Russia to deliver 4 S-300 systems to Belarus in 2014

In 2014 Russia will deliver four S-300 air defense systems to Belarus for free; in 2015 the systems will be put into service by the Belarusian air defense forces, Russian Minister of Defense, General Sergey Shoygu told RIA Novosti.

“Speaking of results of 2014, I would like to admit that we will deliver 4 S-300 systems to Belarus this year. I believe that the systems will be put into service by Belarusian army in 2015”, — Shoygu said while speaking about results of the meeting of the Joint Board of Russian and Belarusian Ministries of Defense.

According to him, results of joint work for 2014 have been summarized and the plans for 2015 have been approved at the meeting. “We have made important decisions aimed at strengthening security of our Union State”, — Shoygu said.

Russia to restore space echelons of missile defense system

The Russian Defense Ministry will restore the space-based echelon of the missile attack early warning system, Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov told reporters on Thursday. He said the missile launch monitoring spacecraft are part of the missile warning system, its first echelon. The system will also comprise a network of ground-based radar stations.

Russia is currently developing a single space system that is set to become a space echelon of the missile warning system, designed to detect and track launches of ballistic missiles around the world.

Borisov said the nuclear strike systems are now actively being developed, in particular, the creation of manoeuvring ballistic targets and the missile penetration system development is underway, so the role and place of the space echelon of the missile warning system will be constantly growing.

SCAC plans to complete deliveries of 30 Sukhoi SuperJet 100 aircraft to Aeroflot in 2016

Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company (SCAC, part of United Aircraft Corporation) plans to complete deliveries of 30 Sukhoi SuperJet 100 (SSJ 100) aircraft to Aeroflot in 2016, vice-president of SCAC, Igor Sirtsov, said at presentation of SSJ 100 held in Beijing.

“Today Aeroflot operates 10 our aircraft. This year we are going to deliver four more jets of the type to the carrier; in early 2016 we should complete deliveries of 30 SSJ 100s”, – he said.

Sirtsov added that at present SSJ 100 aircraft are being delivered to Interjet (Mexico). “Interjet operates ten liners of the type and we deliver one SSJ 100 per month. A total of 20 aircraft will be delivered to the carrier; after that we will consider the possibility of delivering more SSJ 100 jets to the Mexican airline. The jets have proven their worth at the Mexican market”, – the vice-president noted.

Russian Helicopters achieve import substitution success in Mi-8AMTSh-V helicopters

Russian Helicopters has completed modernisation work on Mi-8AMTSh-V helicopters, for delivery to the Russian Air Force under the State Defence Order, which are produced by Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant incorporating the focus on import substitution. The latest Mi-8AMTSh-V has been praised by military pilots of the Mi-8AMTSh (export name Mi-171Sh).

“We understand the importance of being as independent as possible from foreign-made components and units in the machines we deliver under the State Defence Order, and are focusing on this area of activity,” said Russian Helicopters CEO Alexander Mikheev. “Further, the results of this work on the Mi-8AMTSh-V testify to the fact that using Russian-made equipment allows us to significantly improve the helicopter’s flight capabilities.”

Russian Mistral class delivery dates cause further controversy

France’s sale of two Mistral-class landing helicopter docks (LHDs) to Russia caused further controversy on 29 October, after Russian deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin claimed the first vessel would be handed over on 14 November.

Rogozin made the claim via Twitter, and published a photo of a letter purporting to be an invite from DCNS to Rosoboronexport for a handover ceremony of Vladivostok on 14 November. The document was dated 8 October and written in English.

Delivery of Vladivostok had previously been scheduled for October, but was indefinitely postponed by French president Francois Hollande on 3 September following the breakdown in relations between the West and Russia over the Ukraine crisis.

Russia claims import substitution complete on Mi-8

Russian Helicopters claims to have achieved import substitution during modernisation work on Mi-8AMTsh-V helicopters for the Russian Air Force: a process that involved substituting Ukrainian subsystems for locally produced alternatives.

“We understand the importance of being as independent as possible from foreign-made components and units in the machines we deliver under the [Russian annual] State Defence Order,” Russian Helicopters said in a 30 October statement.

The company said the modernisation and substitution effort involved replacing Ukrainian AI-9V auxiliary power units (produced by Motor Sich of Ukraine) with Russian TA-14 units (from SPE Aerosila). Mi-8 engines (previously supplied by Motor Sich) were substituted by Russian alternatives (the VK-2500-03 of Klimov).

SCAC plans to enter Chinese market

Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company (SCAC, part of United Aircraft Corporation) is going to enter Chinese market by means of launching sales of Sukhoi SuperJet 100 aircraft (SSJ 100) in the country, Euronews reports.

“At present our aircraft are operated in Mexico, where climatic conditions and geographic environment are much like in China. So we believe that SSJ 100 liners are well suited for operation in this country”, – vice-president of SCAC, Igor Sirtsov said.

He added: “experience of Mexican carrier Interjet, which managed to decrease turnaround time to 25 minutes for SSJ 100 jets, may be useful for Chinese customers”.

The vice-president of SCAC believes that Chinese market has a great potential. “According to Chinese experts, the country’s market will need about 1000 new medium-haul aircraft over the next 10-15 years. We are going to compete for 30% of this volume”, – Sirtsov said. He noted that the company is going to promote 100-seat liners in “low-cost” segment of Chinese market.

Military units of the Eastern Military District will take delivery of Su-30SM and Su-30M2 fighters

Representatives of military units of the Eastern Military District have started acceptance of four multi-role Su-30SM and Su-30M2 fighters at Irkut Corporation’s production sites and Komsomolsk-on-Amur aviation plant named after Yuri Gagarin (KnAAZ), Interfax-AVN reports.

“After signing all the necessary documents and performing acceptance flights new Su-30SM and Su-30M2 fighters will be delivered to the military units of the Eastern Military District based in Zabaykalsky Krai and Khabarovsk Territory”, – head of press-service of Eastern Military District, Colonel Alexnader Gordeev, said.

A total of 15 new Su-30SM and Su-30M2 multi-role fighters will be delivered to military units of the Eastern Military District in 2014, he added.

Su-30SM (SM stands for production and upgraded) – multi-role super-maneuverable fighter derived from Su-30MK Family jets. The fighter meets the requirements of Russian air forces in terms of radar, radio communications systems, friend-or-foe identification system, ejection seats and a number of other systems.