Zhukovsky, Moscow. 25 July 2021- The 15th International Aviation and Space Salon MAKS 2021 held on July 20-25, 2021 drew to a close. The hybrid format of the event allowed us to bring the business program and international participation to a new level. The Salon took acknowledgement as the largest business event: the amount of contracts and letters of intent reached RUB 265 bn. During six open days the air show welcomed more than 135 thousand participants and guests.
MAKS 2021 was officially opened by President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. In his welcome speech for the participants and guests of the air show Vladimir Putin emphasized that MAKS fully meets its high international status despite the difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The partner country of MAKS-2021 was the Republic of Kazakhstan, which takes part in the implementation of mutually beneficial projects with Russia in the field of aviation and astronautics, including the assembly of helicopters of Mi family and a joint project Baiterek on launch services from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. V. Putin emphasized that Russia is certainly open to cooperation in the field of aviation and astronautics with all countries.
The President of Russia highly appreciated the new products presented at the show. “Everything that we can see in Zhukovsky today shows vividly that Russian aviation has an impressive development potential, and that the national aircraft industry continues to create new competitive aviation products, he said. – Russian air carriers are acquiring modern Superjet airliners. The brand-new MC-21 passenger airliner is to start flying soon. The current Aviation and Space Salon MAKS features its modified version with a Russian-made PD-14 engine for the first time. This aircraft will be followed by Il-114–300 regional airliner, the Baikal light-engine multipurpose aircraft and the long-awaited new helicopters. I am confident that modern, efficient and safe Russian-made aviation products will help domestic airlines to meet the growing demand for flights and hold decent place in the world market and thereby fortify Russia’s positions as one of the recognized aerospace industry leaders”.
The opening ceremony was followed by a tour to view the exhibition. Vladimir Putin took a look at promising domestic aircraft, in particular, the light multipurpose aircraft LMS-901 Baikal, the helicopter Ka-62, a specialized helicopter for offshore operations Mi-171A3, the upgraded helicopters Ansat-M, Ka-32A11M, unmanned helicopter VRT300. The Russian president also came on board of the Sukhoi Business Jet. The head of state inspected the state-of-the-art light tactical aircraft developed by Sukhoi (part of the United Aircraft Corporation of Rostec State Corporation). After visiting the exhibits and viewing the demonstration program Vladimir Putin held a meeting on the implementation of key projects in the field of civil aircraft engineering.
MAKS 2021 exhibition program
The MAKS 2021 air show took place in the context where the opportunities for an international presence were significantly limited by the pandemic of a new coronavirus infection. Despite all the stress factors, the exhibition retained a large-scale representation of both Russian and foreign companies. The exhibits represent 538 Russian companies and 91 foreign participants from 20 countries. A real feat for MAKS was its hybrid format that allowed attracting 202 foreign companies from 53 countries. Thus, the exhibition was attended by 831 exhibitors from 56 countries.
The leaders of Russian aerospace industry and the world’s largest manufacturers presented their products on an area of 105,000 square meters in the pavilions, outdoor areas and aircraft aprons. In particular, the pavilion of partner country – the Republic of Kazakhstan hosted stands of 11 companies and organizations on 750 square meters. Also, more than 1000 square meters were offered for national expositions of Belgium, Germany, Iran, Canada, the Republic of Belarus France and the Czech Republic.
MAKS 2021 has become the venue for premiere shows on a global scale. The state-of-the-art Checkmate light tactical aircraft has excited roaring interest. For the first time ever the MC-21-310 medium-haul air liner, equipped with domestic PD-14 engines, was presented to the general public. The premiere of MAKS was regional turboprop IL-114-300. One more novelty was the Baikal light multipurpose aircraft. Russian Helicopters Holding Company presented upgraded Mi-171A3 helicopters for operation on offshore oil platforms, Ka-32A11M with an upgraded aircraft propulsion, new avionic equipment and SP-32 firefighting system, and Ansat-M with an extended flight range. United Engine Corporation presented the projects of VK-650V and VK-1600V shaft-turbine engines, and a demo version of PD-8 engine core, designed for use in SSJ-New aircraft propulsion.
Foreign aircraft producers exhibited their products, including those never demonstrated in Russia before. The show premiers included wide-body long-haul Airbus A350-1000, medium-haul Airbus A220-300, turboprop Pilatus PC-12NGX. For the first time ever the US Company – Cirrus took part in MAKS with a presentation of two aircraft.
Special exhibits were dedicated to business aviation (the number of participants in 2021 doubled as compared to 2019) and so-called general-purpose aviation (with the demonstration of 65 aircraft as compared to 46 two years earlier).
Business Program
The business program of MAKS-2021 extended its scale as compared to previous air shows. The International Aviation and Space Salons are unparalleled in the world in terms of their intensity, breadth of topics covered and the high status of the participants. Over 100 conferences, workshops, round tables and strategy sessions were held during the exhibition. More than 350 reports were delivered here. Over 3,000 specialists attended the events at the MAKS Congress Center and about 2,000 more joined the discussions at the Future Hub Congress Hall. An innovation for 2021 was the live streaming of events. About 33 thousand people were watching the show through live streaming on the official website of the air show.
The Future Hub section, first open in 2019, has had a strong development. Its platform was widely used for presentations, discussions, and career guidance events. An integral part of the section activities was a large-scale youth program, which included the Student’s Day organized for the fourth time. On Friday, August 23, about 4 thousand full-time students of higher and specialized secondary educational institutions took the advantage of visiting the exhibition for free. A large-scale program in 2021 was organized by the Sistema Charitable Foundation, which made a presentation of its flagship career guidance project Lift to the Future. Broadcasts of speeches of special guests, live reports from MAKS-2021, online quiz and other events gathered more than 1 million views on the channel of the project.
High status of MAKS as a large-scale trade exhibition is evidenced by the amount of signed contracts and agreements for the supply of aircraft estimated at 265 billion rubles in 2021. Major agreements relate to the supply of Sukhoi Superjet 100, Il-114-300 aircraft and Mi-8AMT, Mi-38PS, Mi-171A3 helicopters. The Kazakhstan Aviation Industry Company acquired 20% of Baikal-Engineering, the developer of the light multipurpose aircraft. Novikombank, the general financial partner of the Salon, signed cooperation agreements with the largest Russian aircraft manufacturers.
Demonstration program
The eventful flight program is a landmark of the MAKS air show. During the MAKS 2021 days the aerobatics groups of the Russian Aerospace Forces – Russian Knights, Swifts, Russian Falcons and Berkuts demonstrated their airmanship. The new discovery of the demonstration program was a bright performance of the Indian aerobatic team Sarang on four Dhruv helicopters. The audience welcomed The First Flight group as goods friends. The program performed by Svetlana Kapanina won the plaudits of the audience.
All in all, 80 aircraft took part in the flight program, including 39 aircraft with eight aerobatic teams. 133 aircraft were displayed on the aircraft aprons of MAKS 2021. Given that some airplanes and helicopters were demonstrated both on aircraft apron and in flying display, there were totally 202 aircraft demonstrated during the show.
A high level of flight safety was ensured by highly professional work of the members of the inter-departmental commission, specialists of the M.M. Gromov Flight Research Institute, JSC Aviaprom and JSC Aviasalon.
General issues
The 2021 Salon was held in the context of the current outbreak of a new coronavirus infection, which could not but affect the number of visitors who attended the exhibition. During six days, MASK 2021 welcomed 135,020 aviation professionals and visitors fond of aviation.
Of particular relevance was the organization of transportation, considering the need for social distancing in buses and electric trains. 289 units of rolling stock were scheduled for six special routes from platforms Otdykh and Eseninskaya, Zhukovsky airport, car parking P7 and points in Zhukovsky town. Railway service organized by the Central Exurban Passenger Company operated with shortened intervals with additional electric trains. Guests arriving by car enjoyed 10 thousand parking places in the territory of the exhibition complex.
A substantial assistance in conducting MAKS-2021 events provided 122 volunteers of the Russian Union of Youth. They worked in car parking areas, at checkpoints and in the aircraft apron area. In addition, 50 volunteers invited by the Sistema Charitable Foundation helped with implementation of the business program, the operation of congress center and the Future Hub section, interacted with media representatives on the media platform and in the press center, and organized distribution of printed materials.
During MAKS 2021, social and anti-terrorism security in the territory of Gromov Flight Research Institute and the municipal district of Zhukovsky was ensured by 2000 policemen and servicemembers of Federal National Guard Troops Service. The surveillance over the territory of the exhibition complex was carried out from the air with an air-balloon.
The MASK 2021 organizers granted accreditation for more than 2600 journalists from 485 Russian and 94 foreign media. This acknowledges the high level of interest in aeronautics and space on the part of leading media outlets. The exhibition events were watched by 328,000 people on the official web-site of MAKS. The social media outreach of the MAKS air show during the six days of the exhibition is estimated at 2.1 million users.
