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Aviation History
1999
1999 - 2501.PDF
MA9iS *99 The fourth Moscow Inter national Aviation and Space Exhibition (MAKS '99) marked the trade show flying display debut of the forward swept-wing Sukhoi S-37 fighter, and the Tupolev Tu-334 and Antonov An-140 regional airliners. Most of the major Western firms stayed away, while progress on Russian development programmes and the promised industry restruc turing remain painfully slow. ALEXANDER VELOVICH AND ANDREW DOYLE REPORT FROM ZHUKOVSKY. PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARK WAGNER. Kazan's Ansat makes first flight THE KAZAN Ansat helicopter had its first flight on 17 August, marking the manufactur er's debut as a helicopter designer. Kazan is better known as the major maker of Mil helicopters, having produced more than 11,000. The 3,000kg Ansat, powered by a pair of Klimov-built Pratt & Whitney Canada PK206C engines, has a maximum payload of 1,000kg (2,2001b), or up to nine passengers. Cruise speed is esti mated at 135kt (250km/h) and range at 520km (3 50nm). Kazan Helicopter Plant general director Alexander Lavrentyev says the Ansat is directly targeted at the market for Eurocopter BK117 class helicopters. Lavrentyev claims that the Ansat willbeoffered at one-third of the BK117 's price of $3.3 million. Ansat programme chief and Kazan deputy general director Valery Kartashev says the first air frame is being used as a rotor test rig. Certification tests will start next month and are likely to take about a year. By the end of the year the third prototype is to join the test programme. • Dasa partners with Russian industry on MiG-29 upgrades DALMLERCHRYSLERAero-space (Dasa) is gearing up for an aggressive sales drive in the emerging Mikoyan MiG-29 Fulcrum upgrade market follow ing the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Russian manufacturer MAPO and arms export agency Roz- voorouzhenie. The German company has also revealed plans to establish a similar venture for Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter maintenance and upgrade work. "We have contacted Sukhoi already and they have told us - in principle - that we can take over the marketing lead," says Dasa vice-president marketing and sales support programmes Uwe Kamlage. Dasa, MAPO and Rozvoor- ouzhenie formed the joint venture MiG Aircraft Product Support (MAPS) in 1993 to provide main tenance, spares and training sup port for the fleet of MiG-29s inherited by the German air force following German re-unification. Under the terms of the latestMoU, the three organisations are negoti ating the formation of what is internally referred to as "MAPS International" to extend the ven ture's activities into MiG-29 sup port and upgrade markets around the world. MAPS International will focus on the MiG-29 upgrade require ments of Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia, says Kamlage. Preliminary discussions be tween some of these countries, their local aerospace industries and Dasa have already taken place, but these efforts will be brought under the umbrella of MAPS Inter national, Kamlage says. MAPS International would of fer a range of modular upgrades, ranging from a "minimum solu tion" to provide basic interoper ability within NATO airspace, to the complete replacement of the aircraft's avionics and the installa tion of a glass cockpit and Western weapons system. Dasa is leading Eurofighter's bid in Poland, which has a requirement for new multirole fighters, and the German company is offering to upgrade the country's MiG-29s as an "interim solution". Poland is also the lead potential customer for an Su-22 upgrade programme. Another sales prospect is Hungary, where Dasa has held dis cussions with local firm Danubian about possible participation in an upgrade programme. In Romania, Dasa is considering taking a stake in soon-to-be privatised upgrade house Aerostar, as part of its efforts to win MiG-29 upgrade work. Dasa, meanwhile, is supporting Russia's offer to supply MiG-2 9s to the Austrian air force. MAPS is 50%-owned by Dasa, with MAPO holding 34% and Rozvoor- ouzhenie the rest. • Tu-334 will be produced by a new consortium MAPO plans diversification through Tu-334 "p USSIAN manufacturer MAPO _I\.plans to join a consortium of companies to produce the Tupolev Tu-334 medium commercial transport. The consortium is being formed by the Tupolev design bureau, the Aviant production plant of Kiev, Ukraine and MAPO. According to MAPO general director and general designer, Nickolay Nikitin, the three firms and Russia's aircraft industry research institutes have produced a programme business plan, which has received full approval of the Russian Government. Nikitin says MAPO wants to become a diversified aircraft manu facturer, lowering the proportion of work performed on military pro grammes to 2 0-2 5 %. The MAPO production centre in Moscow is operating at only 12% of its full capacity. While Russia's ministry of defence continues to provide financing for some development and modernisation programmes, the Russian air force has not bought any MAPO MiG-29 Fulcrums since 1992, so the com pany derives most of its income from export contracts. MAPO recently signed a con tract to deliver MiG-2 9s to Bangladesh, butNikitin declines to disclose the contract sum or the number of aircraft to be delivered. Press reports from Dhaka estimate the contractvalue at$l 35-150 mil lion. It is possible that some of this money will be invested in the Tupolev Tu-334 programme, which for years has been suffering from insufficient financing. The first example of the 100/130-seat twinj et flew in February, about four years behind schedule. Meanwhile, the Ilyushin 11-103 piston-powered five-seat aircraft, which is also produced by MAPO, recently fulfilled its first export contract with the delivery of six to Peru. Last year the U-103 became the first Russian aircraft to receive US Federal Aviation Admini stration certification. • 16 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 25 - 31 August 1999
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