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.
The Russian air force has received the first full training device for its Sukhoi Su-34 fighter-bomber aircraft. The simulator is in use with the air force’s 4th combat employment and training center at Lipetsk. The training device was developed by the Zhukovsky-based CSTS Dinamika. The system completed government evaluation tests at the end of 2009, with approval for serial production following.
A MiG-35 prototype fitted with an active, electronically scanned array (AESA) radar has carried out a radar-guided missile engagement using the RVV-AE (R-77/AA-12 Adder). Completing the test is a key element in bidding the aircraft for India’s fighter requirement and was part of the final flight trials of the latest modification of the MiG-29. Two MiG-35 prototypes—the single-seat Bort (side number) 961 and the two-seat Bort 967—were evaluated in April. The Russian air force center at Ahktubinsk managed the weapon tests.
The Russian air force took delivery of the first Pantsyr-S short-range air-defense systems in March. The Pantsyrs will gradually replace the old Tunguska antiaircraft weapons. The first 10 systems were released from KBP Instrument Design Bureau’s assembly site in Tula and transported to Alabino, near Moscow, and will be part of the Victory Day parade in Red Square on May 9.
