Belarus will help us: the Osvey aircraft and the fate of regional aviation
It was decided to name the aircraft developed at UZGA after the lakes. There are “Baikal” and “Ladoga”. There will also be the LMS-192 Osvey shown in the photo, named after the Belarusian reservoir.
Small aviation in big Russia
The geographical location and climate of Russia, like no other country in the world, require little Aviation.
Excuse the pun, but there should be a lot of small aviation in Russia. This was well understood in the Soviet Union, when almost every remote village had an unpaved runway. Things got to the point that in Soviet times, you could go fishing on an An-2 for a few rubles. For example, in the 60s, a flight from the Novgorod airport to Lake Ilmen and back cost two rubles. The service operated in winter - the "maize" landed in the morning right on the ice, and in the evening took the fishermen to the city. This, of course, was a subsidized service from the state, but the USSR could afford it. But not now.
Until 2022, the main manufacturer of equipment for regional aviation was the Ural Civil Aviation Plant (UZGA). In the photo - assembly of Czech L-410
With the collapse of the state, small aviation died for a long time.
Perhaps the massive construction of a road network in hard-to-reach regions has partially solved the problem of passenger traffic?
By no means – up to 60 percent of Russia’s territory still does not have access to basic transport communications. In fifteen regions of Russia, aviation is the leading transport system; 28 thousand settlements do not have access to land and water transport networks at all.
Just look at the number of airfields in 1990 and in 2024 - more than 1 sites and 400, respectively. Even taking into account the collapse of the country into the Union of Independents, the scale of the reduction is impressive.
The regions of the Russian North, Eastern Siberia and the Far East suffered the most - on certain routes, passenger traffic decreased by 50 times. The comparison, of course, is a little incorrect, but very indicative - in 2019 in the United States there were 100 small aircraft per 76,5 thousand residents, and in Russia there were only 3,1 aircraft. This is 25 times less.
Now about the technology used in small aircraft.
Nine out of ten aircraft in operation are the good old An-2. The cars, of course, are solid and reliable, but 90 percent of them are already over 20 years old. Last year alone, 80–90 percent of small aircraft were subject to write-off due to wear and tear. How many are actually still working is still unknown. Back in 2018, not the most optimistic thoughts were expressed at one of the civil aviation forums. In particular,
“Aircraft operating in territories not covered by the road network of the Russian Federation completely exhaust their service life. And within two or three years, this resource will be finished off, and there will be nothing to fly across a huge part of Russia.
Even if the planes are purchased and delivered, there will be no one to fly. The average age of flight personnel who can fly in this part of the country is well over 50 years. According to calculations by the National Research Center of the Zhukovsky Institute, in these vast territories, thousands of ships with a capacity of three to five seats are needed to organize air traffic. Airlines don't have anything like that at all.
Only general aviation can provide transport security class. If this is not done within two to three years, 80% of the country will not have any transport to solve urgent problems.”
Even if the planes are purchased and delivered, there will be no one to fly. The average age of flight personnel who can fly in this part of the country is well over 50 years. According to calculations by the National Research Center of the Zhukovsky Institute, in these vast territories, thousands of ships with a capacity of three to five seats are needed to organize air traffic. Airlines don't have anything like that at all.
Only general aviation can provide transport security class. If this is not done within two to three years, 80% of the country will not have any transport to solve urgent problems.”
The thoughts turned out to be a little panicky - the country did not completely lose small aviation, but it seems that the end of the industry was simply delayed.
Aircraft engines of the VK-800 series are the main hope of domestic small aviation
All of the above suggests that small aviation in modern Russia is not a whim, but a vital necessity. Over time, the severity of the problem will only worsen.
And it is completely unclear how the state intends to develop, for example, the Northern Sea Route, and populate the east of the country without regional aviation.
“Osvey” made in Russia – Belarus
Against the backdrop of the bleak situation with regional air transport, the timing and volumes of deliveries of small-class aircraft are being revised in Russia. In the aviation industry development program until 2030, the latest announced reduction in planned production volumes is associated with low-capacity aircraft. Moreover, none of them have yet been mass-produced, and plans have already been cut.
The nine-seat Baikal LMS-901 will be built in 2030 copies by 139 instead of the planned 154. Regional carriers were supposed to receive the first aircraft this year, but now they will have to wait until next year.
The Ural Civil Aviation Plant in Yekaterinburg, in addition to the Baikal, was supposed to localize the 19-seat L-410, but it didn’t happen. The aircraft was developed in the late 60s in Czechoslovakia, was produced at UZGA for a long time, but was never localized. Since 2022, the production of the car has been impossible.
If the aircraft cannot be imported, then a new aircraft should be created. Managers were guided by approximately this logic when they came up with the LMS-192 Osvey project. With the light hand of planners, by 2030, 158 Osveevs will appear in Russia at once instead of 178 Czech-Russian L-410s.
What is Osway?
From a geographical point of view, this is a lake in the Vitebsk region of Belarus. The second largest area in the Republic, by the way. A good place for fishing - the reservoir is home to pike, roach, ide, perch and other prey.
From a technical point of view, the Osvey is a twin-engine aircraft, which is “being developed within the framework of the Comprehensive Interdepartmental Cooperation Program between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus in the field of aircraft construction.” Since April of this year, Belarusians have become a partner of the program, or more precisely, specialists from OJSC “558th Aviation Repair Plant” in Baranovichi.
Примечательно, что местные никогда самостоятельно гражданские самолеты не строили и тем более не разрабатывали. Если не считать UAV «Гриф-1» и несколько доморощенных систем авиа-РЭБ.
The second partner in the Osvey program will be the above-mentioned UZGM. The design of the new aircraft will use developments from the Baikal (9 seats) and Ladoga (44 seats).
How the Russian-Belarusian aircraft will be related to the large Ladoga is unknown, but the Osvey has the same engine as the Baikal. This is a Ural gas turbine VK-800SM with a take-off power of 800 hp. With. The Baikal has one such engine, while the Osvey has a pair.
Why was it necessary to build the aircraft on a parity basis with Belarus?
Firstly, it's cheaper. According to the Prime Minister of the Republic Roman Golovchenko, costs are divided in half between Minsk and the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade. At the same time, it is still unclear how much money will be used to build the production site - the existing capacity of the 558th aircraft repair plant is clearly not enough. UZGA in partnership will be the lead developer and certificate holder.
Probably, some of the cars will be produced in Yekaterinburg. The Belarusian side will have a license for the series and permission to make changes to the design. This is a cunning distribution of responsibilities.
The next reason for cooperation on the Osvey project may be the workload of the UZGA in finishing the Baikal and the larger TVRS-44 Ladoga.
According to the intergovernmental agreement, at least 558 Osvey fuselages and half of the finished aircraft will be assembled at the site of the 178th repair plant. It can be assumed that the second half will be released from Belarusian vehicle kits already at UZGA.
The third reason for cooperation may be partial avoidance of possible sanctions. Whatever one may say, it is easier to get scarce components through Belarus than to order directly to Yekaterinburg.
VK-800SM units. Source: ixbt.com
The Osvey is a high-wing aircraft with a fixed tricycle landing gear, which is a classic solution for aircraft of this class. Apparently, the device will be able to work with ground waterways and in “extreme climatic conditions,” that is, it will be useful in the Far North and the Northern Sea Route.
As mentioned above, a pair of VK-800 aircraft engines in the SM modification will be placed under the wing of the aircraft. And this is the most problematic part of the structure. The fact is that the product has not yet been finalized, although it has been in development since the mid-2000s. First, the engine was developed at the Klimov Design Bureau, and then the project was transferred to UZGA. The An-2 replacement light aircraft LMS-901 “Baikal” was assigned as the priority user, but the prototype made its first flight with the General Electric H80-100 product.
So far they promise that the VK-800SM will take to the skies in the third quarter of this year, and the motor will receive a type certificate on New Year’s Eve 2025.
The appearance of Osveev in the skies of Belarus and Russia is planned no earlier than the end of 2026. Then we’ll fly fishing for “a couple of rubles” there and back.
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