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.
The Sukhoi Superjet 100 regional jet program is entering a new era now that commercial operators will start testing the robustness of the in-service support network and the Russian manufacturer's ability to ramp up output. After many delays, Sukhoi achieved a major milestone on April 19 with the first Superjet 100 delivery to launch customer Armavia. The Armenian airline quickly put the aircraft into revenue service with a flight carrying 90 passengers from here to Sheremetyevo Moscow International Airport April 21.
MOSCOW — Helicopter orders from the Russian military are up and commitments for new types are on the horizon, marking a stark turnaround from the days when military orders were unable to sustain Russia’s domestic manufacturing industry.
MOSCOW — A top executive of the Russian KBM machine-building design bureau has confirmed that his company supplied Libyan government forces with the truck-mounted short-range anti-aircraft Igla-S (SA-24 Grinch) missiles recently spotted by the international media. Kolomna-based KBM is the designer of this system, as well as its predecessors, the Strela and Igla family of portable surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), and has a government permit to export its products directly, without the help of Russia’s Rosoboronexport arms trade agency.
