OREANDA-NEWS. August 23, 2011. The International Aviation and Space Salon MAKS 2011 was the backdrop for signing an agreement among RUSNANO, United Aircraft Corporation, Holding Company Composite, and All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Aviation Materials (VIAM). Chief executives of the organizations—RUSNANO CEO Anatoly Chubais, UAC President Mikhail Pogosyan, Composite CEO Leonid Melamed, and VIAM Director General Evgeny Kablov—were on hand for signing ceremonies.

The agreement will introduce polymer composite materials to UAC’s promising civil and military aircraft lines. The polymer composite materials are manufactured using carbon fibers in a process that was developed by Russian engineers. Parties to the accord will develop the scientific and commercial potential of polymer composites in the field of civil and military aircraft and promote high-tech products in domestic market and markets abroad.  

The four-party agreement contains a plan for forming clusters in Russia where innovative materials for aircraft construction can be created and a market for competitive domestic polymer materials based on carbon fiber can be developed. 

Modern carbon-fiber composite materials are ideally suited to aircraft construction. They reduce the weight of the airplane’s frame and improve the durability and aerodynamics of the craft. These advantages will do much to increase the competitiveness of Russian-built airplanes in international markets. Today the share of composite materials in promising civil airliners is around 30 percent to 50 percent.

RUSNANO and Holding Company Composite founded innovative company Prepreg-SKM to produce high-quality prepregs of carbon and mineral fibers with improved durability characteristics. 

The All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Aviation Materials developed a new generation of aviation prepreg material. The product, thanks to its durability and light weight, surpasses existing analogues in the market. The material’s endurance is 1.5 times greater than materials it will be replacing. Prepreg-SKM has begun commercial production of the material. In June 2011 the company was awarded a certificate from Russia’s International Aviation Committee authorizing it to produce the aircraft materials and attesting to the company’s compliance with high aviation industry standards. That certificate will simplify entry of carbon prepregs into production of civil and military aircraft. 

Market analysts forecast that demand for composite materials in various industrial sectors will increase fourfold over the next decade. Such growth would outstrip the production capacity of current manufacturers. Establishing production of new composite materials in Russia under RUSNANO’s sponsorship would help replace imports in many sectors of the economy and further the growth in export potential of Russian high-tech products.