The first trilateral contract on three Beriev A-50EI airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft for the Indian Defence Ministry was fulfilled with success this spring. In March 2011, the third aircraft of the type, serialled KW3553, flew to IAF’s air base in Agra, having been fitted with the radar system and subjected to relevant trials in Israel.

The MiG Corp. has delivered the first batch of MiG-29 fighters to the Republic of Myanmar. The Russian media reported the readiness of the planes for shipping as far back as early March 2011. The contract for 20 MiG-29 fighters for Myanmar was landed in late 2009. According to the Burmese press, it provides for delivery of 10 MiG-29B fighters (the baseline export variant also known as type 9-12B), six MiG-29SE (9-13SE, a version with a slightly increased fuel load and improved avionics) and four MiG-29UB two-seat combat trainers to the tune of $550 million.

Antonov An-148-100B of the Rossiya airline performed its first international service on 16 March 2011: RA-61705 regional jet brought passengers from St. Petersburg to Berlin. Prior to that, Russian An-148s had flown domestic services only. Rossiya began scheduled operations of its An-148s in December 2009, and now it has as many as six aircraft of the type, leased from the Ilyushin Finance Co. Talks on turning the nine An-148 options into firm orders are under way. If all goes all, Rossiya’s An-148 fleet could be beefed up with three more aircraft of the type by year-end.

Fielding of the advanced Kamov Ka-52 round-the-clock multirole combat helicopters with the Russian Army Aviation kicked off in December 2010. Their series production was launched by the Sazykin Progress plant in Arsenyev. The first four production-standard aircraft were delivered to the Russian Army Aviation Combat and Conversion Training Centre (CCTC) in the town of Torzhok, and the acceptance ceremony took place on 28 December 2010.

The second flying prototype of the T-50 fifth-generation fighter, built by the Sukhoi company under the PAK FA Future Tactical Fighter programme, took from the airfield of the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association (KnAAPO) on 3 March 2011. The 57-min. maiden flight was performed by Honoured Test Pilot Sergey Bogdan, who had taken the first prototype to the skies just over a year ago, on 29 January 2010. According to Sukhoi, the flight was a success and in line with the mission scenario, with the operation of the systems, powerplant, stability and controllability assessed. “The plane performed well throughout the flight programme”, the developer’s news release reads.