Within the context of western sanctions caused by the invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s United Engine Corporation (UEC) has launched a project to create a «center of specialization» that will quadruple the number of remanufactured parts for aircraft engines under the conditions of «import substitution».
As per Rostec press release, «the center will increase the efficiency of organizing aircraft engine repairs at the corporation’s production sites by expanding the range of parts and spare parts.» The initiative, «will reduce the burden on manufacturers and the cost of repair» also speeding up process and availability.
«Completion of the construction of the new center is scheduled for 2024. It will be equipped with modern equipment and will increase the number of parts to be restored from 15,000 to 60,000 a year. The production capacities will meet the needs of UEC enterprises for the repair of DSE in the context of import substitution,” said Dmitry Vinogradov, Deputy General Director and Managing Director of UEC’s 218th Aircraft Repair Plant.
United Engine Corporation has developed 170 technical processes for the restoration of parts. They are used in their serial (in-line) repair, which reduces maintenance time and costs.
The company offers indigenous engines to Russian aircraft and helicopters currently in production: both MC-21 and SSJ-100 are equipped with UEC engines (PD-14 and SaM146, respectively). The Il-114-300 turboprop and the Il-76/96 are also mounting UEC engines, while Mi-17 and Mi-38 transport helicopters are equipped with UEC turboshafts.
The Mi-38, a dual-use transport helicopter designed to replace Mi-17, was originally introduced in 2010 with Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127TS engines, as Kazan Helicopters looked for western assistance after the fall of the Soviet Union. In 2013, the third prototype mounted Klimov TV7-117V engines and got recertified by Rosaviatsiya in 2015.
In 2018 and after a batch of sanctions impacted the program, the Russian MoD changed its requirements for all western parts to be removed. Thus, Mi-38T military version has been stripped of Sextant (avionics) and Eurocopter’s components.
