Maksim covers aerospace developments in Central Asia for Aviation Week. He has worked for Russia's Air Transport Observer magazine and was in charge of several ATO sister aerospace publications after working for the Moscow-based CAST defense think tank.
Maksim has a degree in international relations from MGIMO University, Moscow.
Following the design freeze for the first version of the MS-21 narrowbody, Russia's United Aircraft Corporation is inching toward starting production of the initial test aircraft. UAC is has opted to work on the biggest variant first. According to UAC subsidiary Irkut Corp., which leads the MS-21 development, configuration of the first variant—the 212-seat MS-21-300—has been frozen and the design for the fuselage has been sent to UAC production sites in Irkutsk and Ulyanovsk.
