Transcript:
Colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, I will speak briefly about the subject of this congress. It was a great pleasure for me to accept the invitation to be here. As you know, the congress coincides with the 2013 MAKS Air Show. The show has taken place for two decades now and has gained a reputation for providing a format for designers and manufacturers of air and space equipment, for both professionals and the general public who are interested in the industry. Over a thousand companies are represented here this year, including global giants such as Boeing, Airbus, Bombardier, Siemens and other major companies. It is also very important for us that Russian aviation companies are largely represented here.
I’m sure many of you know that the city where we are meeting was named after Nikolai Zhukovsky, a prominent scientist and discoverer of modern aerodynamics. Perhaps not everyone remembers that Zhukovsky was one of the first science cities that gave rise to the concept of integrating science and production. Moreover, the concept was in fact put into practice. Therefore, it is not a coincidence that the National Aircraft Engineering Centre is being established here to accumulate everything that is required for next-generation designs, from technical design to prototypes. We are talking about the creation of a full-fledged scientific and industrial centre with the requisite industrial, educational, and social infrastructure that, I hope, will meet the international standards for design and aircraft testing. In addition, a large research centre will be established at the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute, which will bring together all the research institutes in the aircraft industry. I think you’ve discussed this today.
For Russia the creation of a modern aviation control system is not just something we want to do, but a priority for a number of reasons, for geographical reasons for example. Our country is huge, it includes nine time zones. Our challenge is to provide Russian citizens with a safe, modern and comfortable means of transport and to maintain an integrated transport system in every part of our vast country. Of course, we want to make better use of our transit transport advantages.
By the way, today I joined you after a Government meeting where the implementation of the Transport Strategy of the Russian Federation was discussed. We’ve adopted amendments which take into account the changes in the Russian economy, and of course, the international economy.
It is also a fact that aviation technology is a high-tech and very complicated product. And this production process calls for innovation in all areas. It requires the development of the relevant infrastructure and institutions, and the creation of technological platforms. And, of course, what is highly important for us is that this generates demand for highly skilled labour and top-quality education.
Everyone knows the statistics, which I will now mention. However, I will repeat them nevertheless because they are important. The national aircraft industry continues to develop today and production has expanded by 100% over the past decade. Although this seems quite substantial, we, of course, are not satisfied with these indicators. As of late 2012, aircraft-industry companies posted almost 1 trillion roubles in revenues. The sector employs about 400,000 people. It is absolutely obvious that (this is obvious from all of the forecasts here even despite the problems and crises) that this market’s volume will expand. It is possible to see our achievements and latest technical accomplishments here inside the pavilions of Russian firms and, of course, on the airfield. As is well known, many are displayed for the first time. This includes the executive-class version of the Sukhoi Superjet-100 airliner, an upgraded Tupolev Tu-204SM airliner, a fifth-generation T-50 PAK FA (Prospective Aviation Complex of Frontline Aviation) fighter and many other new inventions, including Generation 4++ fighters and helicopters. I hope that we will be able to arouse the interest of our partners. And I hope that major contracts will be signed during the International Aviation and Space Salon MAKS-2013. I know that preliminary agreements have been reached on this score.
In effect, aircraft-building companies currently operate in conditions of heightened technological and financial risks, which is quite natural. They have to take into consideration the increasingly tougher environmental restrictions, which are being applied in virtually all countries, and, certainly, they have to heed rising competition levels. To conquer the global market, it is not enough to meet the highest technical standards. Most importantly, companies must offer commercially marketable products. Such products must sell quickly, be attractive all by themselves, and they must be backed by the required number of services.
Strong positions in this difficult business depend on many factors. I will name some of them, which are probably the key factors.
International specialisation and co-production arrangements are the first factor, i.e. advanced research and development projects, optimal technological and engineering solutions and the best managerial practices of various countries combined in the same project. We have examples of this sort, such as the creation of our Sukhoi Superjet-100 regional airliner. To be honest, cooperation with leading global producers boasting generally-recognised influence and prestige has considerably expedited and simplified the global certification of this aircraft.
The United Aircraft Corporation and the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China plan to jointly manufacture a wide-body aircraft. The use of composite materials is a component of a Russian-Austrian programme to develop multi-purpose airplanes. To date, we are also jointly developing helicopter technology together with our Italian partners. I hope that all of the above-mentioned products have sound market prospects. Otherwise, it would be pointless to implement all of this... There are other cooperation venues in the sphere of avionics, the use of unmanned air vehicles and, of course, in the service sector.
State support is the second factor, without which it is impossible to imagine the development of the modern aircraft industry. I believe that, in our case, the most important thing today is to ensure stable solvent demand for all of our aircraft builders. We must help them to attain the required production volumes and profitability levels as quickly as possible and to create the necessary safety margin for developing and launching new high-tech products. As I have already said, and you know this better than anyone else, the industry has its own problems, such as a lengthy investment cycle and high risks. In the past few years, we have been investing substantial federal budget funds in aircraft industry development. This investment totalled almost 90 billion roubles in 2012. It should be noted for comparison’s sake that this exceeds similar investments in the early 2000s almost 30 times over.
Planning horizons are also expanding considerably. We have approved long-term programmes for the development of civilian aircraft technology and the aircraft industry. We are formulating and awarding consolidated state contracts for civilian aircraft up to 2025. This is very important so as to assess specific project-planning horizons. Aircraft-building enterprises and air carriers and investors should receive clear long-term guidelines and reference points for making correct, well-thought-out and market-oriented strategic, long-term decisions in business development.
Those buying Russian aircraft technology should have access to the entire range of modern financial products (we still have a lot of work to do in this regard), the terms of which would compare to those in other countries.
Everyone knows that, unfortunately, Russia stipulates much higher loan interest and leasing payments than other states. This, of course, makes our products less competitive. We know this problem, and we will try to resolve it. In an effort to promote the Sukhoi Superjet-100 airliner family on foreign markets, we are implementing a range of measures to support exporters through our development institutions, namely, Vnesheconombank and the Export Loan and Investment Insurance Agency, which, incidentally, was established for these purposes.
In addition, of course, I would like to stress that we have been supporting all of our producers, and we will continue to support them in accordance with the procedures and regulations of the World Trade Organisation and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Third, I would like to note that, just like any high-tech business, the aircraft industry relies on highly qualified specialists. Training in accordance with comprehensive and inter-disciplinary programmes is among the primary trends of our engineering education. A modern engineer must have profound technical knowledge and must be adept at managing the production processes. I am not talking about elementary IT skills and other technological prowess. This implies practical, rather than theoretical, skills.
More and more Russian higher educational institutions cooperate with industrial companies. By the way, we have also examined this issue at a recent Government meeting. These higher educational institutions hire professors and lecturers from among experienced specialists working at production workshops, design bureaus, marketing and service companies. We are also developing new forms of education, which are, of course, new in this country. I am referring to applied bachelor-training programmes and technological MA programmes. In effect, students should be trained based on corporate demand while taking account of the specifics of various production facilities and the requests of specific employers. And, of course, this should be done in line with the corporate standards set by the employers concerned.
Colleagues, friends.
Of course, space exploration and aviation do not only amount to national security, as the people in this country traditionally believed. First of all, this is a symbol and evidence of its economic and intellectual development. Any nation with such a sector has asserted itself as a high-tech entity. This sphere always requires the most unorthodox ideas and creates new technologies and materials. Thus, it is particularly important to involve young scientists and creative workers. It is common knowledge that only those capable of dreaming and those who believe in their dream, despite the difficulties, which will always exist, can succeed.
I would also like to wish MAKS participants and guests success in their work and fruitful business contacts. I hope you’ll be able to realise all your plans in spite of economic difficulties. All the best!
<…>