RuAviation

The Berdsk Electromechanical Plant (BEMZ) is carrying out modernisation aimed at producing analogues of components for foreign passenger aircraft and engines. Vasily Yurchenko, general director of the enterprise, said that 2 billion roubles have been invested for this purpose.

Earlier the technology of blade restoration for gas turbine engines of Airbus and Boeing aircraft was developed by the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics. The method is planned to be implemented in the development of new aircraft parts at BEMZ. At present, BEMZ focuses on the production of parts required to maintain the airworthiness of civil aircraft.

Over the last year and a half BEMZ has produced about 3.5 thousand structural elements and aircraft components for replacement on foreign aircraft. The parts are used on S7 Airlines, Pobeda, Aurora and Aeroflot aircraft. The plant continues to develop its production capacities; two stages of the investment programme totalling 2 billion roubles have already been completed.

Against the backdrop of reports from Berdsk, the Russian government supported a bill that aims to develop domestic production of analogues of imported components for aircraft. The bill, drafted by Andrei Kutepov, head of the Federation Council’s committee on economic policy, and his deputy Murat Khapsirokov, proposes to give Rosaviatsiya the authority to issue approval for the production and installation of non-original aircraft parts.

‘The above changes are aimed at the development of domestic production of alternative component parts in order to replace foreign-made original components used on foreign and domestic aircraft,’ noted in the feedback of the Cabinet of Ministers.

At the same time, the government pointed out that the bill should define the legal regime of the proposed mechanism for approval of alternative spare parts and registration of requirements for their manufacturers, as well as clarify several other points, TASS reported.

In spring 2023, it became known that S7 Group bought 87 per cent of BEMZ shares and intends to turn the Berd Electromechanical Plant into a high-tech enterprise for the production and testing of parts for aircraft.

‘The new owners are planning serious investments in the plant to turn it into a modern high-tech aircraft manufacturing facility,’ the media reported.