Moscow. 27 June 2021. June 26, 1946, an order was signed by the Ministry of Aviation Industry of the USSR on the creation of OKB No. 117, which was headed by V.Ya. Klimov. The first task was the development of a jet engine for fighters, with which the OKB team coped brilliantly: by 1949, the VK-1 turbojet engine was created and put into mass production. The latest developments of “UEC-Klimov”, heir to the renowned design bureau, are traditionally in the center of attention of specialists and visitors of the salon. And without airplanes and helicopters with Klimovsk engines, it is impossible to imagine the MAKS flight program.
The post-war years, marked by the rapid development of aviation technology, contributed to the fruitful and enthusiastic work of the newly created design bureau under the leadership of Vladimir Klimov. The word “first” can be applied to almost all the products of the OKB of that time. In 1956, the first Soviet by-pass turbojet engine VK-3 was created, then the first Soviet engine with cooled turbine blades VK-13, intended for fighters, and the VK-15 jet engine for a cruise missile were developed.
The firstborn in the Klimov family of turboshaft engines is the small-sized GTD-350 engine designed for the Mi-2 helicopter. The creation of the GTD-350 opened the era of helicopter engine building for the OKB. Subsequently, TV2-117 was designed for the Mi-8 helicopter, which became one of the most massive engines in the history of helicopter construction: over the years of production, about 23 thousand engines of various modifications were produced. In the mid-1960s, the designers of the Klimov Design Bureau began designing TV3-117 for third-generation helicopters – the Mi-14 amphibians and the Mi-24 “flying tank”. The TV3-117 engines are also used for the Kamov family of helicopters.
At the turn of the 1960s-1970s, the development of a turbojet engine for the MiG-29 fighter began: the created RD-33 engine became the hallmark of Soviet engine building for several decades.
In the difficult 1990s for the aviation industry, with the practical absence of a government order, the design bureau continued to develop turbojet engine building. A fourth-generation turboprop TV7-117S engine for the Il-114 has been developed, the most massive TV3-117 helicopter engine has been modernized. The beginning of the new century for OKB “Klimov” was marked by the development of the most massive turboshaft engine VK-2500. In the 2000s, a breakthrough was also made in the development of the jet direction: on the basis of the RD-33 engine, a modification of the RD-33MK was developed for the newest ship-based MiG-29K / KUB fighters and the MiG-35.
Today the company “ODK-Klimov” with more than a century of history is the pride of the domestic aviation industry. It includes a world-class design office, high-tech manufacturing, a state-of-the-art research and development facility and a service division supporting products around the world.
Engines developed by OKB “Klimov” and “UEC-Klimov” are traditionally in the center of attention of specialists and visitors of the MAKS air show, presenting both serial products and promising developments in the field of aircraft engine building. Among the most striking events – the premiere at MAKS-2005 of a prototype of the fifth generation engine for light aircraft and helicopters VK-800, a demonstration of the 4th generation helicopter engines VK-3000V and VK-2500. Visitors to MAKS-2011 for the first time were able to see the Mi-38 helicopter with a TV7-117V engine, observe demonstration flights of the super-maneuverable MiG-29, equipped with an RD-33 engine with a deflected thrust vector. At MAKS-2013, a Mi-38 helicopter with a Klimovsk engine has already participated in the flight program of the salon. MAKS-2015 will be remembered for the solemn ceremony of awarding the type certificate for the TV7-117V helicopter engine. At MAKS-2017, the RD-33MK engine was presented, as well as the TV7-117ST engine as part of the Il-76LL flying laboratory. MAKS-2019 was remembered by specialists for the VK-2500PS family of helicopter engines with improved performance characteristics and a modern digital electronic control system.
At the upcoming MAKS-2021, visitors will again be able to see airplanes and helicopters powered by UEC-Klimov engines both in the static parking lot and in the flight program of the air show. Well, the exhibits of Klimov engines, including the promising VK-650V and VK-1600V, will become centers of attraction in the UEC pavilion at MAKS, demonstrating the leading positions of UEC-Klimov in the latest technologies of aircraft engine building.
