A military aviation division will be created in Russia on the basis of Sukhoi and JSC RSK MiG, the press service of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) reports.
The formation of the new structure will be done by the deputy head of the UAC Ilya Tarasenko. On February 7, he took over as CEO of Sukhoi. It was in this company that Tarasenko began his career, and in September 2016 he headed the MiG RSK (it has not yet been announced that he was removed from this post due to the transition to a new one).
“Ilya Tarasenko will focus on the formation of the UAC military aviation division on the basis of Sukhoi Company PJSC and RSK MiG JSC. This structure will be engaged in the development, production, sale and maintenance of the entire line of current and future aircraft of the UAC combat aviation, ”the site of the United Aircraft Corporation says.
According to the UAC, the consolidation of the main scientific and production capacities of Sukhoi and RSK MiG "will allow more efficient implementation of existing programs and the development of promising projects."
Unique design schools
Sukhoi and RAC MiG are leading domestic developers and manufacturers of operational tactical aircraft. Last year, both companies celebrated their 80th anniversary. The products of these enterprises are supplied to Russian aviation units and abroad. Soviet and Russian military vehicles are in service with dozens of countries.
Since Soviet times, Sukhoi has gained a reputation as a manufacturer of heavy fighters, bombers and attack aircraft. At the same time, the main specialization of the MiG company was the production of light super-maneuverable fighters and interceptor aircraft.
The flagships of Sukhoi are the fifth-generation Su-57 aircraft, the heavy modernized Su-27 fighter, the Su-35 and Su-30 multi-functional fighters, the Su-25 Grach attack aircraft, and the Su-34 and Su-24M front-line bombers. Many of these aircraft took part in the Syrian operation and received high marks from the Ministry of Defense.
In an interview with RT, military expert Dmitry Litovkin called Sukhoi one of the most successful military aviation companies in the world. According to him, the products of the Russian enterprise are not inferior to foreign models, and in terms of price and quality, they often surpass them.
“Sukhoi is one of the most powerful companies in the aircraft industry. Its products are readily bought by the Ministry of Defense and Russian partners in military-technical cooperation (military-technical cooperation). Almost all “drying”, especially the Su-35 and Su-57, have a high commercial potential. Export demand for earlier aircraft has not been exhausted, ”Litovkin explained.
The analyst also noted that over the past decade, an unmanned direction has been actively developing in Sukhoi. Last August, the first flight was made by a heavy reconnaissance and strike UAV S-70 "Hunter". According to the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Yuri Borisov, at the end of August 2019, the first serial drone can leave the factory floor in 2024.
RSK MiG cannot boast of such an impressive product line that Sukhoi has. Nevertheless, the Russian army and the Air Force of about 30 countries of the world still operate various modifications of the light MiG-29 fighter. In 2017, the company developed a multi-functional fighter of the 4 ++ MiG-35 generation to replace this aircraft.
- MiG-35 during the flight
- © migavia.ru
In 2019, an export version of this aircraft was presented at the MAKS-2019 air show. The MiG-35 also participates in the tender of the Ministry of Defense of India for the supply of 17 aircraft and the production of 93 fighters in the territory of the customer country. The results of the tender have not yet been announced, but last year on the sidelines of the Aero India - 2019 air show in Bangalore, a Russian car was demonstrated to the head of the Indian military department Nirmale Sitharaman.
According to Tarasenko, in the future, the entire MiG-29 fleet of the Russian Aerospace Forces will be replaced by the MiG-35. Serial production of this machine is deployed at the Sokol aircraft plant (Nizhny Novgorod), where various units and airborne systems are produced, and specialists of the plant named after P.A. Voronin (Lukhovitsy near Moscow) carry out the final assembly of fighters.
In recent years, with the creation of the X-47M2 “Dagger” hypersonic aviation complex, a unique MiG-31 high-altitude interceptor received new life. For the operation of this ammunition, a special modification of the fighter was developed, which received the designation MiG-31K.
At the moment, this aircraft is the only combat carrier "Dagger" in the VKS. The capabilities of the MiG-31K allow it to accelerate to the speed that is necessary so that the Kh-47M2 after launch overcomes the threshold of five Mach numbers (about 5-6 thousand km / h).
At the same time, MiG RSK creates a promising MiG-41 interceptor to replace the MiG-31. Work on this project is in accordance with the schedule approved by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. According to Tarasenko, the aircraft will be made using stealth radar technology and will be able to use new types of ammunition.
In a conversation with RT, the head of the Bureau of Military-Political Analysis Alexander Mikhailov praised the activities of RSK MiG. According to him, the company has a unique design school. At the same time, the expert drew attention to the fact that in the post-Soviet era MiG aircraft became less popular compared to Sukhoi products.
“After the end of the Cold War, there was a revision of the concept of using military aircraft in favor of multifunctional machines. “Dryers” turned out to be closer to it, and this can be seen in the volume of sales within the Russian Federation and export indicators. However, this does not mean that the design school of the MiG Corporation is worse. She has her own, completely unique competencies, ”Mikhailov specified.
Among the achievements of RSK MiG, according to the analyst, is the creation of a multi-functional MiG-35, which is close in its capabilities to the fifth generation of aircraft, the improvement of the MiG-31 with the subsequent creation of the MiG-41 and the development of the ship fighter MiG-29K / KUB, which, according to Mikhailov, superior to the deck Su-33.
“Take to a new level of development”
According to experts, with the creation of the military aviation division, the traditional rivalry between Sukhoi and RSK MiG will be a thing of the past. According to experts, the consolidation of the resource potentials of both companies will create new aircraft, optimize the process of organizing mass production, attract new investments and strengthen Russia's export position in the aircraft market.
“The decision to form a division has long been in the air. Now it has become officially known, although it is obvious that it was prepared in advance. Most likely, the consolidation of Sukhoi and RSK MiG is dictated by the need to change the organization of management of aircraft building assets in Russia. Competition has given way to a union for the joint creation of new machines, ”Mikhailov explained.
- Deputy Head of USC Ilya Tarasenko
- RIA News
- © Evgeny Biyatov
According to the expert, in practice, the emergence of a military aviation division will allow loading MiG production lines, if, for example, Sukhoi plants cannot cope with the growing flow of orders. In addition, from the point of view of Mikhailov, the exchange of experience between the two "legendary design schools" will be of great importance.
“Be that as it may, the most important thing is the personnel. As far as I understand, the division will allow not only to maintain the current number of jobs, but also to increase them in the future, as a whole will open new horizons for the development of our designers and engineers, ”says Mikhailov.
In turn, Dmitry Litovkin drew attention to the importance of maintaining a balance between Sukhoi and RSK MiG within the division. According to him, it is necessary for an adequate distribution of resources between the two companies.
In this regard, the analyst believes that Ilya Tarasenko, who managed to work at Sukhoi and MiG RSK, is a good choice. Litovkin said that the deputy head of the UAC has the necessary competencies to create a structure where two unique domestic design schools will peacefully develop.
“Of course, you can criticize the union of two different schools, which also always competed with each other. But, as it seems to me, the consolidation of Sukhoi and RSK MiG is more of an evolutionary process. A professional biography of Tarasenko allows us to conclude that he perfectly understands all the features of both design schools and will be able to bring them to a new level of development, ”summarized Litovkin.