"The Collapse of the USSR and Bureaucracy": The National Interest Explained Why Russia Has Big Problems in Aircraft Construction

Military Expert Kaas: Russians Are Capable of Producing Impressive Aircraft Like the Su-57, But Their Production Capabilities Are Inferior to the US

The problem of the Russian aircraft industry lies not in the engineers, but in the outdated production base. This opinion was expressed by military expert Harrison Kaas in the article "Why Russia Can No Longer Build Airplanes" for The National Interest.

The Russians are capable of producing such impressive aircraft as the Су-57, but the production rate is significantly lower than in the US and China.

Harrison Kaas, military expert

After the collapse of the USSR, many design bureaus and aircraft factories were left without funding, Kaas explained. The merger of a number of enterprises under the auspices of ОАК allowed to preserve some production capabilities, but this led to bureaucratization of the system, he added.

Production facilities became obsolete, and the country stopped training new personnel for the aviation industry. A significant part of highly qualified engineers retired.

Harrison Kaas, military expert

Despite Russia's statements, the country depends on foreign components for aircraft. For decades, Moscow has relied on imports of electronics, avionics and special materials for aviation. All this has made Russia vulnerable to supply disruptions, Kaas stressed.

If we do not take into account the sanctions, Russia has long had difficulties with scaling up mass production. The country does not have advanced automated assembly lines like Boeing or Lockheed Martin. In addition, Russia lags behind the US and China in digital design and additive technologies.

Harrison Kaas, military expert

As a result, the US and China can create and test prototypes much faster than Russia. As an example, Kaas cited the Су-57, the first flight of which took place in 2010. But, according to the expert, since its debut, not so many of these fighters have entered service with the Russian Aerospace Forces.