UAC (United Aircraft Corporation) announced this week that the merger between Sukhoi and MiG was approved by the holding’s board of directors on November 30th.
The next step, according to UAC, will be to present the proposals to shareholders in January 2022. If accepted (which is just a formality), the merger will make the two most famous brands of fighter planes in Russia share the same structure.
Despite this, UAC guarantees that the aircraft design divisions will be kept separate.
“The upcoming merger is the most important event for the aviation industry. Preparations were made, details were worked out to begin to form a united subject of the Russian aviation industry – a structure capable of giving a powerful impetus to the development of the Rostec aviation complex and the entire industry. In a single structure, the best corporate governance practices, advanced engineering skills and a developed and effective production base must be brought together. We are laying the foundations for the future aircraft industry in Russia,” said UAC Director General Yuri Slyusar.
The process of joining the two companies has already started with the transfer of the executive body of MiG to Sukhoi and then to UAC.
The Russian government claims that Sukhoi is a profitable company, which had revenues of 140 billion rubles in 2020 (an increase of 46% over the previous year), with a net profit of 5.6 billion rubles (about $ 75.7 million).
MiG, in turn, achieved revenue of 70 billion rubles last year, up 19%.
The UAC has sought to reduce bureaucracy in its huge network of manufacturers dating back to the Soviet Union in order to improve productivity and allow Russian aircraft to gain a foothold in the market.
Sukhoi has achieved a more relevant presence thanks to the new Su-57 steatlh fighter, the drone Okhotnik-B, the new Checkmate fighter in addition to traditional jets such as the Su-35 and its derivatives.
MiG, on the contrary, has a weaker portfolio in which the MiG-35, an export variant of the MiG-29, stands out, but which so far has not obtained a sales contract.
