Latest News

Putin calls on Russia's aerospace sector to develop rocket engines

On Friday, President Vladimir Putin called on leaders of the aerospace industry to continue their efforts to develop booster engines for space launch vehicle and to build on Russia’s long-standing reputation as an innovator in space technology.

Putin, who spent the last week in China, and the Russian port of Vladivostok in the far east, flew south to Samara where he met with industry experts and toured Kuznetsov Design Bureau aircraft engine manufacturing facility.

According to Russian news agencies, Putin stated that Russia was a leader in the development and growth of the aerospace sector.

The agencies reported that Putin said late Friday, "It's important to continually renew production capacity when it comes to engines for booster rockets."

"And we must do so not only to meet our current and future needs, but also to move actively on the world markets and be successful rivals."

Putin praised Russia's achievements in producing innovative engines, especially in the energy sector. This was despite Western sanctions imposed in connection with Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Putin was quoted saying, "Under the restrictions of sanctions, we were able to develop a number of innovative energy engines in a very short time." These are actively being used, even in the gas transport infrastructure.

Putin said it was "a very important theme", especially for the development of Russian exports. Power of Siberia 2, the pipeline planned to bring Russian gas into China, is currently being discussed in China.

Putin said that the Power of Siberia 2 Pipeline was beneficial for both sides. Russia proposed this route many years ago. However, the plan is now more urgent as Russia looks to Beijing to replace Europe as the main customer, as Europe has been trying to reduce Russian supplies of energy since the Russian invasion.

Putin also highlighted the development PD-26 engine, saying that it would enable the development and production of wide-bodied passenger aircrafts as well as military transports.

He was quoted saying, "The development and implementation of this project will not only modernise military transport aircraft but also open up the possibility of building a new wide-bodied civil aircraft." (Reporting and Editing by Leslie Adler).

(source: Reuters)