MOSCOW. May 13 (Interfax-AVN) - The draft of an updated federal purpose-oriented program entitled "Development of Commercial Aircraft in Russia for 2002-2010 and beyond to 2015" provides for a considerable increase of budget allocations for aircraft building, a source in the defense industry told Interfax-Military News Agency on Friday.
"The updated draft of the program, which has been submitted to the Economic Development Ministry, provides for, among other things, procurement of 135 new aircraft on a leasing pattern," the source said.
According to the document, about 17 billion Russian rubles ($608 million) will be assigned from the state budget and another 26 billion ($929.9 million) will be attracted from off-budget sources to design MS-21 and RRJ future planes, Kamov Ka-62 and Mil Mi-38 helicopters, engines and systems for these aircraft.
"Breakthrough aircraft of the next generation are to be created after 2015," the source said.
The plan is to assign about 60 billion rubles ($2.15 billion) from the state budget and attract nearly the same amount of money from off-budget sources for their development, tests and introduction into mass production, he noted.
"This volume of allocations for the next 10 years means that about six billion rubles ($214.59 million) are to be assigned from the state budget annually, which is quite realistic," the source said.
The updated program, if passed, will boost allocations for creation of a new technological basis for the aircraft industry. About 11 billion rubles ($393.41 million) are to be assigned for this purpose before 2015, he said.
The document provides for allocating 18-20 billion rubles ($643.77 million - $715.3 million) for the aircraft industry in 2005, as opposed to about 14.5 billion ($518.59 million), assigned for this year, he noted.
According to the source, the program was updated with the help of leading aviation R&D institutes and enterprises. "The specialists' proposals were supported by the Ministry of Industry and Energy and were forwarded for coordination to the Economic Development Ministry in late April," he said.