Howard Gethin / Moscow
Moscow continues moves to regenerate the aerospace industry by merging engine, avionics and missile companies
The Russian Government is planning a further wave of restructuring, this time involving major system suppliers in the aerospace industry. It follows the recent announcement of a planned restructuring of most of the major aircraft manufacturers and design authorities under the Federal Program of Aviation Development for 2002-2010.
Along with the earlier amalgamation, the Russian Aerospace Agency (RAKA) and the ministries of economics and industry and science restructuring plan is the biggest overhaul of the Russian aerospace industry since the collapse of communism. It is tangible evidence that Moscow is determined to forge an aerospace sector capable of competing with the West, even though there remains scepticism that the ambitious programme can be pushed through.
Three groups of companies have been formed, as well as the two major holdings - SVSK-1 and SVSK-2 - covering industry giants such as Sukhoi, Tupolev, Kamov and the Aviastar manufacturing site.
The first group, Aviation Engines and Parts, will be formed from an amalgamation of 33 civil and military powerplant manufacturers from across the country. These will include: MMPP Salyut, UMPO, GNPP Motor, OAO Lyulka-Saturn, MKB Granit, MPP Rumyantsev, NPP EGA, Perm Motors, OAO Aviadvigatel, FPG Dvigateli NK and OAO Rybinsk Motors.
The second, an avionics group, will be formed from 37 companies including OAO KhK Aviapribor-Holding, Airspace Equipment and OAO Avionics Concern.
The third group, Aviation Arms, will bring together eight companies into a single large weapons manufacturer. They include: GNPTs Zvezda-Strela (air-to-surface guided weapons), GMKB Vympel (air-to-air guided weapons), RNPP Region, MKB Iskra, TMKB Soyuz, GMKB Raduga (design authority for the SS-N-22 Sunburn/AS-19 Koala missile), OAO Duks and OAO DMZ.
Restructuring will be two-stage, with a gradual merging of the holdings into new structures after 2003. The exact timetable and course of the process remain undecided, according to Vladimir Mitkin, head of the ministry of industry and science. The government has told RAKA and the ministries to complete the merger scheme and submit proposals this month.
The issue of private shareholders' participation in the new structures is yet to be finalised, the ministry of industry and science says, but the state is likely to remain a major shareholder in the new holdings, given their strategic sensitivity.
Source: Flight International
