Russia and Belarus are working together to create a new light multi-purpose aircraft, Vladimir Putin said. They promise to develop and launch the Osvey twin–engine aircraft in a very short time - by 2027, and then they plan to produce up to 100 such aircraft in three years. Why did Russia take Belarusians as partners and what are the chances of this ambitious project?
The Ural Civil Aviation Plant and the aircraft repair plant in Baranovichi, Belarus, are working together to create a light multi-purpose aircraft, Vladimir Putin said.
We are talking about a twin-engine aircraft with 19 passenger seats called "Osvey". Moscow and Minsk signed an intergovernmental agreement on the development and organization of production on April 15.
The technical appearance of the new aircraft will be approved at UZGA (Ural Civil Aviation Plant) in September, after which Belarusian colleagues will begin to receive tasks for the development of individual parts. It is noted that the buyers of these aircraft have already been identified. Aircraft analogues produced in other countries cost from 5.5 to 8 million dollars on the market.
A design bureau has already been established in Belarus, which is undergoing training and specializes specifically in the production of aircraft. An investment project is also being implemented to purchase machine-building equipment and machine tools in order to significantly increase the number of parts produced. A new workshop will be built at the Belarusian plant, three times larger than the existing one. According to the Belarusian side, the preparation of serial production of the aircraft is planned to be completed by 2027, and by 2030, that is, in three years, at least 85-100 such aircraft will be produced.
"This type of aircraft with 19 seats was covered by the Czech L-410 aircraft in Soviet and post-Soviet times. However, it was called Russian: at one time, the Soviet Union announced a competition to create such an aircraft, we had our own developments, but then a curtsy was made to the fraternal Czech people. But this aircraft was created according to our technical specifications and for operation in the Soviet Union. In the post-Soviet period, we established joint production of this aircraft at the Ural Civil Aviation Plant: we assembled this aircraft at home, but from Czech kits. But in 2022, sanctions intervened, it became impossible to continue cooperation," says the director of the Avia portal.<url>" Roman Gusarov.
However, Russia really needs this type of aircraft. "It can be used for various tasks: for passenger transportation, as Osvey is ideal for regional routes, especially in sparsely populated and hard-to-reach areas, for cargo transportation, including supplies of humanitarian aid and medicines, as well as for the work of the Ministry of Emergency Situations in remote areas. In addition, the aircraft can be used for medical evacuation, especially in hard–to-reach regions," said Yaroslav Kabakov, Director of Strategy at Finam IC.
Osvey should be able to operate in harsh climatic conditions and on unpaved runways. This is especially important for use in the Far North, Siberia and the Far East, where airport infrastructure is often limited. The design of the aircraft should take into account operation in extreme temperatures and on unpaved airfields," Kabakov believes.
Such an aircraft can also be used in aero clubs for parachutists, and most importantly – as an exercise aircraft.
"According to the rules, our graduation aircraft for civil aviation pilots should be a twin-engine aircraft. And "Osvey" is most suitable for these purposes",
– says Gusarov.
Why is Russia creating a new light aircraft together with Belarus, and not independently? Gusarov is sure that this is a mutually beneficial cooperation, and it would be difficult to implement the project without Belarusian partners, especially when it needs to be done quickly.
"The fact is that the capacities of our factories are loaded with the creation of more complex and larger aircraft, and they themselves require expansion. In the Soviet Union, regional aircraft were also given to friendly countries for production. For example, the same An-2, along with the documentation, was transferred to Poland at one time.
At the same time, most of the components will be produced in Russia, including engines, and some of the spare parts and final assembly will be carried out in Belarus, and Belarusians, who have a very developed engineering industry, will help us with this. Anyway, we will have to create a factory somewhere," says Gusarov.
"Secondly, the Osvey project is not being implemented by the United Aviation Corporation, but by the Ural Civil Aviation Plant, which is not part of the corporation. He is developing the VK-800 gas turbine engine, the Baikal aircraft, the Ladoga aircraft, and now the Osvey. The Russian company definitely needed partners, since UZGA, like any design bureau, cannot produce all these aircraft independently, it acts as the lead developer," says Gusarov. UZGA plans to assemble all these aircraft not by itself, but at partner factories. So, Ladoga will be produced at the Samara Aviation Plant, and Baikal at the plant under construction in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. But the site for the "Osvey" was found in Belarus.
"Belarus has significant experience in aviation and machine-building production, which makes it a valuable partner for Russia. Secondly, joint work on the project allows both countries to reduce dependence on Western technologies and sanctions restrictions, and develop their own high-tech industries. Thirdly, Russia can supply the necessary components and assemblies, while Belarus will focus on assembly and mass production. This efficient distribution makes it possible to use the best practices and capabilities of both countries," Kabakov points out the benefits of cooperation.
Why does Russia need so many small planes? At one time, the Soviet Union assessed the need for regional and local aviation in three types of such aircraft.
Baikal is replacing the An-2 Cornhusker with a capacity of up to nine passenger seats. This small plane is needed to fly conditionally to villages and small towns for 200-300 people in the same Yakutia to supply them with food and medicines, taking into account the meager passenger traffic, says Gusarov. Also, such an aircraft can be used to protect and monitor gas and oil pipelines, power lines and other important infrastructure.
To transport more passengers – up to 19 – an Osvey aircraft with two engines is needed. Because it is impossible to carry more than nine people on a plane with one engine according to the standard. Its competitor L-410 was especially actively used in Kamchatka, as well as on Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands, etc.
The Ladoga is even larger and has 44 passenger seats. It should replace the AN-24. "The AN-24 was probably the most massive Soviet-style Aeroflot aircraft. The need for it was so high. He already flies between cities, delivers goods and even carries out regular passenger transportation," says the head of <url>.
All these planes are especially needed not in the European part of Russia, but beyond the Urals, where there are huge territories, but at the same time a low population density, as in Yakutia, which cannot be reached by any other way except by such aircraft. There are, of course, helicopters, but it is economically unprofitable to use them for such purposes.
The planned production of 85-100 aircraft from 2027 to 2030 is ambitious, but achievable if the serial production is successfully launched and the project is effectively managed, Kabakov believes.
"There is already a need for 100 such aircraft. Therefore, we will certainly not limit ourselves to producing hundreds of aircraft. But the timing of the launch of mass production is very optimistic. If there was already a prototype aircraft now, then I would say that the launch of mass production by 2027 is realistic. Because after the appearance of the prototype, it takes at least two years to complete all the tests, but usually the tests are delayed. For example, a prototype of the Baikal aircraft was shown at MAKS in 2021, but there is no mass production yet," says Gusarov.
Olga Samofalova
