This spring, the Russian Air Force received more of advanced Sukhoi warplanes under earlier-signed contracts. On 6 May 2013, as part of the ceremony of inaugurating a new runway at the Defence Ministry State Flight Test Centre named after Valery Chkalov in the town of Akhtubinsk, the media were shown the new Su-34 tactical bomber (side number 34) that came in from the Sukhoi’s Novosibirsk Aircraft Plant that day and another Su-30SM supermanoeuvrable multirole two-seat fighter (side number 54) delivered to the Centre by the Irkut corporation this spring.

The Ulyanovsk-based Aviastar-SP close corporation earmarked as UAC’s principal production centre specialising in transport aircraft production is grooming the first Ilyushin Il-76MD-90A (476) aircraft for the kickoff of its flight trials. Under the 20 December 2006 Russian government’s resolution, authorising the development and production of the upgraded Il-76 in Ulyanovsk, Ilyushin 476 was to get a redesigned wing, more powerful and more efficient PS-90A-76 turbofan engines and a modern flight navigation suite.

Antonov An-70 airlifter prototype, which has been undergoing tests in Kiev since last autumn after a two-year upgrade, is to be unveiled at the current jubilee air show in Le Bourget.

Antonov commenced the upgrade of the An-70’s avionics suite and powerplant in line with the specifications requirement approved by the Russian and Ukrainian defence ministries in August 2010. The last, 625th, flight of the only An-70 prototype (UR-NTK, c/n 01-02) prior to the upgrade had taken place on 28 July 2010.

In May 2013, the Aircraft Registry of the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) accepted the Aviadvigatel JSC’s application for certification its advanced PD-14 turbofan engine that has been in development to power the Irkut MC-21 short/medium-range aircraft family and other passenger and cargo planes.

In line with the PD-14 requirements specification, Aviadvigatel developed the certification basis with due account for the AP-33 airworthiness and AP-34 aircraft engine emission regulations. Having received the nod from IAC’s Aircraft Registry, Aviadvigatel launched certification preparations in earnest. The first phase of the certification – the mock-up review commission – is slated for the early fourth quarter of 2013. IAC experts are to be provided with a draft of certification test programmes, a digital engine mock-up and other relevant materials. The next certification phase will be the factory trials of the PD-14.

The United Engine Corporation (UEC) pins its hopes for the progress of Russian airliner and freighter engine-making on the new-generation 12,500-15,600-kgf PD-14 turbofan engine development programme. The PD-14 is the first one in the family of advanced 9–18-tf engines under development by a large pool of UEC’s subsidiaries with Aviadvigatel JSC in Perm as prime contractor.

30 May 2012 saw the completion of the assembly of the first PD-14 demonstrator prototype in Perm, and the engine entered its bench tests in June. A full-scale PD-14 mockup will be unveiled by UEC at this airshow in Farnborough.

The PD-14 is a two-shaft split-exhaust direct-drive turbofan engine. All engines in the family have a common core with the eight-stage high-pressure compressor, annular low-emission combustor and two-stage high-pressure turbine. The PD-14 baseline model will be fitted with the 1,900-mm single-stage fan (the same diameter as that of the PS-90A), three-stage low-pressure compressor and six-stage low-pressure turbine.