

Novosibirsk made five produc-

tion-standard aircraft under the

contract during 20062009. The

first of them was given to the State

Flight Test Centre in Akhtubinsk inDecember 2006. The second one

went to Lipetsk in August 2007,

followed in December 2008 by

the third aircraft that later joined

the official test programme under

way in Akhtubinsk. The last two

aircraft of the batch were received

in Lipetsk in December 2009. By

then, in December 2008, the cus-

tomer had signed the report on

the first phase of the official trials

that had proven the conformance

of the Su-34s characteristics to

the Air Forces requirements spec-

ification. At the same time, a five-

year deal was clinched by the gov-

ernment and Sukhoi for a 32-ship

batch of Su-34s to be delivered

during 2009 through 2013.

Meanwhile, the official tests car-

ried on. Their second phase, dedi-

cated mostly to testing the whole

weapons suite of the advanced

aircraft, was to be wrapped up.

The final flights under the official

test programmes second phase

took place in April 2011, and

November of the same year saw

the Su-34 development, which

dated back to 1989, completed at

last. The advanced tactical fight-

er-bomber was cleared for f ielding

with RusAFs combat units.

The first four aircraft built under

the 2008 contract were delivered

in December 2010. A decision wasmade to station them in Lipetsk

until the official fulfilment of the

official joint test programme. In

Lipetsk, the planes were used for

the conversion of the flying and

ground crews of the first combat

unit slated for conversion from

the Su-24M to Su-34. At the same

time, the advanced aircraft was

subjected to the operational eval-

uation, and research pilots used

the flights on the type to devise

and test manuals on the war-

planes maintenance and tactics.

The plant in Novosibirsk

churned out six more production-

standard Su-34s in 2011. They

were delivered in December of the

same year and then were ferried

directly to the combat unit sta-

tioned in Voronezh. At the same

time, the first four aircraft went to

the unit too. Thus, there had been

10 production-standard Su-34s in

Voronezh by late 2011.

Then, the Novosibirsk plant

ramped up the Su-34 output, hav-

ing delivered 10 units in 2012 and

14 in 2013. According to RusAF

Commander-in-Chief Lt.-Gen.

Victor Bondarev, the plans for

2014 stipulate the manufacture

of 1618 Su-34 more. The 2008

contract for 32 aircraft was ful-

filled last autumn, and the plant

got down to fulfilling a new orderfor 92 Su-34s until 2020, placed

by Sukhoi in February 2012 the

deal unprecedented in terms of

volume and cost.

In October 2013, the delivery

of the 24th Su-34 to Voronezh

finalised the activation of two air

squadrons there, designed for

conversion to the type. The fol-

low-on aircraft were earmarked

for a next unit, the bomber air

regiment at Morozovsk AFB in

the Rostov Region. The first nine

Su-34s were brought there in

November and December 2013,

including the first two made under

the new 2012 deal.

Six more aircraft of the type

were ferried to Morozovsk AFB in

June and July 2014. The October

delivery of the next six bombers

has brought the number of Su-34s

in the regiments fleet to 21. The

Morozovsk-stationed regiment

shall have completed its conver-

sion to the type by year-end and

will be followed by other RusAF

units still operating the previous-

generation Su-24M.

Su-34: half-hundred advanced tactical bombers already in service

IlyaSo

loviev


10/48

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8

On 14 April 2014, the Russian

Defence Ministry and MiG corporation

(a subsidiary of the United Aircraft

Corporation) made a three-year con-

tract for 16 MiG-29SMT multirole

fighters to be delivered to the Russian

Air Force prior to 2016.At present, RusAF operates a fleet

of 28 MiG-29SMTs and six MiG-29UB

upgraded combat trainers with com-

monised avionics. All of them were

delivered five years ago. The deliv-

ery had been the first acquisition of

new MiG fighters by the Air Force in

more than a decade and a half, with

the preceding delivery of new MiGs

having taken place in distant 1993.

The first two MiG-29SMTs (type 9-19)

were shipped to the Air Force cen-

tre in Lipetsk in February 2009, with

other fighters of the type having been

fielded with the fighter air regiment in

Kursk in the same month. In summer

2009, the regiment had as many as

10 MiG-29SMTs and four upgraded

MiG-29UB two-seaters (type 9-53A).

The unit in Kursk launched scheduled

flight operations on its MiG-29SMT

fighters in July 2009. The rest of the

aircraft were received during December

2009 through January 2010.

Of the 34 aircraft of the type

delivered to RusAF in 20092010,

24 single-seat MiG-29SMTs and four

twinseaters are in service with the

Kursk-based fighter air regiment,

with the Lipetsk-based Training and

Operational Evaluation Centre and

Akhtubinsk-based State Fight Test

Centre each having two MiG-29SMTs

and an upgraded MiG-29UB in their

inventory.

The aircraft have earned recogni-

tion by the flying and ground crews of

the Russian Air Force. The advanced

Zhuk-ME radar, which has ousted the

obsolete N019 from the rest of the

MiG-29 fighters in service with RusAF,

has a range that is almost twice as

long as that of the N019, is made of

up-to-date electronic componentry and

is far lighter and more reliable than its

predecessor. Pilots have praised the

MiG-29SMTs up-to-date display sys-

tem, effective satellite navigation gear,

increased fuel load and mid-air refuel-

ling system. The weapons suite has

been expanded considerably through

beefing the in-service R-27 and R-73

air-to-air missiles up with the advanced

RVV-AE medium-range active radar

homing missiles and an impressive set

of precision-guided weapons designed

to take out ground threats. To cap it all,

the fighter features obvious operating

advantages: the MiG-29SMT is pow-

ered by extended-life RD-33 Series 3

engines and maintained in a new man-

ner on condition.

The fielding of new MiG-29SMTs

with RusAF combat units is likely to

begin in 2015. Having fulfilled the

contract, the MiG corporation, in all

probability, will exhaust the MiG-29

airframe backlog at Production Facility

No. 2 in Moscow and switch to mak-

ing the advanced MiG-35S fighter for

the Air Force.

The current order will enable the

company to face the future with con-

fidence and will serve a good begin-

ning for production of advanced air-

craft, e.g. the MiG-35S, said Deputy

Defence Minister Yuri Borisov.

The MiG-35S is slated for delivery

to the Air Force after 2016. Therefore,

a decision has been made to buy a

batch of MiG-29SMTs now as a quick

fix to maintain the combat readiness of

RusAFs light fighter fleet.

MiG Director General Sergei

Korotkov reminded that the company

continued the MiG-29K/KUB multi-

role fighters delivery to the Russian

Defence Ministry. The first four aircraft

of the type were manufactured and

delivered last year. According to Sergei

Korotkov, his corporation is to deliver

the next 10 MiG-29K/KUB fighters

to the air arm of the Russian Navy

before year-end. The contract for

24 MiG-29K/KUB fighters intended

for the Russian Navy is to be fulfilled

in 2015.

EvgenyVolkov

VladislavDmitrenko

New MiGs for Russian armed forces

Defence Ministry taking delivery of second Tu-214ONThis summer, the Russian Air

Force received the second Tupolev

Tu-214ON aerial surveillance aircraft

to be used under the Open Skies

international programme.

On 4 July 2014 the Tu-214ON(reg. number RF-64525) built by

the Kazan Aircraft Plant (now an

affiliate of Tupolev JSC) under a

contract with Vega JSC (primary

contractor for the development of

the Open Skies airborne surveil-

lance system) flew from Kazan

to its base, Chkalovsky airfield in

the Moscow Region, following its

acceptance by RusAF.

Since last autumn, the Tu-214ON

(RF-64519) has been at Chkalovsky

too. It conducted its first flight inKazan on 1 June 2011, passed its

certification by the IAC Aircraft

Registry and was delivered to the

customer, the Russian Defence

Ministry, on 22 August 2013. The

second Tu-214ON was initially slated

for delivery as far back as 2011, butthe Kazan Aircraft Plant had man-

aged to complete it only by late last

year, with the first flight performed

on 18 December 2013. In January

this year, the aircraft was painted

and delivered in early July following

the completion of the debugging and

acceptance test programme.

Both Tu-214ONs are designed forsurveillance flights under the 1992

Open Skies international treaty pro-

viding for international cooperation in

the monitoring of arms control agree-

ments. The signatories to the treaty

include 34 states. The Tu-214ONs

characteristics as well as the perfor-

mance of its special equipment is far

superior to those of the Tu-154M-LK1(RA-85655) and An-30B aircraft

Russia has used under the Open

Skies programme until recently.


12/48

Phazotron-NIIR Corporation JSC1, Elektricheskiy Pereulok, 123557, Moscow, RussiaTel.: +7 (495) 955-10-01 Fax: +7 (495) 955-11-00www.phazotron.com E-mail: [email protected]

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10

A Russian Air Force Su-25 attack

aircraft landed on a motorway,

rather than an airfield, for the first

time in the services history as part

of a special logistic support exer-

cise staged by the Eastern Military

District on 4 September 2014.The landing on the M-60 Ussuri

federal motorway was performed

by Col. Alexander Zaripov, officer

commanding the 18th Attack Air

Regiment stationed at Chernigovka

AFB in the Russias Far East.

In accordance with the exercise

scenario, the regiment left its airfield

to dodge an attack, with the airbase

later rendered inefficient by aircraft

of the notional enemy. For this rea-

son, a decision was taken to have

the attack aircraft land on a pre-

arranged stretch of the motorway.

A special security detachment was

dispatched to the landing site as part

of a joint vehicular convoy. There

were reports of a command team of

the notional enemy, moving towards

the improvised motorway airfield.

The DO of the attack air regiment

was called to dispatch a task force

to deal with the enemy commandos.

The task force showed up on board

four Mi-8 utility helicopters and was

committed as soon as it landed.

With the notional enemy comman-

dos wiped out, four Su-25s appeared

over the motorway. Following a fly-

over, the planes conducted landing

approach one by one, with the first

three performing a touch-and-go

and the fourth one conducting a

full-fledged landing. While the fourth

Su-25 was taxiing and been ser-

viced, it was being provided close

air support by another attack aircraft

and a pair of Ka-52 helicopters. The

Su-25 departed following its servic-

ing, refuelling and being furnished

with two guided missiles.

Using airfield-capable stretches

of motorways for tactical aircraft

landing and takeoff has been mas-

tered by the Belarus Air Force

quite a long time ago. The exer-

cise including the early land-

ings and takeoffs of a pair of

Su-25UBs took place there as far

back as April 2007. Su-27UBM

and MiG-29UB fighters practised

motorway landing in August 2007.

Now, the Russian Air Force has

started practising motorway land-

ing too.

Ruslan

Denisov

Landing on motorway

Cadets learning to fly Ansat-UThe first group of third-year

cadets of the Syzran-based affiliate

of the Air Force Academy named

after Prof. Zhukovsky and Yuri

Gagarin has completed training in

flying the Ansat-U trainer helicop-

ter that has been supplied to the

Russian Defence Ministry by Kazan

Helicopters (a subsidiary of Russian

Helicopters holding) since 2009,

with 24 machines having been deliv-

ered to Syzran. The Ansat-Us have

been in opeval until recently, flown

by instructor-pilots, while the cadets

trained on obsolete Mi-2s.At long last, the Syzran cadets

started flying the Ansats on 19 May

2014. This year, 29 rookies have

been trained on them, with each

having logged an average of over

130 sorties (almost 48 flight hours).

The total flying hours logged by the

cadets on Ansat-U helicopters dur-

ing their training has accounted for

1,390 h. Next year, they will begin

to learn to fly the Mi-8 and Mi-24

helicopters.

At a meeting of the squadronspersonnel and the manufacturers

representatives in the wake of the

Ansat-U training course, Lt.-Col.

Sergei Spiridonov, OIC of the train-

ing air group, stressed that the

Ansat-U was a manoeuvrable, fastand easy-to-control machine with

sensitive controls and electron-

ic displays customary to youth,

which enabled the latter to learn

quickly how to fly the advance

helicopter and to get top marks

during their training. We expect

six more new machines of the

type in the Air Force training cen-

tre in November, said Lt.-Col.

Spiridonov. Next year, as many as

57 cadets are to be given Ansat-U

flight training, with about 300 tofollow suit in 2016.

DmitryPichugin

DmitryPichugin


14/48

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15/48

The Su-35S single-seat supermanoeuvrable

multirole fighter is the summit of the evolution

of the Su-27 fourth-generation aircraft fam-

ily. The Su-35Ss development involved a wide

range of solutions and technologies used under

the PAK FA (T-50) fifth-generation fighter

development programme. Therefore, despite itsoutward similarity to the ubiquitous Su-27 and

Su-30, the Su-35S is rightfully regarded as an

aircraft featuring radically advanced capabilities,

which attributes it to Generation 4++.

The advanced fighters features setting it

apart from the rest of the Su-27 family are

the latest avionics suite that is based on a

digital information management system and

the advanced Tikhomirov-NIIP Irbis elec-

tronically scanned radar. The latter enjoys the

unique aerial target acquisition range and a

beefed-up simultaneous multiple-target track-

ing and engagement capability (tracking 30 andengaging eight aerial targets or tracking four

and engaging two ground targets).

The flight tests have proven the basic char-

acteristics of the latest electronically scanned

radar, with most of the latters operating modes

having been tested. In particular, test sorties

have proven the unique ability of the Irbis to

acquire threats at a range of more than 400 km.

The avionics suite of the Su-35S also incor-porates an advanced IRST from the Precision

Instrument Systems scientific and production

company, up-to-date navigation and commu-

nication systems and a sophisticated defensive

aids suite comprising missile warning and

laser warning gear in addition to the tradi-

tional radar warning receiver and electronic

countermeasures system. The cockpit man-

agement system comprises two 15-inch colour

multifunction liquid-crystal displays and a

large head-up display.

The fighter is powered by a pair of advanced

enhanced-thrust 14,500-hp extended-life 117Sthrust vector control engines developed by

the Lyulka Scientific and Technical Centre

and produced by UMPO JSC. This, cou-

pled with advanced operating algorithms of

the integrated aircraft control system, allows

supermanoeuvrability in dogfight. Compared

to the Su-27, the Su-35S features an increased

internal fuel capacity, the mid-air refueling

system and drop tanks.

The weapons suite is comprised of both the

in-service smart and dumb air-launched weap-

ons and their modernised variants, with drasti-

cally innovative missiles and smart bombs to be

carried further down the line.

The first two Su-35 prototypes (in export

version) started their flight trials in 2008, and

August 2009 saw the Sukhoi company and

Russian Defence Ministry clinch a long-term

deal for a 48-ship Su-35S batch to be deliv-

ered prior to 2015.The first four production-standard Su-35S

fighters were made by Sukhois Komsomolsk-

on-Amur Aircraft Plant (KnAAZ) and deliv-

ered between May 2011 and March 2012. They

have been undergoing the official tests at the

Defence Ministry State Flight Test Centre in

Akhtubinsk since 2011. Then in December

2012, the Defence Ministry took delivery of

six more production standard aircraft designed

for the test programme and, that completed,

for the conversion of the air crews of RusAF

combat units at the training and opeval cen-

tre in Lipetsk. The planes were ferried fromKomsomolsk-on-Amur to Akhtubinsk during

January through February 2013.

On 10 October 2014, the common day of materiel acceptance by the RussianDefence Ministry, the Sukhoi company delivered three more Su-35S superma-noeuvrable multirole fighters to the Russian Air Force at the Komsomolsk-on-AmurAircraft Plant. Thus, as many as 25 out of the 48 aircraft of the type stipulated bythe contract landed in 2009 have been fielded with combat units. An air squadron

of the 23rd Fighter Air Regiment stationed at Dzyomgi AFB in the KhabarovskTerritory converted to the type in February 2014, and four Su-35S fighters wereferried to the Air Force Training and Operational Evaluation Centre in the city ofLipetsk in late May 2014. Here they are used by the centres personnel to test newtactics being developed for the advanced fighter and also will be used for the train-ing of the flying and ground crews of RusAF combat units converting to the type.

Andrey FOMIN

RUSSIAN AIR FORCE FIELDINGRUSSIAN AIR FORCE FIELDING

Y

uriKabernik

SSuu35S-35S

m i l i t a r y a v i a t i o n | p r o g r a m m e

www. take -o f f . r u12 take-offnovember 2014


16/48

The Su-35S programme features the pro-

ductionising and official trials of the fighter ran

concurrently for the first time. Certain modifi-

cations to the early production-standard aircraft

based on the results produced by the tests were

the unavoidable consequence of that sort of a

payback for haste. Therefore, before fielding the

aircraft, built in 2012, with the Lipetsk unit, they

had had to be modified by the manufacturer

using the latest documentation, under which

12 Su-35S aircraft, earmarked for delivery to

an Air Force fighter air regiment, were made in

Komsomolsk-on-Amur.

The 12 fighters were handed over to the

Russian Defence Ministry in a ceremony held

at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Plant of

the Sukhoi company on 12 February 2014. The

significance of the event was highlighted by

the participation of Russian Defence Minister

Sergei Shoigu, Deputy Defence Minister Yuri

Borisov, Air Force Commander-in-Chief

Lt.-Gen. Victor Bondarev, Khabarovsk ter-

ritory Governor Vyacheslav Shport, UACPresident Mikhail Pogosyan, Sukhoi Director

General Igor Ozar, KnAAZ Director General

Alexander Pekarsh, etc.

10 aircraft from the batch were fielded with the

1st squadron of the 23rd Fighter Air Regiment

stationed at Dzyomgi AFB in Komsomolsk-on-

Amur, Khabarovsk Territory. The remaining two

had flown to Akhtubinsk, where they are used

in the final phase of the official test programme,

with the phase focused on testing advanced

weapons in the first place. Instead of the two air-

craft, the air regiment at Dzyomgi AFB received

two other Su-35S fighters from the batch deliv-

ered in December 2012 and modified by the

manufacturer since February this year.

The squadron launched regular operation

of its advanced Su-35S fighters on 24 March

2014. Prior to that, its air and ground crews had

undergone a programme of conversion to the

type at a Sukhoi facility, and the regiment had

adapted its material and technical resources for

the operation of the advanced type. According

to the Sukhois Su-35 programme director,

chief designer Igor Dyomin, the preparations

had begun as far back as 18 months before the

delivery of the first fighters to the unit. Special

ground test equipment had been ordered and

tested in Akhtubinsk. Electronic tablets with

the operation support software are ready for the

introduction into aircraft maintenance routine

in combat units. An agreement with RusAF

command on the delivery of the advanced

ground support system has been reached, and

the afore-said systems have been ordered for

several units earmarked for the Su-35S. In addi-

tion, a Su-35S integrated flight simulator has

been developed to be fielded at Dzyomgi AFB

and in Lipetsk in the near future.

As Igor Dyomin rightfully mentioned, how-

ever, it is always not so easy for the troops to

learn the ropes on advanced aircraft both due

to numerous organisational problems and to

the need to ensure the reliability of the mostcomplex avionics, which sophistication makes

the Su-35S unique in the Russian Air Force so

far. To resolve the problems effectively, there

are a warranty repair team of the developer,

maintenance kits and a technical support team

at Dzyomgi AFB. The aircraft have been given

a three-year warranty for the first time in this

country. All of the above, coupled with the

decision to field the air regiment, stationed

close to the manufacturer, with Su-35S fight-

ers, facilitates the efficiency of the combat

units learning the advanced fighter. As soon

as April this year, Dzyomgi pilots flew their

Su-35Ss in a very intensive manner, accord-

ing to Igor Dyomin.

The Su-35S faces a long service, while being

at the very beginning of the same. Today, the

fighters of the type operated by combat units can

fight using their basic weapons suites. However,

in line with the concurrent development and

full-rate production concept, advanced types

of air-launched weapons are being integrated

with the aircraft, which will make, in the future,

the aircraft more effective in battle. According

to Igor Dyomin, several types of modernised

and all-new missiles were integrated with the

Su-35Ss weapons suite during 2013, though not

all of the weapons stipulated by the programme

had been ready for the tests on board the fighter.

Therefore, their tests will continue, with the

near-term plans providing for both testing the

advanced weapons and expanding the opera-

tional envelope of the integrated ones.

YuriKabernik

Su-35S fighters delivered to the first RusAFcombat unit at Dzemgi AFB in February 2014

Su-35S from Dzemgi AFB taking-offfor demo flight, August 2014


13www. take -o f f . r u take-offnovember 2014


17/48

Late last year, when the bugs inevitable in

the official tests were debugged, the customer

released its relevant reports and a decision was

taken to OK the operation of the Su-35S by

the Air Force. Owing to that, the first batch of

aircraft of the type was shipped to the fighter air

regiment at Dzyomgi AFB. At the same time,

the manufacturer, KnAAZ, started modifying

the six aircraft, delivered in late 2012, in accord-

ance with the design of the above-mentioned

Dzyomgi-delivered fighters (so-called Layout

2013). The six warplanes were returned to the

manufacture during January and February 2014,

and their modification had been complete. This

made the May delivery of the four Su-35S fight-

ers to the RusAF centre in Lipetsk feasible. They

arrived here on 28 May 2014.

Lipetsk pilots had an opportunity to get the

first impression of the advanced aircraft in the

course of the long flight across Russia from

Komsomolsk-on-Amur to Lipetsk with stopo-

vers in Irkutsk and Chelyabinsk. The impression

was very positive.

Here is the opinion of two Lipetsk-based

pilots, who learnt to fly the Su-35S among the

first in RusAF and ferried the Centres aircraft

from Komsomolsk-on-Amur to Lipetsk.Military Test Pilot 1st Class Lt.-Col. Alexei

Yamakidi, chief, flight safety division, Lipetsk-

based Air Force Training and Operational

Evaluation Centre: I have flown all versions

of the MiG-23, MiG-29 and Su-27 fighters.

As far as the Su-35S is concerned, I like the

way the flight data are shown on its full-colour

multifunction LCDs: everything is clear and

easy to grasp. The aircraft is easy to control.

Owing to the KSU-35 integrated flight con-

trol system, control is now easier and the

controls are more sensitive. One does not have

to apply more force, say, for achieving highg-load. The Su-35S can be piloted almost

with two fingers.

Military Pilot 1st Class Maj. Alexei Kurakin,

air squadron navigator, Air Force Training and

Operational Evaluation Centre: I like the

plane. It is far better than the Su-27 and Su-30

in terms of thrust-to-weight ratio. It can attain

beyond-stall angles of attack while retaining its

controllability, which enables it to take part in a

dogfight without having to be distracted by the

cockpit controls. I guess the aircraft is facing

bright vistas, given its combat capabilities and

manoeuvrability.

The Su-35S arrival to Lipetsk will enable

the conversion of RusAF combat units to the

type to be intensified, make it more effective

and allow the air crews to learn the fighters

drastically sophisticated capabilities, including

supermanoeuvrable tactics, upgraded and in-

development air-launched weapons and latest

avionics.

At present, KnAAZ is manufacturing

more production-standard Su-35S planes.

According to UAC President Mikhail

Pogosyan, plan for 2014 provides for con-

struction and delivery of 12 fighters of the

type while the plan for 2015 of the final 14

from the 48 ordered. According to the chief

designer Igor Dyomin, a new five-year con-

tract for a similar Su-35S batch is supposed to

be signed by Sukhoi and the Defence Ministry

in the nearest future.

In addition, as is known, a political agree-

ment has been achieved on the feasibility of

Su-35 export to China. As all technical

and organisational matters are tackled, the

contract shall be signed. China is interested

in integrating some of its own avionics and

weapons into the Su-35. According to the

fighters chief designer Igor Dyomin, only

Russian components are used in the pro-

duction of the Su-35S now. However, the

open architecture principle implemented

in its avionics suite allows integration of

YuriKabernik

SergeyChaikovsky

The new batch of Su-35S fighters delivered in October 2014got a new blue-and-gray livery. Demo flight at Sukhois KnAAZjubilee celebration, August 2014

One of the four Su-35S jets delivered to Lipetsk-basedRusAF Training and Operational Evaluation Centre in May 2014




18/48

foreign-made systems and complete adapta-

tion of the aircraft to a particular customers

requirements.

In October this year, Russian Vice-Premier

Dmitry Rogozin, supervisor of Russias military

industry, said the contract for the export of

the Su-35 multirole fighters to China could be

signed before year-end. There will be another

session of the Russian-Chinese military-tech-

nical cooperation committee in November. Ithink the issue will be resolved there. I see no

urgent problems or unsolvable issues there,

Dmitry Rogozin said, adding: Certain price

aspects of the contract are being negotiated

now. According to the Kommersant daily,

China plans to buy a 24-ship batch of Su-35

fighters initially.

The basic flight and operating character-

istics proven in the official trials, ergonomic

cockpit management suite, advanced avionics

suite based on an open-architecture informa-

tion management system, and airframe service

life extended to 6,000 h (30 years of operation)

will enable the Su-35S to remain in service with

the Air Force virtually all the way to the middle

of the century.

Mention should be made that idea of concur-

rent Su-35S development, testing and produc-

tionising, which was implemented in Russia

for the first time, allowed the construction and

testing of more than 10 brand-new aircraft, thus

having slashed the time of the development of

key design features and technologies as well

as the latest design solutions pertinent to the

avionics suite wrapped around an innovative

information management system. In addition,

the approach like this allows the quick use of the

results produced for testing the technologies and

technical solutions embodied in the PAK FA.

This, in turn, ensures a reduction in the time of

the development of the fifth-generation fighter

for the Russian Air Force.

Honoured Military Pilot, Military

Pilot-Sniper, Maj.-Gen. Alexander

Kharchevsky, chief of the Air Force

Training and Operational Evaluation

Centre, was among the first Russian Air

Force pilots, who learnt to fly the Su-35S

supermanoeuvrable multirole fighter.

In the Centre under his command, he

not only supervises the devising of

flight, navigation and tactical manuals

for the RusAF Su-35S pilots, but also

tests them in flight personally. On 12

August 2014 during the air show in

Lipetsk on the occasion of the Russian

Air Force Day and on 18 August 2014 at

the celebration of the 80th anniversary

of the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft

Plant, Alexander Kharchevsky on a

Su-35S led the formation of the Russian

Falcons aerobatic team, flying a six-ship

Su-27 and Su-30 formation, and then he

performed Su-35S solo aerobatics.

The aircraft proved to be splendid. Its airframe

is reinforced, which has extended its service life by

far. The Su-35S is the same as the Su-27 in terms

of aerodynamic configuration, but it is equipped

with an advanced control system that, coupledwith the thrust vector control capability, gives the

plane a considerable shot in the arm in terms of its

flight performance and manoeuvrability.

Another feature setting the Su-35S apart from

its predecessor is its sophisticated enhanced-

thrust engine. In terms of design, it is a AL-31F

derivative using fifth-generation technologies.

The Su-35S also embodies some other

advanced technologies, e.g. a phased-array

radar, an advanced IRST and an expanded

weapons suite.

Today in battle, the pilot has to bear an

increased psycho-physiological load due to a

more complicated logic of using the cockpit

management system. To reduce the workload on

the pilot, the Su-35S is the first Russian aircraft

with the glass cockpit, i.e. a novel arrangement

of the cockpit controls with the use of wide-angle

multifunction colour LCDs.

Our Lipetsk Centre has taken delivery of four

Su-35S aircraft for us to devise methodological

recommendations for piloting techniques,

navigation and tactics. Mention should be

made that in 20132014, combat unit pilots

were given ground school and flight training

under our methodological supervision and with

participation of Chkalov State Flight Test centre

and aircraft industry representatives. The pilots

gave raving reports to the flight performance of

the plane. The Su-35S fighters entry into the Air

Forces inventory and mass operation by combat

units will much facilitate efficient training of

flying and ground crews in handling the Sukhoi

PAK FA fifth-generation aircraft.

Maj.-Gen. ALEXANDER KHARCHEVSKY:The aircraft proved to be splendid

SergeyChaikovsky

YuriKabern

ik

Maj.-Gen. Alexander Kharchevsky displaying Su-35Ssolo aerobatics at the celebration of the KnAAZ80-years jubilee, Komsomolsk-on-Amur, 18 August 2014

www. take -o f f . r u 15take-offnovember 2014




c o n t r a c t s a n d d e l i v e r i e s | n e w s

16

Early in the morning on 8 September

2014, an unusually looking Ilyushin

Il-96-300 long-range airliner, in Aeroflot

livery but with a different air carrier

name and registration number, took off

from Moscows Sheremetyevo airport

and headed for Havana. Now, the air-liner which has swapped Russian reg-

istration number RA-96008 for Cuban

CU-T1717 shall be operated by the

Cubana de Aviacion carrier as the fourth

Il-96 in its aircraft fleet.

The delivery of the first three

Il-96-300s was taken by Cubana

under an export contract with Russian

leasing company Ilyushin Finance Co.

in 20052006.They have a 262-seat

layout (18 seats in business class and

244 in economy class). Except for

the Rossiya special air detachment

performing no commercial flights,Cubana de Aviacion is the only carrier

operating the Il-96-300 on passenger

services now.

As is known, Aeroflot wrapped

up the operation of its Il-96-300s

in spring this year and offered them

for sale. As far as the calendar

service life without life extension is

concerned, the planes can fly until

20162020, and their remaining ser-

vice life ranges from 14% to 35%

10,000 h to 25,000 h depending on

a particular aircraft.

Unfortunately, there was fire onboard RA-96010 during its mainte-

nance on 3 June 2014, and the air-

craft is likely to be written off. Early in

July 2014, Aeroflot Director General

Vitaly Savelyev told the media that

Ilyushin Finance Co. was intent on

buying at least two of the five remain-

ing Il-96-300s. Its long-time Cuban

partners displayed interest in the air-

craft. The first of the five remaining

Il-96-300s, RA-96008 (c/n 01005,

produced in 1993), which had the

lowest flight time among Aeroflots

Il-96-300s (45,000 flight hours), hadbeen groomed by the end of the

summer for the delivery to the new

customer. Its acceptance flight in

Sheremetyevo following almost five

months of sitting on the ground

(it conducted Aeroflots last regular

Il-96-300 flight on 31 March 2014)

took place on 26 August, and the

airliner departed for its new station

two weeks later.

The future of the four remain-

ing Aeroflot-owned Il-96s is unclear

yet. Possibly, RA-96011 will bebought by Ilyushin Finance Co. and

sold to Cuba in RA-96008s foot-

steps. The future of the other three

planes has been pinned on the Red

Wings airline until recently, but the

latter is in favour of doing without

them for now.

The 75-seat An-148-100E

(c/n 41-04, reg. RA-61709) land-

ed in the airport of Irkutsk on

14 October 2014. It became the

fourth of the type in the aircraft fleet

of the local air carrier Angara. Since

April 2014, the aircraft had been at

VASO following decommissioning

by its previous user, Polyot, which

had flown it since August 2011.

Angara awarded a financial leas-

ing contract for its fourth and fifth

An-148s to Sberbank Leasing Nord

on 30 July 2014, essentially havinginaugurated the An-148 secondary

market in Russia.

As is known, Angara took delivery

of its first three An-148-100Es in

late 2012 under a contract with the

Ilyushin Finance Co. leasing compa-

ny. At MAKS 2013 air show, Angara

and IFC signed a letter of intent

on financial leasing of two more

An-148-100Es during 2014. Since

the VASO plant in Voronezh has its

hands full with the orders for the

type from the Defence Ministry andother government operators, how-

ever, a pair of An-148s released by

Polyot came up handy for Angaras

further development.

The fifth aircraft, RA-61710

(c/n 41-06) shall be delivered in

November 2014. It has already been

painted in our colours, and the fac-

tory is completing a package of

improvements, Angara Director

Anatoly Yurtayev told Take-off.

It is worth mentioning that owing

to the arrival of the fourth An-148,

Angaras traffic dynamics exceed-

ed the industrys average during

January through August 2014, total-

ling 191,800 passengers carried a

32.6% increase. Beefing up Angaras

aircraft fleet will enable the company

to fly to more destinations, and the

extra aircraft are being bought for

flight abroad as well. The first interna-

tional service performed by Angaras

An-148s was the one from Irkutsk to

Ulan-Bator on 20 October 2014.

There will be new domestic opera-

tions in the An-148s 20142015

winter schedule from Novosibirsk

to Khanty-Mansiisk, Bratsk and

Khabarovsk, from Bratsk to Yakutsk

and from Ust-Kut to Krasnoyarsk.

Angaras managers stressed: The

An-148s have proven themselves

since their service entry with the

company, having proven their being

the optimal solution for operations

in Siberia and the Russian Far East.

The fourth Il-96 for Cuba

Angara enhances its An-148 fleet

SergeiSergeyev

VoronezhGovernorpressoffice


20/48

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c o n t r a c t s a n d d e l i v e r i e s | n e w s

18

The three Sukhoi SuperJet 100

regional airliners previously used by

the Moskovia airline, which air opera-

tor certificate was pulled on 29 August

2014, will get a new user soon. News

came in late September that the Red

Wings carrier, which aircraft fleet hasbeen all-Tu-204 until recently, was

intent on leasing them from the Sukhoi

Civil Aircraft Company (SCAC). The

deal was finalised on 4 October 2014,

and the three aircraft (reg. RA-89001,

RA-89002 and RA-89021) are to

launch services under the new flag as

soon as December.

Red Wings will use them in the

current two-class 93-seat layout (eight

business-class seats and 85 seats in

economy class). All of Red Wings

Tu-204-100s and Tu-204-100Bshave a 210-seat single-class layout.

According to the carriers Director

General Yevgeny Klyucharyov, the

Superjets will be an excellent addition

to the Tu-204s in his stable, because

they will allow the airline to explore

new destinations in a more efficient

manner and increase the turnaround

on the current lines. In addition, if need

be, they will be able to stand in for the

larger Tu-204s during seasonal traffic

drops and will facilitate the companysefforts to penetrate the regional carrier

niche that is new to it.

The airline is planning to pay for the

SSJ100 conversion of its crews out

of pocket, using SCACs instructors.

In addition, it is going to hire several

captains who had flown for Moskovia

before its air operator certificate was

suspended. In all, Red Wings will need

three to four air crews for each of the

three aircraft.

The Red Wings-expected aircraft,RA-89001 and RA-89002 (MSN 95008

and 95010) were built in 2011 and had

been operated by Aeroflot before last

year. The first of them had flown a year

for Moskovia (since August 2013), and

the second one less than two months

(since early July 2014). The third

plane (RA-89021, MSN 95021) built

in 2012 was designed for Armavia, but

started commercial operations as late

as August 2013 for Moskovia. It had

flown for about a year.Recent news coming from Red

Wings witness that the airline is going

to get the first two Superjets by the

year end with one more in spring

2015.

In September 2014, the Russian

Emergencies Ministry and United

Aircraft Corporation signed several

agreements and governmental con-

tracts for supply of advanced Russian-

built aircraft. The signature of the

documents took place in the ministrys

headquarters. The documents signed

included governmental contracts,

under which the ministry shall take

delivery of two Sukhoi SuperJet 100s

in special variants in 2015.

The Emergencies Ministrys inten-

tion to acquire SSJ100 (RRJ-95)

planes became known in May 2014,

when the governmental procurementwebsite (zakupki.gov.ru) announced

a tender to that effect. Under the

deal, the special version to be sup-

plied was dubbed Multifunction

Airborne Command Post based on

the RRJ-95LR-100 aircraft. The ver-

sion was offered in the three-cabin

19-seat variant, including the first

cabin with four turning seats and four

turning and tilting ones, a three-seat

sofa and a wardrobe; the second

cabin with a seven seat sofa; and the

principal passengers cabin in the rearof the fuselage with a L-shaped sofa/

bed convertible, a comfortable seat, a

desk, a coffee table and a wardrobe.

Provision was made for transforming

the cabin into an 11-passenger ver-

sion with three medical modules.

Later, in July 2014, acquisition of

two SSJ100-based airborne com-

mand posts was announced, one of

them called Airborne Command Post

Based on the RRJ-95LR-100 aircraft.

Like the aircraft slated for acquisi-

tion under the May 2014 order, the

plane is to have three passenger

cabins with a maximum capacity of

19 seats. However, its first cabin

is to be able to house one or twomedical modules depending on the

layout. This versions cost is esti-

mated at 1.993 billion rubles (about

$53.8 million as of the date of the

contract).

The other Superjet ordered in July

2014 and designated as Airborne

Command Post with Medical

Evacuation Capabilities has differ-

ences that are more substantial.

It lacks the principal passengers

cabin, and the front cabin fitted with

two turning/rolling enhanced-com-fort seats and a sofa can house two

to four passengers, while the second

cabin is fit for six passengers in

enhanced-comfort seats. Depending

on the layout, the third cabin can

be equipped with 48 economy-class

seats or one to four medical modules

(in the latter case, the cabin retains

eight economy-class seats). The ver-

sion is priced at 1.97 billion rubles

(around $53.2 million).

Both tenders resulted on

10 September 2014 in the signa-

ture of governmental contracts with

UAC that as soon as 12 September

announced the acquisition of two

SSJ100-95LR (RRJ-95LR-100)green aircraft (MSN 95061 and

95069), each priced at 1.2 billion

rubles (in the neighbourhood of $32

million) from the SCAC. The aircraft

are to lack the passenger cabin inte-

rior. Both planes ordered shall have

been delivered to the Emergencies

Ministry before year-end 2015.

The first aircraft (MSN 95061,

temporary reg. number 97008) has

been built and flight-tested by the

SCAC affiliate in Komsomolsk-on-

Amur. Its maiden flight took place

on 25 May 2014. As of October this

year, the aircraft was at the affiliates

flight test facility in Komsomolsk-

on-Amur. The other aircraft

(MSN 95069), which has not flown

yet, rolled-out from assembly hall

in September. After the factory test

programme has been completed,both planes are to be customised

in line with the customers require-

ments, including the fitting of their

cabins with special interiors and

onboard systems.

Red Wings to beef up its Tu-204 fleet with Superjets

SSJ100 for Russian Emergencies Ministry

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According to the annual report published

this summer by Rostvertol JSC (a subsidiary

of Russian Helicopters), the company

continues to fulfil the Rosoboronexport-

made contracts for 28 Mi-35M and

15 Mi-28NE attack helicopters.

The first four-ship Mi-35M batch wasshipped to Iraq a year ago, on 8 November

2013. This was reported, inter alia, by Iraqi

Premier Nuri al-Maliki on his Facebook page.

Late last year, the Mi-35Ms started being flown

in Iraq in support of the operations against

armed rebels, which has been covered by the

Iraqi media closely enough. On 27 September

2014, the Iraqi Defence Ministry issued an

official statement about the delivery of the thirdbatch of helicopters from Russia. Probably, it

meant four more Mi-35Ms.

Rostvertol made the first batch of export-

designed Mi-28NE helicopters this summer.

Three of them complete and given thecharacteristic desert camouflage paintjob,

but lacking the insignia and side numbers

could be seen during the celebration of the

manufacturers 75th anniversary on 1 July

2014. One of the aircraft was shown at a static

display dedicated to Rostvertols jubilee,

another could be easily spotted at the airfield

and yet another was in the final assembly hall

among other complete products.

Following the factory flight tests in late

August 2014, the machines were partially

disassembled and brought to Rostov-on-

Dons airport for delivery to the customerby an An-124 Ruslan heavy-lift transport

aircraft. The airlift took place on 28 August,

The export of the Mil Mi-28NE Night Hunter advanced combat helicopter, which

commenced in late summer this year, has been a landmark to the Russian

Helicopters holding company and Rosoboronexport company. According to theIraqi media, the first Mi-28NE batch was brought in country in late August 2014.

The deliveries are under a package of contracts made by Rosoboronexport and

Iraq in 2012. The first batch of Mil Mi-35M attack helicopters under this contracts

was delivered in autumn 2013.

EXPORT KICKING OFF

AndreyFomin

MMii 8NE-28NE Andrey FOMIN

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and a day later, the Iraqi Defence Ministry

issued an official statement about its

acceptance of the first Mi-28NE batch.

The helicopters shall enter service to

contribute to the fight of our armed forces

against the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant

(ISIS), the Iraqi Defence Ministry official

website reports.At the same time, a video clip was

published, showing the work in a hangar

where the three Mi-28NEs were being

re-assembled following their shipping to

Iraq. The video footage was accompanied

by an interview by Iraqi Defence Ministry

spokesman Lt.-Gen. Mohammed al-Askari.

Another video clip was published in

mid-September, showing the first flights

of the Mi-28NE in Iraq and comprising

an interview of another ranking Iraqi

commander.

The manufacturing and assembly ofanother export Mi-28NE batch is under

way at Rostvetrol.

IraqiMinistryofDefence

IraqiMinistryofDefence

IraqiMinistr

yofDefence

One of the first export version Mi-28NE heli-copters at the assembly hall of Rostvertol

plant during the companys 75-years jubileecelebration, Rostov-on-Don, 1 July 2014

Mi-28NE helicopters in a hangar at Iraqi airbasejust after delivery, late August 2014

Mi-28NEs in a first flight in Iraq,September 2014

We have received the first batch of advanced

Mi-28NE armoured combat helicopters. The Iraqi

Armys operations against terrorists have shown

that our armed forces badly need helicopters like

these, featuring high manoeuvrability and firepower,

up-to-date and highly effective. The Mi-28NE is

fitted with a guided missile system, a highly accurate

gun, a sophisticated navigation suite for round-the-

clock operations, close air support, reconnaissance,

attacks on terrorist groups and their installations,

and search-and-rescue operations.

I believe the arrival of these helicopters is

a quantum leap in the development of our

Army Aviation, affording it new capabilities

of fighting the terrorists under adverse

conditions.

The Mi-28NE helicopter is designed for

fighting round the clock. It features cutting-

edge avionics and night-vision devices and

high firepower, which will enable our Mi-28NE

fleet to take out most of the targets they are

to encounter.

Lt.-Gen. MOHAMMED AL-ASKARI:

The Mi-28NE service entry is quantum leap

in the development of Iraqi Army Aviation

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Interjet awarded the contract in January

2011 for 15 units but the number of

planes ordered later increased to 20, with

10 options. The aircrafts supplier is Russo-

Italian joint venture SuperJet International,

which Venice facility is used for installation

of the passenger cabin interior from Italian

design bureau Pininfarina, aircraft painting

as well as flying and ground crew training.

The Mexico-operated Superjets cabinseats 93 passengers in economy class, but

has an unusually long pitch 34 inches

(864 mm) owing to thinner seats and has

an entertainment system.

The first two Superjets (MSN 95023

and 95024) were flown to Mexico insummer 2013 and kicked off commercial

operations on 18 September 2013 following

the relevant commissioning procedures.

Late last year, Interjet received two more

aircraft MSN 95028 and 95036.

Since the very beginning of the Superjet

operation, Interjet has performed very well

owing to the effective after-sales support

system provided by SuperJet International

and to the wealth of Interjets experience

in minimising downtime at airports. Suffice

it to say that during the first four months

of the SSJ100 operations in Mexico, themonthly flight time per aircraft had averaged

210 flight hours (6.9 h a day) and each of the

airliners had flown an average of 194 times

a month (6.4 flights a day), with the average

flight duration standing at about an hour.

Over the 10 months in 2014, Interjet hascommissioned seven Superjets more, with

its SSJ100 fleet numbering 11 units now.

The 10th aircraft (MSN 95048) was handed

over to the customer and headed for Mexico

on 3 October 2014. Three weeks later it was

followed by another airliner (MSN 95046).

Several Superjets more are anticipated

in Mexico before year-end. Two of them

(MSN 95049 and 95052) are on the

premises of SuperJet International and five

more are at the test base of the Sukhoi Civil

Aircraft Company in Zhukovsky, Moscow

Region, where they are being groomed forhandover to Venice. The two final aircraft

are being manufactured in Komsomolsk-

18 September 2014 marked a yearsince Russian regional airliner SukhoiSuperjet 100 started flying servicesfor Mexican airline Interjet. The lat-ter, Mexicos second-largest air carrier,became the launch customer for theSuperjet in the West.

Andrey FOMIN

GabrielMora

A YEAR IN MEXICAN SKIESA YEAR IN MEXICAN SKIESSSJ1SSJ100

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on-Amur under the current contract with

Interjet. The airline counts on having all

of its 20 Superjets as soon as summer 2015.

The yearlong flight operations in

Mexico are a good cause for summing up

the results produced by Russian advanced

airliner SSJ100 in service with Interjet.

The nine planes have logged in excess of11,400 passenger flights equalling a total of

12,000-plus flying hours. The daily flight

time of some of the Superjets exceeded

11 h at times. The lead aircraft (MSN

95023) has logged more than 2,400 flying

hours on 2,300 sorties. As far as uptime is

concerned, the SSJ100 is virtually on a par

with the Airbus A320 medium-haul airliner

long used by Interjet. After a year in service,

the Superjets uptime has 99% at the least.

The route network the SSJ100s operate

on in Mexico comprises 39 lines stemming

mostly from Mexico-City and fromMonterrey, Toluca, Guadalajara and Leon

as well. The Mexican Superjets fly to airports

sitting in mountainous terrain, including

those at over 2,200 m above the sea level.

The longest flight from Mexico-City to

Tijuana takes 3 h 10 min. Interjets SSJ100s

started scheduled Monterrey San Antonio,

Tx., operations on 12 September 2014, with

another US-bound service Monterrey to

Houston was launched on 23 October.

Interjet is the first Western SSJ100

customer to see the contract it had awardedmake it to actual deliveries and commercial

operations. The SSJ100s prospects on

the Western market depend heavily on

the success of the contract and the results

produced by Superjets in Mexico. The results

produced by the Mexican SSJ100s in the

first year of commercial passenger services

have been more than good. Hopefully, the

Mexican experience will both pave the way

to new foreign customers for the SSJ100

and serve a good example to follow by the

airliners Russian users.

AlexanderPopovSSJ100 regional airliners

in Mexico-City airport

SSJ100s for Interjet airline (as of October 2014)

No Reg. number MSN Maiden flight Delivery Commencement

of operation

1 XA-JLG 95023 12 Sep 2012 18 Jun 2013 Sep 2013

2 XA-IJR 95024 16 Dec 2012 02 Aug 2013 Sep 2013

3 XA-JLV 95028 24 Mar 2013 05 Nov 2013 Nov 2013

4 XA-ABM 95036 19 Jun 2013 21 Dec 2013 Jan 20145 XA-NSG 95034 28 Aug 2013 01 Feb 2014 Feb 2014

6 XA-OAA 95038 06 Oct 2013 14 Mar 2014 Mar 2014

7 XA-PBA 95040 02 Nov 2013 25 Apr 2014 May 2014

8 XA-JLP 95042 12 Nov 2013 07 Jun 2014 Jun 2014

9 XA-LME 95045 22 Dec 2013 04 Sep 2014 Sep 2014

10 XA-ALJ 95046 28 Dec 2013 21 Oct 2014 Oct 2014

11 XA-BMO 95048 30 Dec 2013 03 Oct 2014 Oct 2014

12 n/a 95049 19 May 2014being customised in Venice,

delivery slated for before year-end 201413 n/a 95052 19 Mar 2014

14 n/a 95050 06 Feb 2014

15 n/a 95065 09 Jul 2014at SCACs flight test facility in Zhukovsky;being groomed for handover to SuperJet

International for customisation; delivery plannedfor before mid-2015

16 n/a 95066 16 Jul 2014

17 n/a 95054 29 Jul 2014

18 n/a 95071 20 Sep 201419 n/a 95081 being assembled

20 n/a 95085 being manufactured

Onboard serviceat Interjets SSJ100 flight

from Mexico-Cityto Masatlan

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Mr. Rubtsov, probably, Russian businesshas been taking more interest in China due to

the recent developments

Certainly. Given the situation, in which

most of major Russian banks, cut off from

the global market with the US and EU

sanctions, China becomes a key financial

market. Therefore, today most of the Russian

banks and leasing companies are staking on

Southeast Asia, particularly, China. I guess,

the number of meetings between the leaders

of Russian banks and leasing companies and

their Chinese partners will have increased by

several time in the coming several months:the Russians need to find out the feasibility

of getting alternative financing of the aircraft

earmarked for delivery on the Russian market.This applied to all basic airliner types (Boeing,

Airbus, Bombardier and ATR), because

Western exports crediting institutions have

virtually stopped financing aircraft deliveries

to the Russian market. Against the backdrop

like that, to obtain funds from major Chinese

banks is the only alternative.

The current Airshow China is an

important venue for talks on the above

matter, and, there, the Ilyushin Finance

Co. pins its hopes on its participation in

the air show in Zhuhai. This is due, among

other things, to our being a major buyerof the latest Bombardier CSeries aircraft.

We shall meet both our potential Southeast

Asian customers and the financiers dealing

with funding aircraft deliveries. We have a

pretty tight meeting schedule for Zhuhai. I

think, our counterparts have set themselves

a similar task.

Overall, all aircraft market players are

concerned these days. In the first place,

they are air carriers trying to understand

whether they will get new planes or not.

It looks like there should be no problemsfor old, long-approved deals. At the same

time, one can see this is not the fact. The

decisions announced as far back as several

months back are being changed before our

very eyes. One cannot be certain that the EU,

United States and Canada will stick to the

agreements made, because their policies are

evolving continuously alas, to the worse.

The situation is unstable so far. For this

reason, our focus on China will dominate.

You have mentioned finances and borrowed

capital, but are there negotiations underway

on supply of advanced Russian aircraft to

China?

The Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company

(SCAC) is known to be in talks with several

Chinese airlines on delivery of Sukhoi

Superjet 100 airliners. We are ready to

consider the feasibility of our participation in

the funding of possible deals, including doing

so in accordance with our SSJ100 supply

quota under our contracts with SCAC. This

is a reason for IFC to take part in the air

show: to sound the local players interest

in the SSJ100. Therefore, we are following

the SCAC and SuperJet Internationals

marketing policy in this case. If there are

customers for the SSJ100 in China, we

are prepared to arrange the funding of its

deliveries. At the same time, we are also

seeking for customers for the aircraft we

have ordered from SCAC. We have planned

meetings with Southeast Asian customers

coming to Zhuhai. There will be discussion

of the feasibility of leasing the aircraft from

our orderbook the eight SSJ100s we signed

up for this summer.

IFC is a major customer for another cutting-edge Russian airliner, the short/medium-haul

MC-21. Will you offer it here?

Certainly, we are keeping an eye on the

Chinese market as well in the light of MC-21

promotion. However, it is too soon to mention

specific actions, because we will launch

proactive marketing of the MC-21 after it has

taken to the skies. Its actual performance will

be clear then. Even now, however, I consider

the MC-21 to be a good, promising plane,

given the characteristics announced. I do

not doubt its future. Still, to make its future

a reality, a lot has to be done to completethe programme. The MC-21 development

programme is on schedule. Irkut has begun

ALEXANDER RUBTSOV:

IFCs Chinese FocusThe deterioration of the geopolitical situation due to the development in Ukraineas well as the US and EU sanctions slapped on a number of Russian banks makes

Russian businessmen step up cooperation with other major partners, amongwhich companies and financial institutions of the Peoples Republic of China holda strong foothold. While the cooperation between Russias aircraft industry andChina was previously limited mostly to supply of combat aircraft, helicopters andaircraft engines, now commercial aircraft programmes are coming out into theforeground, providing for not only complete product delivery, but also advancedairliner co-development and co-production and large-scale cooperation withChinese banks and leasing companies. In the run-up to Airshow China 2014 inZhuhai, Take-off has turned to Alexander Rubtsov, Director General of the IlyushinFinance Co. (IFC), a major Russian leasing company specialising in supply of up-to-date Russian- and foreign-made aircraft on the domestic and foreign markets, forhis take on the prospect of cooperation with Chinese partners.

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to manufacture the components of the flying

prototypes, metal has been cut and parts are

being made. The MC-21s maiden flight is

slated for late next year.

Has your company pondered the feasibility

of buying Chinese-made planes and then

leasing them to Russian carriers?

There was the time when we considered

Chinese regional turboprop airliner MA60

and a smaller aircraft, one for 1219 seats.We visited Chinese aircraft plants. However,

the delays of the certification of the Chinese

aircraft have put their acquisition on the back

burner for an indefinite time. The Chinese-

built ARJ21 looks good, but it will hardly

interest us much owing to the availability

of the domestic-made SSJ100 of the same

dimensions. In addition, IFCs orderbook

includes the An-148 and An-158. That is

why IFC is not mulling over the ARJ21

at present. As for the future Chinese-built

C919 medium-range airliner, it is a mystery

to us. It is hard to say what kind of aircraft

it will be. Even a hazier future is facing the

big widebody now: what kind of plane will

it be and what configuration will its design

go for? We have a widebody airliner vision

of our own. IFC has conducted a rather

extensive research into the market prospects

of and formalisation of the requirements to

the aircraft. We have something to suggest

to its developer, and we are ready to work

with them on hashing out the design of the

future plane. The designing of the advanced

widebody airliner is to take seven or eight

years, or even longer. Thankfully, Russia and

China have agreed to co-develop such an

aircraft. No doubt, this is a very interesting

programme.

To get a foothold on the market, all of us

need to prove our competence Chinas

COMAC with the use of its ARJ21 and

C919 programmes and us with the MC-21.

However, Russia is in a somewhat better

position, since it has proven with its SSJ100

that it is capable of developing an advanced

passenger airliner and having it certificated

by Europe. Our Chinese partners have yet to

clear this hurdle.

With whom else are you going to negotiate

at Airshow China 2014 in addition to Chinese

bankers and airline managers?

In addition to Chinese representatives, IFC

plans to meet representatives of Malaysia,

Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos, Singapore and

a number of other neighbouring states.

Overall, the region is evolving dynamically.

Numerous airlines operate there, of which

many have signed up for advanced aircraft

types, including those we have in our

orderbook. We would like to talk to them.

Various banks and leasing companies operate

in the region and could partner with us in

financing the deals being devised by IFC.

We see the need of discussing the feasibility

of joint businesses under the programmes

announced by IFC. The programmes pertain

to both Russian- and foreign-made aircraft.

We anticipate meeting both consumers

and banks financing aviation-related

programmes, and industrialists displaying

their achievements. There is a lot to do

during the air show!

IFC

IFC

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i n d u s t r y | n e w s

26

The key advanced mid-term air-

liner programme being pursued

by Russias aircraft industry is

the development of the MC-21

new-generation narrow-body

short/medium-range airliner fam-

ily designed to compete the bestWestern airliners in the class,

the Airbus A320neo and Boeing

737MAX. Under the Russian

Presidents directive dated 6 June

2010, Irkut Corp. became the

prime contractor for the develop-

ment and production of the MC-21.

Prototypes and production-stand-

ard aircraft of the MC-21 family

will be built by the Irkutsk Aviation

Plant, a subsidiary of the Irkut

Corp.

The plant has been tasked with

the manufacture of the fuselage

and final assembly of the aircraft.

The fuselage metal panels, tail

section and composite empennage

will be supplied by the Ulyanovsk-

based Aviastar-SP close corpo-

ration, composite fuselage mid-

section panels, spars and integral

wing panels by the AeroComposit-

Ulyanovsk close corporation, com-

posite leading and trailing edges,

wing high-lift devices and eleva-

tors by the KAPO-Composit close

corporation, the latter two com-

panies being the AeroComposit

close corporations Ulyanovsk- and

Kazan-based production facilities

respectively.

In August 2011, Irkut and

Germanys Durr made a contract

for a complete set of the MC-21

aircraft automated assembly line

using up-to-date digital technolo-

gies. The latest equipment and

the Irkutsk Aviation Plants prem-

ises allow the production of up to

70 MC-21s a year further down the

road. The installation of the assem-

bly line is in full swing now.

Last year, Irkut completed the

devising of the MC-21 airframe

design documentation and started

the construction of the first four

aircraft examples three for flight

tests and one for static trials. In

addition, numerous structural ele-

ments (panels, joints, bays, etc.)

were manufactured for static

and endurance tests. The com-

pany assembled an airframe barrel

section prototype and shipped it

to TsAGI for endurance tests in

February.

The airliners baseline model is the

180-seat MC-21-300 that can seat

160 to 212 passengers depending on

a layout of the cabin. Concurrently,

the shorter 130165-seat MC-21-200

version is in development, with the

MC-21-400 stretch being a pos-

sibility.

The maiden flight of the

MC-21-300 prototype is slated for

later 2015, and the completion

of its certification tests and the

beginning of its deliveries for 2017.

The MC-21s firm order book had

included 175 aircraft by early 2014.

50 of them had been ordered by the

Aviacapital-Service leasing com-

pany (a Rostec government-owned

corporation subsidiary) for Aeroflot

and 35, powered by PD-14 engines,

for governmental agencies. 50 air-

craft had been ordered by the

Ilyushin Finance leasing company,

of which at least six can start fly-

ing with Transaero and 10 with

Red Wings under current agree-

ments. 30 airliners more are due

to VEB-Leasing, of which 10 can

go to UTair and six to Transaero.

In addition, Irkut has had a direct

contract with the IrAero airline for

10 aircraft. An agreement with

Sberbank-Leasing for 20 aircraft

can be thrown in for good measure.

During 2013, the MC-21 firm order

book swelled by 62 aircraft.

MC-21: prototypes manufacturing begins

AndreyFomin

AndreyFomin

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