In addition to writing for Aviation Week Network, Maxim holds a key position at Russia's Air Transport Observer magazine (www.ato.ru). In the past he was in charge of several ATO sister aerospace publications and earlier worked for the Moscow-based CAST defense think-tank.
Maxim has a degree on international relations from MGIMO University, Moscow, Russia, and for several years worked at the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Russia’s United Aircraft Corp. (UAC) has reported assembly of the first Il-476 flight prototype, a modernized version of the Ilyushin Il-76MD heavy transport aircraft. The prototype was shown publicly for the first time during the unofficial ceremony at the Aviastar-SP production facility in Ulyanovsk in mid-December. A UAC representative told Aviation Week that the official rollout ceremony will be in early 2012, while the first flight is expected in the spring.
MOSCOW — Russia’s national satellite navigation system, Glonass, finally has regained its full operational capability to provide global coverage. The Glonass operational fleet now includes 24 satellites: eight on each of the three orbital planes. The last, the 24th Glonass-M spacecraft, entered into service on Dec. 8. It is from the last batch of the three satellites orbited on Nov. 4 aboard a Proton-M launch vehicle. Three more satellites—two this year and another early next—will be introduced into operations.
MOSCOW — The third prototype of Sukhoi’s T-50 fifth-generation fighter made its first flight Nov. 22 in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, in Russia’s Far East. The flight lasted a little more than an hour and was in full accordance with the flight plan, Sukhoi says. An aircraft stability test was conducted, as well as an evaluation of powerplant systems’ performance.
