Idea: Create A Single Commercial Aviation Manufacturer

At least on the surface, it might seem like the days of Lenin revisited. Russian aviation officials, facing a near-death experience in the country's civilian aviation sector, want to see the creation of a single major manufacturer -- one that would have a monopoly they say is needed to compete with the likes of Airbus and Boeing.

Right now, there are more than 300 Russian design bureaus, manufacturers and research facilities. Most, if not all of them, are staring into the abyss of economic ruin. Deputy Prime Minister Boris Alyoshin thinks the answer is to... collectivize.

"In order to guarantee our competitiveness we must concentrate our resources and move in the direction of creating a single, national aircraft construction company," he said after a recent Cabinet meeting. "There is one opinion, and that is that we need such a company, and we must move quickly to create it."

Alyoshin: Make The Military Pay For It

One idea put forth by the deputy prime minister -- capitalize this single civil aviation corporation with money derived from the relatively successful sale of military aircraft. He also suggested forming partnerships with aviation companies in Ukraine, China and India.

Russia once accounted for 25 percent of the world's civil aviation manufacturing, putting out as many as 700 aircraft a year. Last year, Russia produced just three civilian aircraft. Boeing, on the other hand, produced 300. The Russian government could decide on a state-backed aviation manufacturer as early as December.

FMI: www.fas.org/nuke/guide/russia/industry/docs/9801avia.htm