Howard Gethin/MOSCOW
Russia plans to form a holding company combining design bureaux and manufacturers - including Aviastar, Ilyushin, KnAAPO, MiG, Sukhoi and Tupolev - as part of a drive to reform its aviation industry over the next decade, according to Ministry of Science and Technology plans leaked to the Moscow newspaper Vedmosti. In a separate move, aero-engine manufacturer Rybinsk Motors is to merge with design authority Lyulka-Saturn.
The first stage in the consolidation of the airframe sector will see the completion of existing plans to create single integrated entities over the next two years. The second stage will be to amalgamate manufacturers and design bureaux into a holding structure known as Aist (Stork). The creation of a single company will allow Moscow to concentrate funding on high-priority projects with strong export potential, and to rationalise the industry to deal with over-capacity.
The emphasis of the plan is thought to be on the military sector, because of its export potential. The ministry sees possible military exports of $2-2.5 billion a year over the next decade, with five major enterprises producing 50-60 aircraft annually for export, and between 10 and 20 for the Russian ministry of defence. Domestic sales of Russian civil aircraft will remain slow, the report says.
Moscow's new plan for a single aviation enterprise differs from previous concepts, which envisaged three groups built around Sukhoi, Tupolev and Ilyushin - a model touted by Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov last year.
The new plan does not indicate where control of Aist will lie. Options might include the ministry of science and technology, or Yuri Koptev at the Russian Aerospace Agency, with Sukhoi's Mikhail Pogossyan - who has experience of forging the disparate elements of ANPK Sukhoi into a coherent structure - a credible alternative.
The plan follows another scheme to overhaul Russia's entire military-industrial complex, discussed by President Putin and industry bosses last month, and the air force's specification of future requirements for a new generation multirole fighter aircraft.
The merger of Rybinsk Motors and Lyulka-Saturn will be the first step in the rationalisation of the Russian engine sector, which also suffers from over-capacity. Rybinsk will not comment on reports of the merger, but says the issue will be discussed at a shareholders' meeting this week. The deal is expected to be completed in May.
Rybinsk's largest shareholder is the Russian ministry of state property with 37%. Private companies hold the rest. The company had sales of $76.8 million in the first nine months of last year, with a $0.88 million net profit. Privately-owned Lyulka-Saturn is the design authority for the AL-31F turbofan, which powers the Sukhoi Su-27/Su-30 series, and which has enjoyed export success.
Both companies are also active in the oil and gas industry, and are linked by the Lyulka-Saturn-designed AL-41F engine, for which Rybinsk - along with Salyut and UMPO - has been chosen as serial producer. The AL-41F is due to power Russia's next generation fighters and should begin testing by 2005.
The planned merger comes at a time of closer co-operation between rival engine manufacturers Perm and Aviadvigatel.
Source: Flight International
