Export and foreign-economic activity
For the first time Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft building plant entered the global aircraft market in the early ‘50s, when it exported the first MiG-17F fighters to Egypt and Algeria. Shortly after that, the plant sold a license for production of these fighters to the Peoples’ Republic of China. The plant’s staff rendered technical assistance to master the aircraft production at the Shenyang aviation plant where the documentation was de-livered, as well as the technology, assembly jigs, and dedicated tools. Our plant organ-ized theoretical and practical training for several groups of Chinese specialists and workers of different levels. These aircraft started the new epoch for the Chinese aviation industry, allowed to create and develop own design and production of new types of war-planes.
January 1964 witnessed the expor of the SU-7BM fighter-bombers to Czechoslova-kia and Poland, and later on the Su-7BMK and Su-7UMK aircraft were exported to the several foreign countries. These supplies marked the uneasy forty-year road of the plant basic products – “Su-family” aircraft - to the world market. During these years over 3,000 SU-type aircraft in different modification were made and exported to 22 states of the world.
The plant’s staff, its main departments and services stably and systematically up-graded the main products. Simultaneously with the aircraft new modifications’ produc-tion for the main customer – Armed Forces of the USSR and Russia – the Plant mas-tered production of the export variants of these aircraft providing high-level of their per-formances. The Su-aircraft due to their flight performances, weapons and onboard equipment, have always been serious competitors on the world market, and were highly appreciated by military specialists, flying and maintenance staff of foreign customers as a reliable and efficient weapon that played a notable and at times even a decisive role in solving military and political tasks.
As a rule, export aircraft were supplemented with additionally developed training facilities, single or group sets of spares, tools and ground support equipment. Depend-ing on contracts and customers’ specs the aircraft received camouflage painting in dif-ferent variants. All onboard signs both on the airframe and in the cockpit were made in Russian or in a foreign language (English, French, or Spanish). In a similar manner the maintenance and technical documentation and other accompanying documentation were also processed for the export aircraft in the corresponding language. Depending on a customer’s geographic location, and delivery terms or urgency, the aircraft and its ac-companying commodity were delivered either disassembled in shipping containers or by the Antonov-12 or Iljushin-76 transport aircraft, or in some cases - through ferry flight.
In the early ‘70s the Su-7B aircraft gave way to a new aircraft – the Su-17 fighter-bomber with variable-geometry wings. A great number of new export variants were de-signed on the base of the different modifications of this aircraft - Su-20, Su-22, Su-22M, Su-22U, Su-22M3, Su-22UM3, Su-22M4, Su-22UM3K, and all these aircraft were equipped in accordance with the customers’ requirements. The KNAAPO-built aircraft shipped for exports till the ‘90s had occupied their due position in the Air Forces of different countries all over the world. Now in many of these states the Suk-hois are the backbone of the national Air Force.
The main criteria for reliability of a warplanes’ supplier remains the capacity to provide maintenance services for the exported aircraft during the entire service life which comes from sustainable supplies for required spares and other equipment. During the last years KNAAPO repeatedly and in time delivered spars and equipment on urgent and emergency orders, sent its specialists to the customers for the aircraft assem-bly, maintenance in warranty period and technical assistance in the post-warranty period, modernization works, repair, and recovery of the damaged aircraft. Finally all the afore-said placed KNAAPO among the leading enterprises – exporters of the combat aircraft – not only in Russia, but also in the world as a whole.
A new page in the enterprise’s export story was opened in 1991 by the develop-ment of an export variant of the Su-27 fighter – Su-27SK. The first two tens of these new aircraft were produced and delivered to a customer in 1992, but the huge prepara-tory work of all services and departments of KNAAPO preceded the delivery. The pro-duced aircraft flew a non-stop ferry flight from the enterprise’s aerodrome to the opera-tion area, once more confirming its high reliability and undeniable flight performances, first of all the unique tremendous flight range, precise and safe navigation and commu-nication equipment.
Satisfied with the Su-27SK fighter’s quality and high performances the customer purchased one more batch of the aircraft.
Though Su-27SK hasn’t lost its export potential yet and the interest to it on behalf of potential foreign customers hasn’t weakened, its further modifications, i.e. Su-30MK2, Su-27SKM and SU-35 which production has been launched by KnAAPO in re-cent years, enjoy great demand on the world aviation markets.
In the rigid competition environment, KNAAPO carries out a systemic intense work directed at sustained success of the Su-family warplanes on the world markets and at winning the new prospective regions either. The Association on a regular basis par-ticipates in such prestigious salons as Le Bourge (France), Farnborough (Great Britain), Dubai (The United Arab Emirates), LIMA (Malaysia), Air Show Down Under (Austra-lia), Airshow China (China), FIDAE (Chile), Seoul Air Show (South Korea), MAKS (Russia), and many others. Such occasions help to demonstrate the aircraft advantages during demonstration flights and the unique technologies implemented in their produc-tion process.
The KNAAPO management and specialists from different services and departments constantly carry out a great work supporting the high prestige of the enterprise and the aircraft it produces.
As oа today and under the present circumstances the foreign economic activity is the most priority direction for KNAAPO. It allows the enterprise not only maintain its high production potential, but due to competitiveness on the world market, provides the unvalued experience for further development and opportunity to remain in the first ranks of the native manufacturers of warplanes – the best in the world.