KYIV. Dec 7 (Interfax-AVN) - Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said that the first meeting of the board of directors of the Unified Aircraft Corporation (UAC) will be held next week.
"We will hold the first meeting of the UAC board next week," Ivanov, who is the board chairman, told a news conference in Kyiv.
Before this year-end another meeting will be held to address the issues of flight safety of both commercial and military aircraft, Ivanov said. He noted that the factors affecting the flight safety are the lack of navigation support, counterfeited spares, and inadequate airfield network.
Aircrew training is also an important matter, because most of aircraft crashes in commercial and military aviation are explained by the human factor, the Russian official said.
Answering the questions he said that there are some problems and challenges the Russian air industry has to face, but this does not mean that it is in a deadly dive.
He recalled that Russia annually exports $1 billion's worth of military aircraft. "Our main problems are in the commercial aviation," he said.
The UAC embraces Russia's largest aircraft manufacturers, including MIG, Sukhoi and Tupolev.
According to Ivanov, new projects are vital for the commercial aviation of Russia to survive.
"First of all we need to mass-produce competitive airliners, including RRJ and MS-21 aircraft to replace the T-154 in service, i.e. short-to-medium haul aircraft. Commercial aviation is very much important for the Russian Federation," he said.