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Participants in the meeting included First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, Aide to the President Alexei Dyumin, Minister of Industry and Trade Anton Alikhanov, Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov, Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Volga Federal District Igor Komarov, Governor of the Samara Region Vyacheslav Fedorishchev, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces and First Deputy Minister of Defence Valery Gerasimov, Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces Viktor Afzalov, as well as the senior officials of the Federal Air Transport Agency, the Military-Industrial Commission, the Roscosmos State Corporation for space activities, Rostec corporation for assistance in the development, production and exports of high-technology industrial products, the United Aircraft Corporation, the United Engine Corporation, UEC-Aviadvigatel, UEC-Saturn, and UEC-Kuznetsov.

Ahead of the meeting, the President toured an exhibition of engine models manufactured by the United Engine Corporation (UEC).

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Opening remarks at the meeting on the development of engine manufacturing

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Colleagues, good evening.

The progress and the current state of engine manufacturing are undoubtedly among the key indicators of our technological development and sovereignty. This is self-evident, which is why I asked you to gather today. I would like to review the progress of the key programmes for engine development and production. As I have said, this is a strategic sector equally important for civil and defence purposes. I am referring to passenger, transport, and combat aviation, space development, specialised equipment, and power plants for the fuel and energy industry.

Let us examine what challenges remain and what must be done to ensure that the plans we outlined are implemented effectively, on time, and in full. We have just toured the stands to see what has already been achieved. Considerable progress has been made: it is impressive, in fact. But there are also issues that require special attention. Clear guidelines and specific road maps are necessary. These are already reflected in our strategic planning documents, but I will repeat: they must be implemented rigorously. We need to assess how this work is carried out.

As I mentioned, we also walked through the workshops and reviewed both serially produced and advanced models by the United Engine Corporation.

I would like to stress that both in Soviet times and today, Russia has remained among the top five world leaders in the development and production of aircraft and rocket engines. Over the past four years alone, the number of aircraft engines delivered has gone up by more than 50 percent, from 791 to 1,227 units.

This year, we have completed the import substitution of engines for Ansat helicopters and Sukhoi Superjet aircraft. We have seen these results just now. These aircraft now operate on the latest VK-650V gas turbine engine and the PD-8 turbojet engine, both meeting the highest global standards.

This positive trend in the industry creates conditions for strengthening Russia’s industrial and technological sovereignty, for transport and energy sector upgrade, generally for economic growth and the achievement of national development goals – this includes further dynamic operation of industry enterprises and their numerous associated companies across the country, along the entire cooperation chain.

I would like to thank UEC employees for the results achieved and their contribution to strengthening Russia’s industrial and defence potential.

I also want to emphasise the importance of continuing to improve current-generation engines, building reserves, designing new products, enhancing their reliability and sustainability, applying advanced technologies and innovative solutions, and further developing Russia’s globally renowned mastery of aircraft and rocket engine manufacturing. Equally important is the creation of conditions that will attract young talented professionals, teams of engineers, designers, and production workers to design bureaus and enterprises. We have just heard that this process is underway right now. Excellent news.

There are a few things I would like to highlight.

First, today I would like to hear reports on the prospects of using PD-8 in other aircraft aside from Sukhoi Superjet.

Second, it is important to finish the development and launch the serial production of the PD-26 turbofan engine as soon as possible. As you know, it is the first aircraft high-thrust class engine developed in Russia, with completely different capacity and thrust capabilities. It is also effective and fuel-efficient.

The implementation of this project will allow us not only to upgrade military aviation but will also open new prospects in developing a new-generation civil wide-body jet. We also know that cooperation is possible in this area, with our potential partners also showing great interest. I would like to hear about the progress from you.

Third, Russia has remained a world leader in space development. It is important to consistently update production capacities for carrier rocket engine manufacturing. Not only do we have to meet our own current and prospective needs but also to actively explore global markets and create a successful competition. There is certain progress here but I would like to hear it officially [at this meeting].

Finally, the fourth point is that, amidst the sanctions, we have managed to develop, within a rather short term, a range of innovative turbines for the energy industry. They are extensively used, including in gas transmission infrastructure. Considering our ambitious plans for connecting Russian regions to the new gas export routes, including the Power of Siberia 2, this is an extremely important matter.

We have achieved some good progress here. I have just seen GTD-110M [serial high-capacity gas turbine] that is equivalent to and even more advanced than some gas turbines manufactured abroad. This engine is widely used across Russia’s fuel and energy sector. It is necessary to ramp up production and supplies of this and similar models.

Let us begin.

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