“MAKS-2009 show has been a success”
Published: 23 August, 2009, 20:00
Edited: 25 March, 2010, 16:19
TAGS: Military, Russia, SciTech
The teams at the MAKS aviation and space show have finished their aerobatic displays near Moscow. Multimillion dollar deals have been done and over half a million people have attended the show.
The MAKS-2009 has been a successful event by all accounts: both on the business side and on the public appeal side. But for 580 thousand people that visited the event during the week it is the amazing aerial performances which have been the highlight.
The Frecce Tricolori, or the “Tricolor Arrows” is the Italian aerobatics team which stunned the crowds at this year’s MAKS show with their spectacular performance, such as painting the grey Moscow skies with the colors of the Italian flag.
 Italian aerobatics team Frecce Tricolori (AFP Photo / Dmitry Kostyukov) |
The Frecce Tricolori is the only aerobatics team in the world that is made up of 10 planes: nine flying together and one more performing solo stunts.
As well as displays of the foreign groups, such as the Frecce Tricolori and the Patrouille de France (“French Patrol”) – the aerobatic team of the French Air Force – Russian teams also took to the skies.
Russia’s the Strizhi (“Swifts”) and the Russkiye Vityazi (“Russian Knights”) both made an appearance on the last day of the MAKS-2009 show.
The “Swifts” wowed the crowds with their stunts and changes in formation, but of course it was the “Russian Knights” that everyone was waiting to see.
Tragic loss
Earlier reports suggested that the team would not take part because of the death of their commander, Igor Tkachenko, on August 16, when two Su-27 fighter jets of the “Russian Knights” crashed during a final rehearsal ahead of the MAKS 2009 Air Show in the Moscow region.
The decision not to cancel their involvement was carried out by Air Force Commander-in-Chief, Colonel-General Aleksandr Zelin.
The “Russian Knights” closed this year’s show with a one-minute fly-past in memory of their lost commander.
Economic crisis not an obstacle
Despite the global economic crisis, MAKS-2009 has confirmed its reputation as one of the world’s biggest aviation forums. Over the past six days dozens of major deals were struck on its sidelines.
This year’s show has provided deals worth up to $10 billion. Three times the amount generated by the previous MAKS aviation and space show in 2007.
In terms of the number of visitors, the show has been quite a success too. Nearly 600 thousand people have visited MAKS-2009, with the majority having flocked in on Saturday and Sunday, despite miserable weather.
 Be-200 (image from www.gidroaviasalon.com) |
The final day of the event was opened by the Russian Be-200 aircraft – an amphibian plane, mostly used by the country’s emergency services for putting out fires and assisting in rescue operations.
The Sukhoi’s Superjet-100 flying with the company of two MiG fighter jets was another hit of the day’s program.
Despite poor weather conditions throughout the show, the event’s organizers are saying they are happy with the way it turned out, and hope to make the next MAKS show in 2011 even more appealing to both the public and the potential customers.
“I’m really pleased with this show, and you can see all the action very well,” the MAKS air show’s President, Magomed Tolboev, told RT. “I wish the weather was better, but that’s out of our control. I think in two years we’ll see an even more spectacular show.”
There was also an open-air museum available to the public, displaying many Soviet and Russian aircrafts. Among them, the Mil’s helicopters, such as the Mi-28, which has become one of the most marketable Russian helicopters.
Mi-28 – legendary workhorse of Russia’s Air force
Both sturdy and maneuverable, the state-of-the-art Mi-28N gunship is to become a tried-and-true workhorse of Russia’s Air force.
Mi-28 Havoc, as it’s called by NATO, will help to phase out the notorious Mi-24 Hind, aka the bogeyman, which featured in a string of Hollywood action films during the 1980s.
In 2006 the new generation attack helicopter was rolled out to the Russian Armed Forces for the first time. 50 more will join active duty by 2010. By 2015, Russia’s Air Force will be completely rearmed with Mi-28s.
What is Mi-28?
Its armament together with the durability and reliability of this destroyer make it a truly incredible force.
Havoc’s 30-mm cannon only sports a standard caliber, but it is not a standard aircraft weapon. It is capable of destroying practically even heavily armored targets located as remote as four kilometers.
“The gunship’s cannon moves in every direction. No matter which way the helicopter flies, I can shoot in different directions, except for the tail,” says test pilot Sergey Siregin. “The gunship can destroy 50% of a moving ground convoy in a single run.”
 Russian Mi-28 attack helicopter |
Weapons on the MI-28 are up to three times more powerful than those on NATO gunships.
The Mi-28 helicopter has an active defence system which can detect and destroy enemy anti-aircraft missiles.
Havoc’s unparalleled robustness is due to its light radar footprint, heavy armour and emergency landing system. The energy absorbing landing gear and seats protect the crew in the event of a crash landing or a vertical fall of up to 12 meters per second.
The thermal signature of Mi-28 Havoc is 2.5 times less than its predecessor Mi-24 Hind due to engine exhaust infrared suppressors – a lesson learned the hard way when the Soviet Union was battling Afghanistan.
Its engines are separated which eliminates possibility of damaging them simultaneously.
General Constructor of the Mil helicopter plant Aleksey Samusenko reveals that Mi-28 was created “specifically for military operations. The design was influenced by our experiences in Afghanistan.”
Each wingtip has a dispenser to deflect anti-aircraft missiles.
The cockpit windows are plated with flat no-gleam armour glass in addition to a titanium fuselage. It withstands hits of 12.5-mm bullets and 20-mm shell fragments.
New composite blends can withstand heat from 30-mm cannon shells.
But the creation of gunships started long before the Afghanistan campaign.
Gunships in USSR
In 1951, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin ordered the construction of a helicopter robust enough to carry troops and weaponry.
 Soviet military transport Mi-10 helicopter (image from www.aviastar.org) |
Mikhail Mil was the only designer who took up the task.
Few believed that a designer who did watercolour painting in his spare time would create Russia's best ever attack propeller helicopter.
But his creation, the Mi-24 Hind, became Russia’s most effective source of fire support on a battlefield for decades.
The new generation Mi-28 gunships can operate in all weathers and at anytime hence the nickname “Night Hunter”.
Different versions of Mil's machines are used by armies in over 100 countries.
Test pilot Vladimir Kutanin says that he would “eagerly make helicopters for civil use only. Now I am putting my heart and soul into contributing to the new Mi-38 model. It will be more peaceful. It will help prevent emergencies and save people.”
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