On July 17th, 2020, the “United Engine Corporation” (UEC), belonging to the “Rostec“ state corporation, opened a new centre for the production of helicopter engine components on the basis of “UEC-UMPO” in Ufa, with a design capacity of up to 350 engine kits per year. The centre, which includes four production sites, is equipped with hundreds of units of modern digital equipment. In Russia, this is the first specialised production of this scale, with 8.7 billion rubles invested in its creation.
The new industrial site is focused on the production of units of serial and advanced helicopter engines in the power class of up to 5,000 HP – VK-2500, TV3-117, VK-650V, VK-1600V for civil and combat helicopters, including the world’s most popular Mi-8/17 series, the Mi-28, and Ka-52 attack helicopters, as well as the multi-purpose Ka-226T and Ka-62.
(VK-2500 was created to replace the TV3-117 helicopter engine produced by “Motor-Sich”)
The centre is equipped with numerical control machines, high-tech processing centres, and unique equipment for welding and soldering.
There are robotic systems for welding parts and assemblies in a controlled atmosphere, a unique control and test facility for determining the consumption characteristics of engines, created by “UEC-UMPO” specialists, and other machines.
“This is a modern high-tech centre that was created as part of the program of import substitution and expansion of serial production of helicopter engines in Russia. The latest equipment is installed here, modern production technologies are introduced, which reduce labour costs by 25% and increase labour productivity. Investments in the project amounted to 8.7 billion rubles,” said Vladimir Artyakov, first Deputy General Director of “Rostec” state corporation.
“310 units of the latest equipment have been installed at the new production site. Next year, we plan to reach the design capacity – up to 350 engine kits will be produced here per year for the hot section of the VK-2500 and TV3-117 helicopter engines. The centre also has the necessary capacity to participate in international co-operation projects – both for the development of engines and for the joint production of components,” said Aleksandr Artyukhov, General Director of UEC.
Another key area of UEC-UMPO’s current activities is the production of parts for VK-2500 helicopter engines, the final assembly of which is carried out by their developer, “UEC-Klimov”. The Ufa enterprise is responsible for the production of about 32% of components – more than 900 parts and assembly units for VK-2500 and VK-2500P (PS).
Currently the centre employs 350 people, and in the future the number of staff will be doubled. At the moment, recruitment and training of employees is underway. For their training, a professional education centre of the “Rostec” state corporation aviation cluster is being created on the basis of “UEC-UMPO” – a separate building with an area of 14,500 square meters, where 150 units of training equipment will be located. Every year, it is planned to train about 2,000 people.
In order to implement the program, four modern production and technology centres will be commissioned at “UEC-UMPO” in 2020.
Rostec
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