Ukraine develops technologies to enhance air safety

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Ukraine is the world's second country to have developed an air collision warning system. The work has been done by Buran Research-and-Development Institute, Kyiv. That entity specializes in the development of avionics for commercial and military transport aircraft. There are few commercial planes in the CIS countries, including Russia, Ukraine as well as Uzbekistan - the manufacturer of the IL-114 aircraft -that are not fitted with Buran-developed radar systems.

What kind of new designs Buran is working on now? Volodymyr Belkin, director of the institute, is speaking:

Belkin: We have retained to some extent monopoly positions in this field, and counterpart Russian institutions that are now in conversion from military to commercial designs over the past 12 - 13 years have failed to oust us from the Russian market. We are on firm ground there, but the trouble is that aviation is dying slowly as planes are manufactured in ones or twos. Once aircraft are not manufactured, our equipment is not demanded either. With limited demand, that line of business becomes unprofitable. When three to five planes are manufactured, a meager three to five sets of our equipment are needful. For maintaining that line of business, production rates should not be below some critical levels that would allow for making investments in research and development. Failing this, cash is nowhere to come from. What is five to six items per year? It's a miserly sum. With sales like those, it is impossible to finance the research infrastructure needed to continue with that line of business. For the time being, it is only devotion to that job on the part of our employees that allows us to continue with this at decent levels.

Q: Where the critical level you are talking about should be?

A: Previously, Radar factory used to manufacture Groza-class radar systems at the rate of 60 items per month or up to 1,000 per year. Today, production rate does not exceed five to six items per year. The critical level should not be lower than one hundred items per year. That would be enough to set aside cash, though in modest amounts, to prop up research programs.

Q: What kind of designs did Radar research-and-development institute handle in years when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union and after independence?

A: Before independence, we had been in the development phase, employing 450 people. A decision was made on an additional line of business - the development of guidance units that Radar is now manufacturing for the missiles fabricated by Artem. When the Soviet Union broke apart, that line of business as well did not hold much promise for survival. What Artem and its partners are doing now is going to end in two or three years. What they are exporting to China and more countries are the designs inherited from the Union.

As far as our designs are concerned, following the radar called Groza-M, we developed innovative radar systems such as Buran-72, Buran-74, MNRLS-85, Buran-A-140, Buran-A-200 for the Be-200 airplane, and Buran-A-114 for the 11 - 114 aircraft manufactured by the Tashkent aviation factory, Uzbekistan.

As for the Buran-72 targeting radar system designed for integration onto the An-72 aircraft, we had to develop the technology without having its American equivalent as a pattern. We started that job virtually from scratch to end up with a technology that rivals the Americans', and is even better in terms of some performance characteristics, dimensions and weight, despite the employment of outdated Soviet-era materials and parts and assemblies. That radar system is integrated onto the An-72, An-74 and An-70 aircraft, and is designed for missions involving manpower and freight parachuting.

Q: What makes the Buran innovative as compared to the previous design, the Groza?

A: Those are new-generation radar systems meeting world standards and, in our opinion, surpassing foreign-made

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equivalents in some performance characteristics and control algorithms. All other characteristics being equal, a simpler, easily understood and comprehensible control algorithm becomes advantageous and more competitive.

Q: What about detection ranges?

A: Those are close to limit figures [for same-class technologies] that are on a par with the Americans'. Today's technological capabilities allow it to see into beyond horizon's "edge". This is due to curvature of the earth that enables a plane at a high enough altitude to see into below that edge. Nowadays, no longer that indicator is a comparative criterion, as detection range of our technology is equal to theirs.

Q: Is your institute developing a Bu-ran-class system for the An-148 [passenger jet] as well?

A: Yes, we are doing so. But a competitive mode - that of assessing wind shears - is emerging there. That radar system would allow for remote identification of atmospheric zones with substantial air current rate differentials (in other words, windflaws) that can be critical in taking- off or landing. Each of modern radars has to support that mode.

Q: Who are your rivals on the market?

A: Only American firms. Basically, there are three or four companies really working on that market.

Q: What are the designs of yours apart from the Buran that you rate among the most promising?

A: Over 18 months in 2000 and 2001 we had developed an air collision warning system, called SPS-2000, having become the world's second country to create such a technology. Just two companies on the globe, both based in the U.S., have the capacity to manufacture air collision warning systems (TCAS). Prior to Soviet collapse, the All-Union Research-and-Development Institute for Radio Technology, St. Petersburg, had spent dozens of millions of rubles to this end, but eventually failed to create such a system. Today they have advanced no farther than certification phase. Our institute, working within a dedicated enterprise, has developed such a system and got it certified by the International Aviation Committee in just 18 months. That system has been recognized by Eurocontrol and China, Eurocontrol's requirements being even tougher than America's. Even the manufacturers of TCAS systems in the US had had to adjust their technologies to Eurocontrol's requirements. Interestingly, nobody here in Ukraine believed that we would be able to create the technology. Azerbaijan did believe, and provided one of its 11 - 76 airplanes to enable us to successfully test our system in the air.

Q: Will that system be integrated onto Ukrainian aircraft?

A: Yes. Designer general at Antonov Design Bureau, Petro Balabuyev, made a decision that the system should be integrated onto the An-140, An-TK300 and An-12 aircraft. All the required documents already have been signed. Now the SPS-2000 is being integrated onto an An-140 airplane for testing. As for the integration of the SPS-2000 onto the An-148 commercial jet that is now under development, decision is still pending. It is my belief that the decision would be taken once the system is tested on the An-140.

Q: Do you believe the prospect to be realistic for you to come to the European market with the SPS-2000 radar?

A: Europe did approach us with proposals [concerned with the technology], but our capabilities are still limited. You see, that kind of technology cannot be fabricated using outdated machines. Radar factory is not equipped adequately [to that job]. Now we are working with that entity setting up a specialty enterprise to fit it with up-to-date manufacturing equipment. Until this is done, we will not be able to increase output or emerge on a good market. Prototypes we do ourselves, but production versions of the technology have to be manufactured at the factory [Radar]

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