Storied Russian Marques Consolidate Under UAC

Twentieth-Century and Cold War icons Sukhoi and MiG have merged with the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC).

Formed in 2006 to consolidate numerous Russian aerospace manufacturers that struggled to retain relevancy after the collapse of the Soviet Union, UAC presently counts Ilyushin, Irkut, Mikoyan, Sukhoi, Tupolev, and Yakovlev among its subsidiaries. 

UAC is itself a subsidiary of Rostec, Russian, a state-owned corporation that owns over 700 enterprises, including nearly the entirety of Mother Russia’s military-industrial complex. 

The reorganization completes a corporate transformation that will see UAC transition from a three-level to a two-level corporate management structure—thereby simplifying the organization’s structure and reducing overall company costs.

Both MiG and Sukhoi have been semi-autonomous, UAC subsidiaries since 2006. The formal unification of the companies speaks to Moscow’s intention to consolidate Russian military aviation for purpose of producing modern, technologically-advanced, tactical aircraft.

The decision to merge the two companies was announced in 2020. In March, 2021, the companies were moved into a single facility, and their final merger was approved in November of the same year.

Notwithstanding the merger, Rostec CEO Sergei Chemezov states “The world-famous Sukhoi and MiG brands will be retained in the aircraft they manufacture, and the authoritative design schools will continue to develop.”

Established as design bureaux in 1939, both Sukhoi and MiG (formerly Mikoyan-Gurevich) played major roles in Soviet aviation.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the bureaux were reorganized into companies. Sukhoi regained prominence by designing a variety of combat aircraft based on its Soviet-era, Su-27 platform. MiG, however, was not as successful, with its MiG-29-derived MiG-35 struggling to attract orders.

FMI: www.uacrussia.ru/en/