Russia's Ministry for the defence industries is pushing for a restructuring of the country's ailing defence manufacturing base to try and avert a total collapse.
The ministry aims to bundle together 320 companies still under state control into around 30 large corporate groups, from this year. Around 1,300 of the 1,800 concerns under the ministry's authority are already privatised.
The restructuring is being driven by the collapse in defence expenditure, which has plummeted by 90% in real terms since 1991.
In 1996, the Russian air force was unable to buy a single combat aircraft, says the ministry, because it had no funds. The ministry is said to have outstanding payments to industry worth $1.6 billion.
Combat-aircraft manufacturers Mikoyan and Sukhoi have already consolidated design bureaux with manufacturing plants as well as including other design houses. This process is likely to accelerate, with the ministry's blessing.
Tupolev and Yakovlev, which have seen a dramatic tail-off in military projects, have held preliminary talks to explore the possibility of a link, initially on a "project-by-project basis, says Valentin Klimov, Tupolev's general director.
Source: Flight International