The successful consolidation of key parts of Russia’s aerospace industry into the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) is more evident at this year’s Farnborough International Airshow then at any time since the group’s formation back in February 2006. In several press briefings in the months ahead of this year’s show, CEO Mikhail Pogosian, who has been at the helm for much of this vital re-ordering of the once scattered Russian design bureaus, research bodies and production facilities, was eager to stress the very tangible ways that the UAC structure has benefitted the industry’s day-to-day operations.
Here in Farnborough, the UAC combined exhibit brings together key subsidiary companies, including Sukhoi, MiG and Irkut. The aim is to project a sense of cohesion that will allow the Russian group to match Western rivals, such as Airbus and Boeing. This process will take more concrete form later this year when the National Aerospace Design Center–encompassing all individual design bureaus–is opened at the Moscow-area Zhukovsky air base later this year.
