OREANDA-NEWS. An extended meeting focused on maintaining the airworthiness and further in-service reliability of the D-30KP/KP-2 engines operated by the Air Force of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation took place at NPO Saturn.

The representatives of the Air Force of the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Aircraft Repair Station 123, IL, STAR, United Engine Corporation and NPO Saturn took part in the discussion of operating and repairing the D-30KP engine type.

The importance of the meeting was reinforced by the objectives set to the state aviation in view of recent political events and growing importance of the strategic role of the military and transport aviation as a segment of the Russian Air Force.

An exchange of opinions took place during the meeting with regard to reliable operation of the D-30KP/KP-2 engines and improvement of their failsafety. The prospects of maintaining the operated fleet of the D-30KP/KP-2 engines to support operation of the Il-76 aircraft of the military and transport aviation and long-range aviation until 2035 were also discussed.

According to Sergey Tikhomirov, NPO Saturn deputy CEO for the civil and transport aviation gas turbine engine programs, 'in recent years the intensity of operating the aircraft belonging to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation powered by the D-30KP-2 engines has grown tremendously: both the number of aircraft in active operation and the average time in operation generated by every aircraft have increased. This trend will remain in the future. The continuation of operation of the Il-76/78 aircraft operated by different divisions of the Russian Ministry of Defense is envisaged over the next 20 years. Maintaining the airworthiness and in-service support of operation of the D-30KP-2 engine fleet over this time period is a prioritized task for NPO Saturn. During the meeting, the operators were represented by the heads of the aviation engineering services of the Russian Ministry of Defense operating the engines; from the industry there were the representatives of all the organizations participating in the in-service operations (the airframers, the engine and equipment manufactures, and aircraft repair stations). Such format proves to be the most useful and efficient. The operators expressed their needs, problems and shared their vision on how to make the in-service support system work better. The representatives of the industry spoke of solutions that they were ready to offer. It is exactly that interaction between the engine operators and the industry that allows to ensure a successful resolution of all the state-posed objectives with relation to the operation of the aircraft equipped with the NPO Saturn-made D-30 KP-2 engines by the Russian Ministry of Defense.

In the reports made by the participants of the meeting it was stated that the complex of organizational and technical measures elaborated by NPO Saturn conjointly with the engineering service of the Russian Air Force will allow to fulfill the set objective with the minimal expenditure and maximal efficiency. The main actions that will be integrated into the now created state armament program were identified.

'Today we understood that we need to move in three directions, - noted Alexander Glukhikh, head of the aviation engineering service - chief engineer of the military and transport aviation division. - First of all, we are talking about extending the designed life for the entire fleet of engines, secondly, it is the conversion of the D-30KP engines into the D-30KP-2 when performing overhaul, and thirdly, it is the production of new D-30KP-2 engines. As the chief engineer of the military and transport aviation division of the Air Force, I would like to express out particular interest in new engines because it is first and foremost the question of reliability and flight safety.

In the official summary document - the minutes of the extended meeting - concrete solutions will be delineated, and there is no doubt that we will succeed in their implementation.'

'Back in April this year at the International Engine Building Forum 2014 we discussed with NPO Saturn the need of conducting a dedicated meeting on this subject, - continued Alexander Glukhikh. - Following my initiative, we are having this meeting here at Saturn. For the most part these are just recently assigned young people - the future of the military and transport aviation. It is vital that they are made aware of where and how the engines are produced. Familiarization with the production, research and development departments as well as live communication with the company's personnel allows them to look differently at solving specific common tasks.'

The importance and timeliness of the format of the meeting were also complimented by Sergey Matveev, director of the after-sales direction of IL: 'We are the airframers. But an airplane will not fly without the engines. The IL-76 aircraft equipped with the D-30KP engines has been in operation for 40 years now, and it's obvious that tremendous experience has been accumulated during these years. Therefore, it was really important and very timely to meet and talk to the specialists from the different departments of the company, including those in charge of in-service support. Besides, in April of next year IL plans to host an extended conference dedicated to the operation of the IL-76 aircraft. Such conferences allow to conceptually identify the optimal ways of solving problems arising in the process of operation.'

The NPO Saturn Research and Production Association (OJSC) is an engine-building company specialized in the design and development, production and after-market support of gas turbine engines for military and civil aviation, naval ships and power-generating plants and gas-pumping units. The association is part of the All-Russian public organization The Union of mechanical engineers of Russia whereby the regional branch is headed by I. N. Fedorov, NPO Saturn CEO.

NPO Saturn is part of United Engine Corporation (OJSC) and acts as the leader of the Civil Engines Division, a business unit of UEC founded on 09.10.2012 as a result of integration of the following companies: NPO Saturn (OJSC), Aviadvigatel (OJSC), PMZ (OJSC), Metallist-PM (CJSC), Energetik-PM (OJSC), REMOS-PM (CJSC), Motoservis-PM (CJSC) and Zheleznodorozhnik-PM (CJSC).

United Engine Corporation (OJSC) is a subsidiary of the OBORONPROM UIC (OJSC). The UEC structure integrates over 85% of Russia's leading companies specialized in the design and development, serial production and after-market support of gas turbine machinery as well as the key enterprises - the industry's integral players. One of UEC's prioritized fields of activity is the implementation of comprehensive programs of development of the companies in the industry by introducing new technologies meeting the world-class standards.

The OBORONPROM United Industrial Corporation (OJSC) is a multi-field machine-building group created in 2002. It is part of Rostec. The main fields of activity are helicopter building (the Russian Helicopters holding), engine building (the UEC holding) and other assets.

The Rostekhnologii State Corporation (Rostec) is a Russian corporation established in 2007 in order to facilitate the development, manufacturing and export of high-technology industrial products of military and civil purposes. Today it comprises over 663 companies, which form 8 military-industrial and 5 civil industry holdings. Rostec's subsidiaries are located in 60 regions of Russia and supply their products to over 70 countries worldwide. In 2012 revenues of the Corporation amounted to RUB 931 billion, net profits were RUB 38.5 billion and total taxation exceeded RUB 109 billion.