MAKS 2007 – Wrap-up
So, MAKS ’07 wrapped up Sunday and what was the final talley? 100,000 visitors daily (new records for the show), but a mere $1.5B US in sales (mlitary and civilian). According to Russia Today (Business) Ilyushin Finance was the biggest winner with $1B in sales, mostly stemming from sales of the mid-range Tupolev Tu-204 – six planes were ordered by the Russian low-cost airline Red Wings, and Iran Air Tours bought another five. In the meantime, Boeing sold 4 737-400’s and 6 787 Dreamliners – the later to flagship airline Aeroflot. An interesting sidebar to the latter was the partnership annouced by Boeing Ilyushin Finance also sold six Antonov An-148s to Rossiya airlines worth $US 130 MLN. An interesting sidebar to the latter was the agreement signed by Boeing and Russia’s VSMPO-Avisma to create a joint venture to make titanium forgings for use in the production of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner. Military sales were around $400M and consisted primarily of 6 x Su-27s sold to Indinesia (contract yet to be signed) and agreements signed with Poland and Kazakhstan to modernize their MiG fighters. By comparison, Farnborough (2006) saw sales of $38B generated and Paris this year saw $100B US in sales.
Additionally, several foreign and domestic observers were less than impressed with the equipment on display. Typical was this piece from an article in The Guardian:
"In terms of military threat they are a joke," Robert Hewson, the editor of Jane’s Air-Launched Weapons, said, assessing the array of Sukhoi and MiG fighters on display at the airshow, held at the former Soviet Zhukovsky air base. "Everything is a relic from the Soviet era. The level of technology you see in the United Kingdom, Sweden and the US is much higher.
"The Russians are very good at radar. They understand missiles and aerodynamic design. They are terrific engineers. But since the end of the Cold War, their military has got worse."
The Russian tabloid Trud-7 came to the same conclusion on Thursday, describing the state of Russia’s armed forces as "lamentable". Pronouncements that Russia had got back its old Soviet military glory were mere "armour rattling" it said.
The state of Russia’s air force is indicative. It has gone an entire decade without a single new plane. Its military aviation industry fared better than its civilian manufacturers, mainly due to large orders from China and India. Until recently the air force could not afford its own products. Its bombers were almost all built decades ago, although it has 60 to 80 Tu-90 "Bear bombers" built in the 90s.
The reputation of Russia’s military planes also came under shadow after the military grounded all its Su-24s following a Fencer crash the previous week in the country’s far east provinces which was believed to have been caused by technical problems. Still, state arms trader Rosoboronexport said nearly 800 companies from about 100 countries participated in the biannual show, up from 70 two years ago. The largest foreign delegations were from China, Latin America and Arab countries. When considered in that light, the grousing of the correspondents as listed above rings a littel more hollow when viewed in the context of those countries and the theater of operations US forces are likely to be engaged in during the coming years.
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