MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th July, 2021) Cutting-edge fifth-generation aircraft, newest observation satellites and contracts worth billions of Dollars are all part of groundbreaking innovations and hi-tech direction that made this year's International Aviation and Space Salon MAKS-2021 outside Moscow particularly memorable.
MAKS, hosted by the National Research Center "Zhukovsky Institute" 25 miles southeast from Moscow, opened on Tuesday and ran until Sunday. Apart from Russian companies, a number of foreign corporations were able to join the event, including Airbus, Boeing, Brahmos and China Great Wall Industry Corporation. Sputnik news Agency is an official media partner of the event.
The event has long become a platform for signing contracts and this year was not an exception. Russia's Rostec signed deals worth over 230 billion rubles ($3.1 billion), the sum which the state technology corporation admitted exceeded all expectations. Meanwhile, Russia's state arms exporter Rosoboronexport signed 13 contracts for supplies of weapons and military equipment worth over 1 billion Euros ($1.1 billion).
The most anticipated part of the show was the presentation of the prototype of the cutting-edge single-engine fighter which the developers named after the winning game position in chess - Checkmate. It is a fifth-generation light fighter, developed by the Sukhoi designer bureau (part of Rostec). The jet was inspected by Russian President Vladimir Putin on the first day of the show.
The maximum combat load of the new light fighter is 16,314 Pounds, while the flight range without external fuel tanks is 1,800 miles, according to Rostec. At the same time, the aircraft has low maintenance costs due to an automated logistics support system, which allows the owners to train personnel and plan component deliveries beforehand. It is also capable of carrying a group of drones on board. A supercomputer was used for the development of the jet.
"[The jet's] distinctive feature is high combat capabilities at a low cost of the aircraft and flight hour... The aircraft can be easily upgraded, the use of various configurations allows you to most accurately meet the needs of any potential customer," Rostec CEO Sergey Chemezov said in a statement emailed to Sputnik.
He added that the company hopes that not only Russia but also other countries, primarily in the middle East, Asia-Pacific region and Latin America will be interested in purchasing the aircraft.
Since the MAKS event is about the air industry, many engine-makers have presented their products. One of them was Russia's United Engine Corporation (UEC) which presented its brand new PD-14 engine for the first time at the event.
"The advantages of our new PD-14 aircraft engine are a low life cycle cost, low specific fuel consumption and low noise level. The engine fully meets the requirements of the International Civil Aviation (ICAO) on emissions standards. All this allows us to enter the market without restrictions," executive director of UEC-Perm Engines Sergei Kharin told Sputnik.
He added that this year the work is underway to validate the European Union Aviation Safety Agency certificate of the engine, and it will be completed next year.
"Thus, we are a supplier of a propulsion system that will have all the certificates and which, in turn, will allow selling aircraft with our engines without restrictions," he concluded.
The MAKS also challenges the final frontier and presented the tech which could make the cherished dream of humankind come true - travel to the distant stars and to planets. One of such became Zeus, a nuclear-powered space tug designed for deep space flights from one orbit to another. The nuclear-propelled space tug is designed to fly to the moon and planets of the solar system, including for the purpose of searching for extraterrestrial life. The tug is planned to be first sent to space in 2030.
The exhibition also displayed a model of the newest observation satellite called "Resurs-PM" which will make and update topographic maps of the Earth and monitor the pollution of the environment and emergency situations, among other things. It is capable of taking photos in visible and infrared diapasons. The satellite will replace its predecessor model, "Resurs-P."
Russian Scientific-Production Enterprise "Zvezda" showcased a new prototype of advanced rescue spacesuits SOKOL-M, which is being developed for the crew of the Oryol (Orel) spacecraft. The spacesuit features new materials and length-adjustment devices for the arms, legs and torso, which makes them more wearable for people with various parameters.
MAKS event is not only for those interested in the latest novelties of the air industry. Russian company RU-SKY which produces luxury furniture has presented an armchair made of the nose of Tu-134A, a Soviet short-haul passenger jet, at the MAKS-2021 air show. Those inspired in the Soviet airline history may get it for over 2 million rubles (over $27,000), Alexander Ochkov, the managing partner of the company, told Sputnik.
"The mission of our company is that we preserve the history of Russian and Soviet aviation by converting parts of scrapped aircraft into unique elements of decor, design and furniture," Ochkov told Sputnik, adding that there are those "from abroad" who have been interested in this armchair and the company is already working on the second one.
Sixteen people have been involved in the creation of the armchair, he said, adding that the whole process took a year.
