An industry in which research, development in the scientific field, construction and testing of prototypes, serial production of aircraft and their components (engines, airborne systems, equipment) are carried out - all this is the aviation industry.
The scientific, technical and production potential of the aircraft industry creates the opportunity for the development of many related industries, for example, electrical, radio engineering, metallurgy, thereby forming the prerequisites for the economic recovery of the country. The aviation industry is of great general economic, scientific and defense importance for developed countries, it allows the development of a wide range of civil and military products.
Strategic industry
The possibility of creating high-tech and competitive aviation equipment is a testament to the economic, technical development of the state and its high resource potential. The aviation industry includes a number of large research and production enterprises.
Aircraft industry in the USSR
In the Soviet Union, the emergence of the aviation industry as a large industry began in the 20s, after the Decree of the Soviet Government on the nationalization of aircraft factories. At that time, the aviation industry of the USSR consisted of 15 relatively small aircraft factories, which employed about 10 thousand workers, and one aerohydrodynamic institute. The Soviet aircraft industry reached tremendous growth between 1939 and 1945. Further development of the industry made it one of the most concentrated industries of the Soviet Union, and later Russia.
Modern aircraft industry of Russia
The aviation industry of Russia occupies one of the leading places in the world in the number of aircraft manufactured for the civilian and military sectors. By the volume of production and sale of equipment and components, the value of funds of enterprises, the aircraft industry occupies a leading position among the defense industries. This is one of the most high-tech industries with a huge number of highly qualified personnel involved.
The Russian aviation industry includes more than 20 large specialized enterprises of serial production, four large enterprises of pilot and experimental aircraft manufacturing, repair aircraft factories, production plants of units and engine-building. One of the largest and dynamically developing enterprises in the industry are the Irkutsk Aircraft Plant (IAZ) and the Sokol Nizhny Novgorod plant.
Irkutsk factory
In 1934, the world-famous Soviet and now Russian aircraft factory began its history. Irkutsk became the birthplace of one of the leading aircraft manufacturing plants, which is rightfully recognized as one of the most intensively developing enterprises in the aircraft building industry. This is one of the most high-tech and high-tech structures in Russia. The Irkutsk Aircraft Plant is part of the Irkut Corporation OJSC, one of the leading aircraft manufacturing companies in the world, which has been awarded the title of “Best Exporter of Russia” for three consecutive years (from 2008 to 2010). Products for the civil and military aviation manufactured by the Irkutsk aircraft plant are supplied to 37 countries of the world: China, Egypt, India, Vietnam, etc.
The aircraft factory (Irkutsk) implements a full range of works on the production of aircraft. Performs design, construction and testing of aircraft, as well as after-sales service.Over the years, the company has produced over 6,700 different aircraft. The plant has mastered the production of models developed by the leading design bureaus of the USSR and Russia.
Currently, the Irkutsk Aviation Plant produces the following aircraft: Su-30, Yak-130, MS-21, Yak-152. All of them are in great demand. Over the past few years, the Irkutsk Aviation Plant has been demonstrating an increase in output and sales of products and their profitability. An active personnel policy is being carried out at the aircraft factory, which provides for the training and retraining of all specialties - from workers to engineering and management personnel. The expanding portfolio of orders of the Irkut management corporation allows us to make plans for the development of the enterprise for the long term.
Nizhny Novgorod Aviation Plant Sokol
Sokol Aircraft Building Company, located in Nizhny Novgorod, is rightfully considered one of the most significant in the Russian aviation industry. The plant was built in 1932 and was to become a significant enterprise among those existing in the USSR and one of the largest in the world. Initially, it was supposed to produce single-seat I-3 fighters, R-5 scouts and K-5 passenger aircraft, with a total volume of 2,000 units in peacetime.
In 1940, a design bureau was organized at the plant under the guidance of the famous designer Semyon Alekseevich Lavochkin. The bureaus were developed, put into production and further improved on such famous aircraft: LaGG-3, La-5, La-5FN, La-7. During the war, 17 691 such a machine was delivered to the front, i.e., every fourth fighter.
Since 1949, the Nizhny Novgorod Aviation Plant Sokol began cooperation with the design bureau No. 155 under the leadership of A. I. Mikoyan. The joint activity was quite successful, and the plant becomes the main manufacturer of MiGs, which is today. Since 1992, the Sokol NAZ has produced about 13,500 MiG aircraft, many of which are intended for export deliveries to more than thirty countries of the world. The main products of the Sokol aircraft plant are MiG-29, MiG-31, MiG-35 aircraft.
Aviation equipment manufactured
Modern aircraft and helicopters manufactured by the Russian aviation industry are high-class equipment, the result of the work of workers in many enterprises. The firms Sukhoi, Beriev, Kamov, Tupolev, Ilyushin, and Miles are widely known in the world. The list of aircraft manufactured includes passenger aircraft, helicopters for various purposes, military vessels. Among the products of the Russian aircraft industry, known in the world, the following technique can be noted. The latest passenger aircraft:
- Sukhoi Superjet 100 is a modern short-range aircraft (KnAAPO named after Yu. A. Gagarin, Komsomolsk-on-Amur).
- Irkut-21, a new generation trunk liner. Serial production of the model is planned for 2017 (Irkutsk Aviation Plant).
Serial passenger aircraft that have already proven themselves:
- IL-96 - passenger aircraft for medium and large airlines (Voronezh Aircraft Building Society).
- Tu-204/214 - a passenger aircraft for medium-haul air routes (Aviation enterprises of Kazan and Ulyanovsk).
Military aircraft: Su-27, Su-30, Su-33, the latest Su-35, a new generation of fighter T-50, MiG-29, MiG-31, MiG-35, Su-34.
Transport aircraft Il-76 and Be-200 "Amphibia" (Taganrog Aviation Enterprise named after G.M. Beriev).
Helicopters Ka, Mi, Ansant (Kazan Helicopter Plant).
Competitive factors
The modern aviation industry of the Russian Federation is capable of producing high-quality and reliable aviation products with numerous competitive advantages. Until recently, this concerned mainly military equipment. So, in 2011, only 20 civilian aircraft were produced, while 50 units of foreign production were purchased to replenish the fleet of domestic companies.This testified to the lack of competitiveness of the Russian civil aircraft.
The main factors by which domestic civil aircraft was inferior to foreign analogues:
- Technical excellence.
- Operating costs.
- The annual raid of the aircraft.
- Cost and price.
Aviation Industry Trends
In recent years, in the aviation industry with state support, a large-scale amount of work has been done to increase the level of research, design, production, operation of various types of civil and military aircraft. The latest scientific-production, experimental-testing and computing bases were created. The latest models of Russian aircraft are not inferior to foreign ones, and sometimes surpass them in many factors.
