MOSCOW. Oct 28 (Interfax-AVN) - The Joint Aircraft-Building Corporation will have been established in Russia by late 2007, Yury Koptev, head of the Russian Industry and Energy Ministry's Defense Industry Department, told Interfax-Military News Agency on Thursday.
"The Joint Aircraft-Building Company will have been established by late 2007," Koptev said at the round-table meeting on reforming the aircraft industry, held at the Russian Industry and Energy Ministry on Thursday.
According to Koptev, the Joint Aircraft-Building Company establishment will be discussed at the Friday meeting of the governmental defense industry commission.
"The program is likely to be revised, for instance, the realization time-table may see certain changes," Koptev said.
According to him, the major feature of the program, worked out by the Russian Industry and Energy Ministry jointly with aircraft designers and manufacturers, consists in its step-by-step realization.
"I believe that the Joint Aircraft-Building Company will be established step-by-step starting from 2005. The program will be submitted to the Russian government for consideration in November," Koptev noted.
According to him, in 2005 aircraft manufacturers will merge into a consortium.
"This stage envisions a detail investigation of further development, demands of the domestic and the international markets," Koptev said. Later on flagship aircraft manufacturers will merge into a single corporation. "At this stage the corporation will be dominated by the state," Koptev said.
The third stage to be completed by late 2007 envisions cooperation between the state and private owners of the aircraft-building corporation. For instance, the share of the state will decrease, while that of private owners increase.
The RRJ and the MS-21 short-range airliner programs are among the major future projects to be developed by the Joint Aircraft-Building Corporation.