Taken from Flightglobal :

Russian combat aircraft makers to form one unit

Russia’s United Aircraft (OAK) is to create a single combat aircraft division by merging its RSK MiG and Sukhoi units under the leadership of Sukhoi boss Mikhail Pogosyan.

To date, OAK’s combat aircraft strategy has tasked MiG with development of light fighters including the MiG-35 and unmanned aircraft, along with modernisaton of in-service MiGs, while Sukhoi has been developing the Su-35 and PAK FA fighters.

In 10 years as head of Sukhoi, Pogosyan has ditched several programmes to concentrate on what he called “real breakthrough” projects such as the all-new Superjet 100 regional jet. A key Pogosyan achievement has been to bring Western risk-sharing suppliers into the Superjet effort, including Snecma, Liebherr, Thales and B/E Aerospace, along with Alenia, which is Sukhoi’s 50/50 joint venture partner in the marketing and sales organisation, Superjet International.

RSK MiG, on the other hand, never recovered from the crisis that hit Russian aerospace following the collapse of the Soviet Union. MiG-29s have sold in small quantities since then, thanks largely to the huge parts stock built up during the Soviet era. It has been able to certify the MiG-29SMT/UBT and MiG-31BM, and has flown Indian navy MiG-29K/KUBs and MiG-35s.

An encouraging Algerian order for 34 MiG-29SMT/UBTs turned sour when the country sought to return 15 of the aircraft, delivered in 2007, claiming poor manufacturing quality.

After Joint Strike Fighter’s project came underfire due to economical crisis, it seems that the Russians have made a move by combining both MiG and Sukhoi into one entity. But this time, it’s Sukhoi that leads the way for Russian military production.

Post Cold War era shows us how well MiG aircrafts being sold to foreign countries including Malaysia since multiple units they have in stock and were sold cheaply which also made them popular choice among developing countries. After years of the welcoming foreign investors into their country, economical boom made them further away from their communism ideology. Among other things, Sukhoi have always been favored by the Russian government for military equipments.

Despite those two giants rivalry, they have always cooperate together under the direction of the government. Recent years show that Sukhoi has already pursuing for fifth generation of aircraft with their PAK FA project. The joint venture with India and Brazil proved to be promising for the aircraft to make its maiden flight around 2009. MiG, however, still upgrading the MiG 29 series and their effort for the fifth generation aircraft was the Project 1.44 which became a jet technology demonstrator (also means to serve purely as a technological showcase and testbed for future aircraft designs, not as an actual air superiority fighter prototype).

MiG has became an iconic aircraft especially when someone wants to related something with Russian like in those movies, games, comics and such. Now they’re no more. From the pre World War II up until this year, MiG had stand on its own to produce many aircrafts and they surely be missed.

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