Russia needs new approach to developing aerospace technologies

Russia needs to change its approach to developing aerospace technologies, believes Andrey Dutov, director of Zhukovsky Institute. Dutov says that for the country to have competitive aviation equipment in the future, it has to introduce an innovative system that would facilitate the creation of new technologies and help build a reserve of of technological advances.

At present, designers begin searching for the suitable technologies after the decision has been made on developing a new aircraft that needs to meet preset performance specifications. Dutov says this approach increases the risk of the development timeline slipping, and of the end product having inferior characteristics. As part of the innovative applied research management system, the requisite technologies get fully developed before the approval of any specific aircraft development projects.

This approach has been used in the West for several decades now, including by scientific centers like DLR, NASA, and DARPA. By financing applied research efforts and transferring developed technologies the government subsidizes hi-tech industrial sectors and undertakes to cover the risks related to research.

Dutov says Zhukovsky Institute is working to create a similar system in Russia. The institute was set up in 2014 as an umbrella organization for the country’s leading aerospace research centers: TsAGI, CIAM, SibNIA, GosNIIAS, and GkNIPAS.

By Maxim Pyadushkin