We are waiting for domestic development, mass batch production of the entire line of Sukhoi Superjet and An-148 airplanes is required, production on MS-21 and Il-476 aircraft stocks

27 2011 June 1

At the Voronezh Aviation Plant (VASO), an on-site meeting of the State Duma transport and industry committees was held, during which the preservation of the mass production of An-148 and Il-96 aircraft was discussed.

The meeting was attended by deputies, representatives of the Ministries of Transport, Industry and Trade, the United Aircraft Building Corporation (UAC), state banks, leasing and airlines, and trade unions.

Sergei Shishkaryov, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Transport, noted that in 2010, Russia reached record levels in terms of passenger traffic - 57 million people. In 2011, the growth was already about 10 percent. However, the deputy expressed concern over the delay in the adoption of the law on the fundamentals of industrial policy in Russia proposed by parliamentarians. The speakers agreed that the country needs to increase the number of domestically produced aircraft. One of the promising projects is the production of An-148. However, the situation with its development is currently very difficult. According to Sergey Gavrilov, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Transport, the Voronezh Aviation Plant currently needs to be fundamentally modernized - only under this condition can it become truly competitive and saturate not only the Russian market, but also the markets of the CIS, Asia and Africa, and subsequently go to the "old" Europe. The key solution in this matter should be financial support from both the controlling company and the state. Sergey Gavrilov also noted that the growth of the external passenger traffic in Russia is currently quite high, while the internal one is much smaller. This means that today there is a huge hidden demand for domestic transportation. “The deficit must fill the Superjet 100 and An-148,” said the deputy. “This means that a mass aircraft should be made, reducing costs and increasing quality.” To do this, it is necessary to increase the commercial attractiveness of aircraft, that is, to improve their quality and technical characteristics, to reduce the cost and cost of operating costs, to increase the service life, to improve the economic efficiency of aircraft, to improve the system of after-sales service equipment.

However, without improving existing technologies, introducing new solutions, improving the technological and technical levels of final products based on advanced achievements of science and technology, which allow to achieve qualitatively new indicators, the solution of these goals and objectives is practically unrealizable.

In the United Aircraft Corporation and at the level of enterprises within its structure, programs and measures are being implemented aimed at technological modernization. Achievement of the corporation is the preservation of aircraft industry as the basis of state defense and technological independence. Tests of the fifth generation fighter T-50-2 have been completed. The breakthrough event in the field of air transport is not just the certification of the modern Sukhoi Superjet 100 medium-haul aircraft, but also the start of mass production of an airliner for carriers. It is characteristic that on board the first export airliner is the name of the first cosmonaut of the planet, Yuri Gagarin.

On the agenda is the re-equipment of Russian companies with “superjetts”, regional An-148. It would be necessary to strengthen the financing of the project for the construction of the MC-21 airliner and the deep modernization of the successfully proven IL-476 transporter.

The aerospace industry is entering a new phase, the meaning of which is the mass batch production of the entire line of Sukhoi Superjet and An-148 aircraft, staging at MS-21 and Il-476 slips.

For a full revival of civil aviation a multiple increase in industry funding is required. This will expand research and development activities to develop promising aircraft models, and launch large-scale projects for personnel training and technical re-equipment of plants. The 2012 budget should also consider the key issue of supporting sales of Russian aircraft through the system of subsidizing interest rates.

VASO General Director Vitaly Zubarev commented on the tasks facing the enterprise: the minimum bar is to get break-even production, the maximum is profitable. According to Vitaly Zubarev, the plans of the VASO board of directors for the current year have not changed - nine An-148 airliners. Currently, the plan is being implemented at 50 percent. At the end of the meeting, the Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Industry, Sergei Sobko, emphasized that without creative rethinking and using the achievements of the Soviet engine building, primarily the NK-93 project, we will not be able to return to the ranks of civil aviation.

UAC Vice-President Alexander Tulyakov noted that the main problem of the Voronezh aircraft plant is large overhead costs: “We are faced with the task of reducing the cost of products, which will contribute to the enterprise’s break-even operation.” And he added that the issue of implementing the project of a cargo aircraft carrying capacity of 20 tons is now being worked out, the KLA plans to use the power of the Voronezh aircraft plant together with partners from India and Rosoboronexport.