Despite the postponed signing of contracts for the purchase of MiG-29K / KUB fighters by the Russian military departments, as well as combat training Yak-130, all orders of the Russian Ministry of Defense can serve as a real locomotive for the revival of the domestic aviation industry. To do this, government agencies need to define the rules for cooperation.
Over the past decade, foreign companies have been the main customers for Russian aircraft. The newest Su-30MK multipurpose fighter designed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau, which was developed in the 90s, was also intended only for the Russian Air Force. However, since 2002, India, Malaysia and Algeria have been the main buyers of this combat vehicle, which has been produced by the Irkut company. Contracts with Indonesia are outlined. Now Irkut has about 300 Su-30MKI fighters in the contracts, more than half of which have already been delivered to customers. The head of Rosoboronexport, Anatoly Isaikin, confidently declares that the SU-30MK heavy fighters represent a new page in the development of Russia's cooperation with foreign partners in the military-technical sphere.
But according to the head of the analytical sector of the Aviaport company, Mr. Panteleyev, the situation is radically changing. Oleg Panteleev says that today the Russian Ministry of Defense is already ready to purchase new equipment on a large scale than a few years ago. Such a bias towards domestic buyers is good news.
Of course, it is a pity, experts say, that during MAKS-2011, the signing of contracts for the supply of aircraft worth more than $ 3 billion did not take place, but in this case it is not worth dramatizing. Analysts are confident that the contract will only be slightly postponed in order to provide the parties with greater guarantees. Perhaps the final version of the agreement can be seen as early as next year. Oleg Panteleev declares that there are no unsolvable problems before the parties to the transaction, everything rests on the side of a compromise. So far, the negotiators have decided not to compromise, but this does not mean the breakdown of the contract.
All this underlines once again that Russian military officials are determined to engage in genuine constructive dialogue. Now it's not a simple signal, they say, there is no money, and sell the equipment to anyone. Prospects for promising cooperation are already looming, because one cannot deny the obvious fact that there is good financial support for the Ministry of Defense from the state budget. The trends towards increasing government purchases of military equipment are obvious.
One of the deputy chairmen of the Ulyanovsk government said that at the Aviastar SP enterprise, which is part of the Russian UAC, in the near future, not 2, but five new Il-476 “transport aircraft” will be produced. The official says that such an agreement was reached at the anniversary MAKS-2011 between the UAC and the Ministry of Defense. Earlier it was planned that the troops will receive only two aircraft of this modification.
Serial production of the Il-476 is planned to be launched in 3 years. This machine is said to be very reliable and efficient. From the Il-76, only the fuselage remained in it, and, as analysts say, it only outwardly resembles the aircraft of the previous generation. Manufacturing technology has moved to a completely different level. When designing, it was decided to abandon the usual "paper" work, and translate all activities into "digital".
Information has already appeared that the Ministry of Defense is ready to purchase 50 Il-476 aircraft in two main versions: a transport aircraft and a tanker aircraft. Another 34 Il-476 wished to buy China. It should be recalled that in 2004, the Chinese also planned to purchase 34 Il-76 aircraft from TAPOiCH (Tashkent Aircraft Building Plant), but the deal was doomed due to the impossibility of implementing the project by the Uzbek side. By the way, this is not the only case when one of the parties cannot fulfill the obligations imposed on it.
However, as representatives of Aviastar SP say, their enterprise is at a high level of development and is staffed with 100% qualified specialists. Therefore, there is no evidence of any distrust in Aviastar SP today. At the same time, the enterprise never goes to a unilateral change in the provisions of the contract. In particular, the initial price stipulated in the agreement does not change towards its sharp increase.
The President of the UAC, however, noted that there are some sensitive issues in terms of concluding new contracts. So, until now it has not been possible to find an acceptable solution for the price of the Tu-204SM aircraft between manufacturers and buyers. However, as it was already found out about the price, sooner or later it is possible to agree.
In Samara, the situation with the procurement of aircraft developed as follows: the Aviakor company, which is part of Oleg Deripaska's Russian Machines holding, since 2006 mastered the production of a new, at that time, An-140, which was the successor to the An-24. Military orders may allow Aviakor to feel solid ground under its feet. And we already have such orders. The Ministry of Defense wants to purchase 10 An-140s by 2013, and from 2014, an aircraft plant in the city of Samara should start producing 50 aircraft of this model for sale abroad. Konstantin Grek, deputy head of the Rosoboronexport Air Force Directorate, informed the media about the sale of the An-140 abroad. The aircraft, by the way, will be supplied to foreign customers exclusively in military configuration.
Of course, the same financial problem may arise in this large order. So the Yakut airline, which ordered the supply of three An-140s with an eye on several dozen more models from the Samara aircraft plant, made the following decision: first the planes, and then money. As in the well-known novel: money in the morning, chairs in the afternoon … And this happened due to the fact that Aviakor representatives could not name the Yakutia company the final price of the An-140 model. Today the cost of one An-140 reaches $ 20 million, which is no longer affordable for the average Russian air carrier, which is the Yakutia company.
In this regard, the Russian authorities need to make a decision on what path should be followed by long-term cooperation between the Russian military department and domestic aircraft manufacturers. Experts talk about three options for a possible way out of the financial impasse. First: direct financing from the state budget, second: modernization of the aviation industry with a reduction in production costs, third: leave the Ministry of Defense with the manufacturer of aircraft one-on-one, and then give a cap to both in case of failure of the order. The latter option is still trying to work with us, but its effectiveness is close to zero.
