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Italy is ready to buy a significant number of Russian-made Sukhoi Superjet 100 medium-haul airliners, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Monday. "This is our first civil aircraft... which corresponds with the most recent civil aviation requirements, and our Italian partners are now ready to buy them in quite large numbers," Putin said during a United Russia party congress in the Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, accompanied by Putin and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, inspected a Superjet aircraft in Sochi last Friday. The plane arrived in the southern Russian city on a test flight...

The Government of India entered into an agreement with the Russian Government for the development and production of a Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft on October 18, 2007 for cooperation in the Joint Development and Certification of Prospective Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft. The agreement envisages joint production, joint marketing to third countries, sales, after sale support and disposal of aircraft after completion of their life-cycle. Subsequent to this Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has signed a Confidentiality agreement on July 11, 2008, a General Contract on December 22, 2008 and a Memorandum on March 10, 2010. The estimated expenditure which is likely to...

Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company won a $300 million order from Orient Thai for 12 of Russia’s first major passenger planes since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Itar-Tass reported, citing the Thailand-based airline. Sukhoi agreed to deliver 12 of the mid-range Sukhoi Superjet 100 airliners before 2014, the news service reported from Bangkok. Orient Thai plans to use the aircraft on domestic flights, gradually replacing its current fleet, the report said, citing Orient Thai chairman Kajit Habanananda. The airline may hire Sukhoi to maintain the fleet, he said. Delivery of the first two planes is planned for November next year,...

Russia's Sukhoi design bureau will start testing another T-50 PAK FA fifth generation fighter jet until the end of the year. Mikhail Pogosyan, the head of the bureau, told reporters on November 22 that the first plane, which is currently being tested, had performed 40 flights. The official described the tests of the new plane as successful and fast.

Powerful Su-25 strike aircraft to stage triumphant comeback? RIA Novosti military commentator Ilya Kramnik The Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant (UUAZ) in Eastern Siberia could resume production of Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot strike aircraft on orders from the Russian Defense Ministry and the United Aircraft Building Corporation. How likely is the country's Defense Ministry to purchase them? What are their strengths and where could they be used? That's what this article considers. A real order or wishful thinking? It was in Ulan-Ude on November 23 that the CEO of the United Industrial Corporation Oboronprom, Andrei Reus, first raised the possibility that the plant...

Sukhoi plans to hand over a new batch of Su-34 fighters to the Russian air force by year-end. The aircraft are currently undergoing flight testing at the Novosibirsk NAPO assembly facility, company officials say. Although they would not specify the total number, four aircraft are believed to be involved. This will be the first batch to be handed over since the contract signing in 2008, which calls for the delivery of 32 fighter bombers through 2013. The air force already operates five Su-34 strike aircraft from the preproduction batch. During the Vostok 2010 military exercise last July, these aircraft flew...

generation fighter design contract in December, Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said on Thursday. Russia's Sukhoi holding and India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) agreed in early 2010 to jointly develop a fifth-generation fighter jet. India confirmed that it had finalized a draft contract at a meeting with Russia in early October. "If all procedures are completed by the time of our president's visit [to India] in December, the contract will be ready for signing," Ivanov said. The new aircraft will be based on Russia's T-50 prototype fifth-generation fighter, which has already made several test flights, and is expected to enter...

From 16 to 21 November 2010 the Rosoboronexport State Corporation will take part in the eighth International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition Airshow China 2010. The Corporation regards the exhibition as a step towards strengthening military-technical cooperation with China. This year about 40 models of armaments and military equipment for the Air Force and Air Defense and 10 civilian and dual-use products are on display at its stand. China remains one of the most important Russian partners, despite some decrease in China’s share of Russian exports. Active cooperation in the field of aircraft and air defense equipment is going on. "We...

Sukhoi Company conducted flight tests of serial Su-34 fighter bombers at the Chkalov Aviation Production Association (NAPO) flight testing station in Novosibirsk. Serial production of the Su-34 has been set up at the NAPO plant, which is a part of the Sukhoi holding company. The Russian Air Force already has in service several Su-34s. Another consignment of such planes is due by the end of the year. In 2008 a state contract was signed with the government to supply the Russian Defense Ministry with Su-34 serial-production aircraft. The Su-34 can effectively attack land-based, sea- and airborne targets by day and...

Russia started the first day at an arms show in Jakarta with a contract on the delivery of munitions for Sukhoi-family fighters to Indonesia, worth $54 million, a senior defense official said on Wednesday. The Indo Defense 2010 Expo & Forum opened on November 10 in Jakarta to host over 400 exhibitors from 38 countries until November 13. Nine Russian defense companies are exhibiting various types of sophisticated weaponry at the biennial arms fair. "Russia's [arms exporter] Rosoboronexport signed a contract on the delivery of munitions for Su-family fighters in service with the Indonesian armed forces," said Mikhail Pukhov, deputy...

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. The Superjet 100 is a family of medium-haul passenger aircraft developed by Sukhoi in cooperation with U.S. and European aviation corporations, including Boeing, Snecma, Thales,...

Russia is planning to sign in December an agreement with India on the preliminary design of a joint fifth-generation fighter aircraft, a senior Russian aircraft industry official said on Wednesday. Russian Sukhoi holding and Indian Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) agreed in early 2010 to jointly develop a fifth-generation fighter jet, tentatively dubbed PAK FA. "An agreement with India on the pre-design of the PAK FA will be signed in December," said Alexei Fyodorov, head of Russia's United Aircraft Corporation. The sides agreed to develop both a single-seat and a two-seat version of the aircraft by 2016, focusing on the single-seat...

HAL has big designs for fifth gen fighter Madhumathi D.S. Bangalore, Oct. 18 When the country's fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) project — one that will give India the smartest and most lethal class of fighters in this part of the world — takes off as expected in the coming months, it would be the biggest ever design and development venture to be taken up by defence enterprise Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. HAL would be joining Russia's Sukhoi Corporation to co-design, co-develop, and manufacture 200-250 FGFA; each separately for its respective air force. Joint development and production by HAL for the...

Russian-designed Sukhoi fighters (Su-30MKI) with the Indian Air Force (IAF) will soon have in their cockpit an indigenous multi-functional display system manufactured by Samtel in a joint venture with defence behemoth Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), a senior executive said Wednesday. "The first home-grown multi-functional display (MFD) system will be fitted in the cockpit of a Sukhoi for a roll-out Friday," Samtel-HAL Display Systems Ltd Executive Director Puneet Kaura told reporters on the margins of a defence conference here. The display systems are being manufactured under a limited series production by the joint venture in collaboration with scientists and engineers of...

The Polish defense ministry is evaluating upgrades to its Su-22 and MiG-29 force to sustain its fighter inventory even as it looks to field a new trainer that also would take on light fighter roles. Decisions on the Su-22 are most acute, since the first of the aircraft will reach the end of its service life in 2014. The near-term plan is to add 200 flight hours, or two years of operational life. This would allow delaying a decision on what to do next until 2016, says Tadeusz Pieciukiewicz, a ministry representative. The question then becomes whether to pursue a...

Sukhoi says it will deliver the first Su-35S multirole fighter to the Russian air force by the end of the year. Last year the Russian military ordered a batch of 48 fighters with the deliveries to be completed by 2015. On Oct. 11, Sukhoi reported that the first production Su-35S is already in final assembly at the KnAAPO facility in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, with preparations underway for flight testing. The single-seat Su-35S is a mid-life upgrade of the Su-27 Flanker. It combines the proven Flanker airframe with more powerful 117S engines equipped with thrust vector control. The electronics also have been overhauled...

India chooses Russian prototype for its fifth generation aircraft Fifth generation T-50 fighter © RIA Novosti. Alexei Druzhinin The joint development of a fifth generation fighter aircraft has moved to the fore of Russian-Indian cooperation. The issue was discussed during Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov's recent visit to India. But an important question remains: Which fifth generation fighter are we taking about? The first prototype of the T-50 aircraft built under the PAK FA project is already flying in Russia. Fifth generation fighters are increasingly becoming a symbol proving that a country has an independent aviation industry, capable of developing...

Russian Air Force to receive first Su-35 by yearend - Sukhoi SU-35 © RIA Novosti. Anton Denisov The Russian Defense Ministry will receive its first Su-35 fighter plane by the end of the year, Russia's Sukhoi Aircraft Design Bureau said on Monday. The first modernized Su-35 was presented at the 2007 MAKS air show outside Moscow. The Russian Defense Ministry signed a deal with Sukhoi on the purchase of 48 modernized Su-35 jets in 2009. Sukhoi is also holding talks with customers in South-East Asia, the Middle East and South America on Su-35 sales. The Su-35 Flanker-E, a modification of...

India is planning to buy up to 300 co-produced fifth-generation fighters and 45 utility transports from Russia, the Indian defense minister said on Thursday. "Over the next decade, Russian-Indian military cooperation will focus on two projects: a utility transport and a fifth-generation fighter," said Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, who is on a two-day visit to India. The jointly-produced fifth generation fighter will not be a copy of the existing Sukhoi T-50 prototype ordered for the Russian Air Force, but will be a separate creation, a high-profile source in the Russian delegation in New Delhi said. The countries are planning...

Russian Sukhoi T-50 PAK-FA, which flew for the first time this January at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur facility in Siberia, will be built to IAF's specifications. These stealth fighters will be ready to combat a joint air war with Pakistan and China. It's already being touted as far superior to the American F/A-22 `Raptor'', the world's only operational fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) as of now. IAF's FGFA will be a "swing-role fighter, with very advanced avionics, stealth to increase survivability, enhanced lethality, 360 degree situational awareness, smart weapons, data-links, high-end mission computers'''' and the like. Along with 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft,...