OREANDA-NEWS. The Moscow Automobile and Road Construction State Technical University (MADI), together with the SpetsAgregat plant, has begun developing a set of domestic vehicles designed to service Russian airports. This was reported to Gazeta.Ru by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, which finances this import substitution project.

Scientists and industrial partners are setting up the production of domestic sweeping-blowing, watering and plow-brush machines, which will be responsible for high-speed cleaning of artificial surfaces of airfields and airports, blowing and cleaning from snow, ice, water, dust and sand. At the moment, only imported equipment of this type is used in Russia.

Dmitry Nikitin, project manager from MADI, told Gazeta.Ru that the complex of airfield machines will be universal. That is, attachments can be rearranged from one machine to another.

“The complex can perform a full cycle of cleaning the runway and the territory of the airfield / airport (snow removal, sand removal, garbage collection, reagent treatment, etc.) year-round, suitable for operation in the Far North (at very low temperatures). The main goal of the project is, based on the best world practices, to create machines consisting entirely of domestic components,” said Nikitin.

The first car at the SpetsAgregat plant will be assembled in April. Until the end of June 2022, it is planned to build samples for testing at the Chelyabinsk airport. The plant is expected to enter mass production in early 2023. After completion of all stages of development, it is planned to produce 200 cars per year.

The project is carried out within the framework of Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 218. The Ministry of Education and Science allocated funds in the amount of 188 million rubles for the development.