Mikhail Pogosyan, General Director, Sukhoi Holding
This year Sukhoi has brought aircraft to Le Bourget for the first time since 2001 An Su-27SKM — export version of Su-27SM single-seat fighter — is here in the static and flying displays. The SM/SKM variant is the result of an extensive modernization program, and is being targeted at foreign customers, as well as for Russian forces.
In previous years Russian exhibitors were cautious about taking aircraft to airshows abroad for fear that they might be seized for unpaid debts of the Russian state. “This year we have consulted with our lawyers and finally decided to show the fighter,” Sukhoi general director Mikhail Pogosyan told Show News.
The commercial side of Sukhoi’s business is represented by cockpit and passenger cabin mock-ups of the Russian Regional Jet.
Industry analysts say Sukhoi is suffering slowdown in production rates at KnAAPO, its main facility in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, as major contracts are completed and new deals have still to be concluded.
In 2004 the Sukhoi reportedly delivered 24 Su-30MK2s to China and four to Vietnam. The chances that China will purchase another batch of Su-30MK2s remain uncertain. The future for licensed production in China is also unclear, as the delivery of the last of 105 assembly kits to the Shenyang assembly plant was completed in the summer of 2004. Negotiations on the license manufacture of the remaining 95 aircraft projected under a 1996 agreement are underway, but there are some obstacles in the dialogue between Russia and China.
In addition, Sukhoi experienced an unexpected setback in the aftermath of last December’s tsunami in Southeast Asia, which forced the government of Indonesia to postpone its purchase of a second batch of six to eight Sukhoi jet fighters.
While export deliveries leave much to be desired, last year the Russian state boosted Sukhoi’s business with defense orders. The first seven-strong batch of Su-27SMs was delivered to Russian Air Force, and this year, according to its commander-in-chief, General Vladimir Mikhailov, 17 more are scheduled for delivery.
Pogosyan says a three-year contract signed with the Air Force for the modernization of Su-27s will partly compensate for the decline in export business, which in 2004 accounted for $1.6 billion — 95% of Sukhoi's revenues
Pogosyan acknowledges that “in the first half of 2005 we have made adjustments in the production program at KnAAPO,” but regardless of the changes in its export schedule, Sukhoi continues work on such promising programs as fifth-generation fighter, and is focusing on a major retooling effort in preparation for the upcoming production of the commercial RRJ family.
Both programs enjoy wide international cooperation, but while in the commercial sector there are few obstacles, to add foreign partners to the fifth-generation fighter program Sukhoi will face difficulties because of the highly classified nature of this project. Pogosyan suggests that “the fifth-generation fighter could employ foreign systems, but they should be produced jointly with Russian companies.” Reportedly, Russia is believed to have made a presentation on the aircraft to India, whose potential role is still undefined. —Artem Fetisov
