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First commercial Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) SN 95007 designed for Armenian Armavia airlines made its maiden flight, Sukhoi Civil Aircraft company said.
"During the flight, a crew carried out functional test of aircraft systems and equipment, engine, confirmed flight characteristics of the aircraft in an operational range," the company said adding that the aircraft is expected to arrive in Moscow soon, where in accordance with aviation regulations, its performance on typical routes will be tested.
"I have seen the new plane myself, I have been onboard," Kozhinov said. "It suits us because it is able land on any runways."
This is especially important in Russia, where "you can count airports meeting international standards on the fingers of one hand," he said.
Kozhinov dismissed speculation that the Russian leader was going to change over to foreign-made aircraft. The speculation arose after the Kremlin bought a French-made Falcon jet for Medvedev earlier this year.
The state will not stop the production program of aircraft Tu-204. In the Ministry of Industry expects a contract to supply 44 Tu-204SM airline Red Wings will be concluded before the end of the year.But the program needs state support to the final price of the aircraft arranged for the buyer. Analysts believe that another option the government does not: an alternative charge for Ulyanovsk Aviastar in the near future there is no prospect of a rolling program of Tu-204 has already led to social unrest in the city.
Several sources of Kommersant at the aviation market was told that on 13 November in the Ministry of Industry held a meeting to discuss the program of issue of Tu-204 and Tu-204SM at Ulyanovsk Aviastar-SP (part of United Aircraft Corporation, KLA). This fall, the program was threatened with closure due to failure of "Airline Moscow" (formerly "Atlant-Soyuz") to purchase 15 aircraft due to their high cost and poor economy. In October, the head of the KLA Alexei Fyodorov said he did not rule out closing the program that sparked a wave of social protest in the city. In particular, 14 November rally, organized by the "Fair Russia".
Tu-204SM - medium-range aircraft, more easy and economical modification of the Tu-204 first flight which took place in 1989. Total production for more than 50 Tu-204, Tu-204SM has not yet released. The idea of the program Tu-204SM appeared in 2006, its aim - to create an aircraft that would compete with the Boeing 737 and A320. Flight range Tu-204SM - about 4 thousand miles, in a 2-classroom layout 174 seats.
As told Kommersant source in the Ministry of Industry, after the meeting, chaired by the Deputy Minister Denis Manturova, it was decided to continue the program of issue of Tu-204SM (there are five for fuselages of planes, the prototypes did not fly). The working group under the Ministry shall, within three weeks to work out measures to reduce the cost of the aircraft and determine the amount of necessary government support. Additional funding is not planned, but it is possible reallocation of funds set forth in the Federal Program" Development of civil aviation until 2015 "- said the source of Kommersant, adding that the funds can go to the authorized capital Aviastar.
Also, the group should bring the aircraft to the stage of mass production and further sign firm contract for the supply.According to a source of Kommersant, in 2010, is expected to sign a contract to supply 44 aircraft to the airline's Red Wings.In the Ilyushin Finance Co announced that the company already gave the KLA a draft agreement to buy Tu-204SM for the Red Wings. Also, the aircraft will be delivered to aircraft for special purposes," - says Kommersant source in the Ministry of Industry.
Thus, the state actually accepted the offer by the head of the National Reserve Corporation (NRC), Alexander Lebedev. In his letter to Vladimir Putin in September, he said that the Red Wings, controlled by the NSC, is ready to buy 44 Tu-204SM, provided that the price of one side does not exceed 700-750 million rubles. Another condition was the redemption of VEB-owned PRC 28.5% stake in IFC, but according to Mr. Lebedev, a condition he took off.
"While we still called the price of one billion rubles for the aircraft - said to Kommersant, Alexander Lebedev .- But if we can not provide a lower price, we assume, for example, EBV guarantees us the cost of maintaining the airworthiness of these machines - if it will exceed the limits, compensates us EBV costs. In this case, Mr. Lebedev intends to insist on preferential treatment for the Red Wings in the case of a contract."We want to get a lower leasing rates that will fit into our profitability. We asked about this by Valery Okulov (Deputy Transport .-" b "), but he says that the preferences are not available" - said a businessman. He stressed that the contract will be awarded only if the State and the KLA fulfill all the conditions of Red Wings.
If the state will provide a price reduction, then come back to buy 15 planes might "Airline Moscow. If the price is best, I'm ready to go on board and raise the issue" - handed over to Kommersant's CEO Eugene Bachurin. A source close to the carrier, said that the company can arrange the cost of the aircraft to the $ 30-35 million
According to the head of analytical services agency "Airport" Oleg Panteleyev, the state and could not close the Tu-204. It would mean the loss of billions of rubles spent on the project. In addition, the plant would remain without downloading, for release of cargo aircraft IL-476 can begin only in 2011 - said the expert. According to him, the Tu-204SM with 210 seats has turned "niche" aircraft that can be effectively used on charter holiday routes and rolled directions. With this agrees the chairman of the Editorial Board, "Air Transport Observer" Alexei Komarov. But he believes that the prices can not be resolved correctly as long until the first plane and will not form a real production program. The first flight of Tu-204SM is scheduled for December.
MOSCOW, November 17. (АРМС-ТАСС). (Interagency Working Group (IWG) will be established to work out a plan to complete the creation, production, implementation of the Tu-204SM program and Tu-204 as a whole, including completion of work on obtaining the type certificate, optimizing costs, reducing the price of CRP (purchased components) and improve after-sales service and reduce the cost of continuing airworthiness. This decision was made at the interagency meeting, which was chaired by Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturova.
IWG headed by the Director of the Department of Aviation Industry Minpromtorga Yuri Slusar, it will include representatives of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Economic Development Ministry of Transport, as well as representatives from leading research institutions and aviation corporations.
During the implementation of the plan working group will work to develop measures to reduce the cost of the aircraft and measures of state support for the project Tu-204SM as a whole, bringing the aircraft to the stage of mass production and further sign firm contract for the supply of aircraft.In the current year is expected to sign a contract to supply 44 aircraft to anchor customers, "Red Wings", in addition, the aircraft will be delivered for the needs of special-purpose aircraft. Working to promote the Tu-204SM will UAC, including JSC "IPC".
In the event Slusar said that "one of the pillars of the working group will be adjusted measures of state development, manufacture and operation of new aircraft. In particular, we are talking about subsidizing the manufacturers, operators and equipment leasing companies.He also stressed that "the implementation of this plan will allow us to keep Russia in the competence of building medium-haul aircraft, to support the factories engaged in mass production of aircraft and components, as well as to support the highly skilled Russian industry until the release of such breakthrough products as MS-21" Sukhoi Superjet-100, wide-body long haul aircraft, and so on. "
Previously it had been agreed with the manufacturers of aircraft engines, according to which the price of engines for the first time will be calculated as a percentage of the implementation.
Austin wrote:So when they ask for 25 to 30 % reduction on SM price how do they go about achieving it ?
A Russian-made Il-76 cargo plane crashed early Sunday in a Karachi residential neighborhood, killing all eight crewmembers and destroying several buildings under construction, CNN reported.
The plane burst in flames shortly after a takeoff from the Karachi International Airport heading for Khartoum, Sudan, CNN cited local authorities as saying.
The Associated Press and Reuters later said that all eight crewmembers on board the plane were Russians,
Vladimir79 wrote:The real challenge here is to get 204s the ability to break even on cost. If it costs us money to sell them, there is no point being in business. Lebed wants the Russian taxpayer to fund his airline. The only positive is we can produce some to reduce costs, but 44 is not enough to drop largely that 30% cost overun.
Tu-204 has the payload.range and has mostly Russian systems making it a suitable platform for military roles.
Russian Navy desperate for new planes
Russian naval aviation is in critical condition, particularly the aviation units of the Black Sea Fleet, which may lose most of their fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters in the next five to six years.
This problem demands a rapid solution. Otherwise the new warships ordered under the 2011-2020 state rearmament program will be useless.
So far there are no official plans for equipping the navy with new fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. There have been no public reports or official statements regarding the purchase of new aircraft for the navy citing specific figured or parameters, except for the announcement of the purchase of 26 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29 Fulcrum carrier-borne fighters.
Off-the-record comments and articles by experts indicate that Soviet-era Ilyushin Il-38 May and Tupolev Tu-142 Bear F/J maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft are currently being modernized, and that the navy will receive new helicopters under a program to provide a thousand new helicopters for the Russian Armed Forces between 2011 and 2020.
The navy has endured across-the-board cuts for the past 20 years, with naval aviation being the hardest hit. Long-range bomber units essentially no longer exist, and the number of combat-ready ASW planes has dwindled.
The air wing of Russia's sole aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, and helicopters deployed on cruisers, ASW ships and frigates also face major problems.
The Black Sea Fleet is in a particularly bad state, as this was the only Soviet fleet that did not receive next-generation warships and aircraft in the 1980s before the collapse of the Soviet Union. As a result, its aviation units still operate four Beriev Be-12 Mail flying boats, which were decommissioned elsewhere long ago. The fleet operates rapidly aging Kamov Ka-27 Helix and Mil Mi-14 Haze, which are the main helicopter models in use in other fleets.
Russia can replace these obsolete helicopters. Each year, Russia manufactures 100 helicopters for export and for its own needs. Considering the ambitious helicopter procurement plans under the above-mentioned federal rearmament program, the navy is entitled to its fair share.
Replacing ASW aircraft is even more critical. Russia now has an estimated 40 long-range aircraft, including 26-28 Il-38s and 15 Tu-142s in use in the Pacific and Northern fleets, while the Baltic fleet lacks any long-range aircraft.
Ground-based ASW planes have come a long way in the past few years. Owing to recent advances in airborne radio-electronic equipment, most industrialized countries have started converting these planes into multi-role maritime patrol aircraft.
The U.S. Navy's upgraded Lockheed Martin P-3 Orion anti-submarine and surveillance aircraft, the peer of the Soviet Il-38 plane, is a classic example.
Over the past 30 years, these planes have gained a number of new capabilies. They can attack ships with the help of new anti-ship missiles; they can function as AWACS-type early-warning aircraft; and they can patrol exclusive economic zones and territorial waters in search of smugglers and poachers.
The Russian Navy also plans to overhaul its 40 ASW aircraft. But 40 aircraft are clearly not enough to police Russia's coast. Russia has the longest maritime border in the world, a problem compounded by the melting polar icecaps. Although the United States has 130 planes of this class, many U.S. analysts also believe their number should be increased.
Russia cannot compete with the United States in terms of the number of naval aircraft, but it can certainly afford to make more of this class of aircraft, particularly the A-42, an advanced version of the Beriev A-40 Albatros/Mermaid flying boat, developed in the 1980s, which can fly patrol and rescue missions.
The Russian Defense Ministry has already announced plans to purchase these aircraft. However, a 2008 plan to purchase four A-42 search-and-rescue planes, as well as their multi-role versions later on, never materialized.
Lieutenant General Valery Uvarov, former commander of the Russian Navy's air-force and air-defense units, said the navy needs 15-20 new flying boats to meet the demand for search-and-rescue aircraft and to significantly enlarge the ASW plane fleet.
It is impossible to replace all obsolete aircraft with A-42 flying boats because it would take about 20 years for the Taganrog plant that manufactures them, as well as the smaller Beriev Be-200 planes for the Emergencies Ministry, to fulfill the contract for at least 40 such aircraft.
A good replacement would be the Tupolev Tu-204-P multi-mission maritime aircraft, which was developed on the basis of the Tu-204 medium-haul airliner. It resembles the state-of-the-art Boeing P-8 Poseidon, a converted B-737.
This aircraft could be mass-produced if the Russian Navy were to order a sufficient quantity, unlike the A-42 flying boats. This would provide much-needed support to the Tu-204 program, which has essentially no commercial orders.
It would be possible to assemble 50-60 such aircraft in the next ten years, along with a small number of A-42 search-and-rescue planes. This would alleviate the problem and form the foundation for the subsequent development of Russian naval aviation.
The views expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.
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