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On the Record
Alexey Fedorov, President of Irkut Corp. and General Director/General Designer of RSK MiG
Since Alexey Fedorov was appointed director general of RSK MiG in 2004, one of the questions most frequently asked of him has been about the possible merger of Irkut and MiG. Back then he was a major advocate for consolidation of Russian aviation assets, but now he prefers to not elaborate on this issue.
“We consider the possibility of a merger,” he told Show News. “Perhaps it will be the merger of programs for after-sales support with creation of joint service centers, but we do not want to joint MiG and Irkut in a single corporation,” was all he had to say on the issue.
Increasingly, Irkut and Sukhoi are seeking civil cooperation programs, Alexey Fedorov told Show News. At the end of 2004 Airbus placed several orders with Irkut for A320 flap tracks, keel beams, nosewheel bays and floor tracks. Irkut is working on certification of its facilities to Airbus standards, as well as purchasing new equipment, to enable first deliveries to start in December. The current contracts with Airbus is worth $20 million a year. Airbus’s A350 program could bring a further boost to Irkut’s civil aviation cooperation ambitions. This spring Airbus has formally invited Russian companies to join the program as risk-sharing partners. |
As Fedorov does not pin any hopes on Russian fighter sales in Europe, private-owned Irkut Corp. and the state-controlled Russian Aircraft Corporation (RSK) MiG are not exhibiting aircraft at Paris.
The main thrust for both companies nowadays is cooperation programs. Fedorov plans to capitalize on their rich experience with India to enhance relations with European partners.
Asia (effectively India and Malaysia) is still the cash cow for Irkut, while MiG’s portfolio expands sales geography to Africa and the Middle East. In 2004 Irkut delivered 12 Sukhoi Su-30MKI multirole fighters and at least four kits for the licensed production of these aircraft to India, while MiG reportedly delivered seven MiG-29s to Sudan and the first batch of MiG-29SMT multirole fighters and MiG-29UBT trainers to Yemen.
For Irkut development of the Su-30MKIs in the ‘90s provided wide experience in cooperation, as Indian and Malaysian derivatives employ Thales and Sagem avionics. The same is true for MiG. Western European companies Thales, Sagem and BAE Systems supply equipment for MiG-29 derivatives and the MiG-AT jet trainer, Fedorov told Show News. At present RSK MiG is negotiating with operators from the Eastern Europe on upgrade programs for the MiG fighters, and some news on this is expected at the show, Federov indicated. —Artem Fetisov
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