CIVIL AVIATION
• First Tu-214 delivered to Transaero
• Red Wings for Tu-204
• Il-96-400T gets new orders
• Aeroflot did opt for Airbus
• S7 gets more Western airliners
• Russia’s cargo traffic leader expands its fleet
• Sky Express extends its operations

Sukhoi SuperJet getting ready for take-off
Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company and its partners carry on with the preparations for launching the trials of the SuperJet 100 regional airliner. The Novosibirsk Aircraft Production Association made the nose and tail sections of the fuselage and shipped them to KnAAPO for assembly of the SuperJet’s first flying prototype (aircraft No 95001). NAPO is completing the manufacture of one more section slated to go to Komsomolsk-on-Amur soon, where the main fuselage sections and the wing are being made and where the airliner is to undergo final assembly. Rollout of the aircraft No 95001 is scheduled for September this year, with the flight tests to follow.
Meanwhile, in Zhukovsky, TsAGI is finalising the assembly and static test preparations of the first SuperJet 100 static airframe (aircraft 95001) built by KnAAPO in cooperation with NAPO by the beginning of this year and flown to Zhukovsky by a Ruslan An-124 transport on 28 January.
Engine makers are gearing up for the SuperJet-100’s tests too. A unique open test bench – the only bench like that in Europe – was commissioned at Saturn’s pad in Poluyevo near the city of Rybinsk. It will be used for conducting the whole range of certification and acceptance tests of the SaM146 engine under joint development by Russia’s NPO Saturn and Snecma (Safran group, France), including such complicated tests as side wind simulation, water, hail and ice ingestion, etc. Soon, the SaM146 is to begin its flight tests on board the Il-76LL flying testbed being prepared by Gromov LII. The first flight of the testbed fitted with the SaM146 is expected in July. Vladimir Karnozov covers the newest events in SuperJet programme

Cuban vector of Russian aircraft industry
The delivery of the first two Ilyushin Il-96-300 long-haul airliners to Cuba in December 2005 and February 2006 was followed by Russian leasing company Ilyushin Finance Co.’s making a new deal with the Cuban government last year for new Il-96 and Tu-204 family aircraft to be built by Russian manufacturing plants for the Cubana Aviacion airline. The third Il-96-300 intended for Cuba was shipped to the customer very late last year – on 30 December. Not long before that, the Aviastar-SP plant in Ulyanovsk had completed the lead Cuban Tupolev Tu-204 built in the Tu-204CE cargo version. It has conducted its maiden flight on 19 December 2006. Late in May, it completed the full set of certification tests and now is being prepared for shipping to the customer. Andrey Fomin reviews the recent Russo-Cuban contracts and tells about peculiarities of the Russian airliners service with Cubana Aviacion

INDUSTRY
• UAC’s production plans until 2012 set
• Il-112V to fly in two yeas
• An-148 gets Type Certificate
• Il-76 to be built in Russia
• Yak-130 tests go on
• NK-93 kicks off flight trials
• Ka-52 upgrade

Alexander Novikov: “We know what we’ve got to do”
An important events this year has been the testing of the MiG-29K(KUB) shipborne fighter prototypes developed by the MiG Corp. on ordered from the Indian Navy, as well as the unveiling of and launch of practical work on the deeply upgraded Generation 4++ MiG-35 fighter. The aircraft are powered by modified RD-33MK engines featuring enhanced power and reliability. Full-scale production of the RD-33MK engine has been launched by the Chernyshev Machine-Building Enterprise in Moscow, the only Russian plant producing the RD-33 family engines to power the MiG-29 fighters in service with more than 30 air forces worldwide. In the run-up to the 75th anniversary to be celebrated by Chernyshev, Take-Off met Director General Aleksandr Novikov and asked him to shed light on the plant productionising advanced aeroengines

CONTRACTS AND DELIVERIES
The heaviest helicopter for the easiest life
Mi-26T heavylifter finds new customers
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the maiden flight of the largest and most capable heavylift helicopter in the world – the Mi-26 developed by the Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant. For over a quarter of the century, it has been in production by the Rostvertol plant in Rostov-on-Don in both military and civil (Mi-26T) versions, remaining unrivalled and in high demand on the global market owing to its unique characteristics, high reliability and continuous refinement of its design. Another country, Venezuela, has launched operation of the Mi-26T recently, and this summer the helicopter’s ‘fan club’ is to gain another member – China – with the first aircraft of the type to be shipped to the country late in June. Vadim Nekrasov tells about recent news in Mi-26T’s export career and experience of its employment  for fire-fighting and special transport operations all over the world

• Another record set by Russian arms export
• More Su-30MK2s delivered to Venezuela
• India steps up Su-30MKI assembly
• UUAZ boosts Mi-171 exports
• Ka-32 to go to Japan
• Jordan debuts as Russian helicopter buyer
• MTA: from intentions to intergovernmental agreement
• Indian Navy to get two more Il-38SDs
• Brahmos boards Il-38
• Azerbaijan gets its first MiG-29s

First Su-30MKM deliveried
New Flanker derivative for Malaysia unveiled in Irkutsk
The first two Sukhoi Su-30MKM multirole fighters have been accepted by the customer on 24 May. The acceptance ceremony took place at the airfield of the Irkutsk plant, a member of the Irkut corporation. The delegation of the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) was led by the service’s chief, General Dato’ Sri Azizan bin Ariffin. Malaysia and Russia signed the contract for 18 Su-30MKMs worth about $900 million in August 2003. The first two aircraft are to be delivered in June by an An-124 Ruslan heavylifter, with two more fighters to follow in June and July. Six more warplanes are to be shipped in October and November. Thus, the customer will have taken delivery of 12 Su-30MKMs before year-end, with the remaining six to arrive in Malaysia in 2008. Vladimir Karnozov reports from the first two Su-30MKMs handing-over ceremony

MILITARY AVIATION
• Russian and Belarusian Air Forces held combined exercise
• Lipetsk Centre receives two Su-25SMs
• Defence ministry gets two more Mi-28Ns
• Ukrainian MiG-29 upgrade kicks off
• Preparations for MiG-31 fleet upgrade under way
• Attack aircraft land on motorway

Su-35
A step away from the fifth generation
The Sukhoi company pins its near future at the global fighter market on the advent of the Su-35 super-manoeuvrable multirole fighter – a heavily upgraded Flanker-family member intended to fill the gap between various today’s versions of the Su-30MK fighter and a fifth-generation aircraft whose deliveries might kick off in the later 2010s. “The Su-35 is a Generation 4++ aircraft embodying numerous Gen. 5 technologies. They ensure the Su-35’s superiority over all other Gen. 4 fighters under development throughout the world. During 2009–2015, the cutting-edge technologies will make the Su-35 superior to all future multifunction fighters on the global market”, Sukhoi officials say. The plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur is now building three Su-35 prototypes the first of which is due to kick off its flight trials as early as this summer. What kind of aircraft is the latest fighter and how does it differ from the Su-27 and Su-30 that are all the rage nowadays? Andrey Fomin tries to answer these questions

COSMONAUTICS
• Khrunichev Centre grows into holding company
• Dnepr launches resume
• Soyuz-Kourou launch site construction begins