MAKS (russian: МАКС, russian: label=short for, Международный авиационно-космический салон, Mezhdunarodnyj aviatsionno-kosmicheskij salon, "International Aviation and Space Show") is an international
air show held at
Zhukovsky International Airport
Zhukovsky , formerly (and still occasionally) known as Ramenskoye (russian: link=no, аэропорт Жуковский, аэродром Раменское) is an international airport, located in Moscow Oblast, Russia, southeast of central ...
, the home of the
Gromov Flight Research Institute
The Gromov Flight Research Institute or GFRI for short (russian: link=no, Лётно-исследовательский институт имени М. М. Громова, russian: link=no, ЛИИ) is an important Russian State Researc ...
in
Zhukovsky, southeast of Moscow, Russia. The event was organized by the Russian
Ministry of Industry and Trade until 2009, more recently by the Government of Moscow and Aviasalon. The first show, Mosaeroshow-92, was held in 1992. Since 1993, the air show was renamed as MAKS and is held biennially on odd years.
MAKS is an important event for the Russian aviation industry and the
Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. ...
. Although it started mainly as an entertainment event, the show soon became a marketplace where Russian aerospace companies could negotiate export contracts and Russian air carriers could make foreign contacts.
Background and history
![Buran](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Buran.2.jpg)
The air show's history traces back to 1911, when one was held in Mikhailovskiy Square in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
. The Soviet Union held annual air shows on the
Tushino Airfield in Moscow 22 years later.
Its history in Zhukovskiy, however, began much later with the Engineering Show by
TsAGI
The Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (also (Zhukovsky) Central Institute of Aerodynamics, russian: Центра́льный аэрогидродинами́ческий институ́т, ЦАГИ, Tsentral'nyy Aerogidrodinamicheskiy Institut, ...
in 1990.
The objective of the MAKS air show is to demonstrate leading technologies and to open up the Russian aerospace industry to the international market. A large portion of the show is dedicated to holding scientific conferences and symposia, under the auspices of Russia's Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute.
The air show is held in the city of
Zhukovsky, at
Zhukovsky International Airport
Zhukovsky , formerly (and still occasionally) known as Ramenskoye (russian: link=no, аэропорт Жуковский, аэродром Раменское) is an international airport, located in Moscow Oblast, Russia, southeast of central ...
, which is the home of the
Gromov Flight Research Institute
The Gromov Flight Research Institute or GFRI for short (russian: link=no, Лётно-исследовательский институт имени М. М. Громова, russian: link=no, ЛИИ) is an important Russian State Researc ...
. After the
dissolution of the Soviet Union, many aviation companies eventually moved to Zhukovsky, using the Gromov Flight Research Institute's airfield for MosAeroShow-92 held on 11–16 August 1992.
A second show was held in 1993, now renamed MAKS. Since then the air show has been held biannually.
It lasts for six days, three of which are open to the general public.
Most of previous MAKS air shows were systematic: it usually opens with the attendance of the President of Russia, followed by company talks, and concludes with aircraft demonstrations by aerobatic teams such as the
Russian Knights,
Swifts, and foreign teams like
Patrouille de France
), 1st Commandant of the Patrouille de France as of the official Aerial presentation on 14 September 1953, Commander of the 13th Aerial Brigade, World War II Veteran with 165 war missions.
, identification_symbol=
, identification_symbol_lab ...
or
Frecce Tricolori
The ''Frecce Tricolori'' (; literally "Tricolour Arrows"), officially known as the ''313° Gruppo Addestramento Acrobatico, Pattuglia Acrobatica Nazionale (PAN) Frecce Tricolori'' ("313th Acrobatic Training Group, National Aerobatic Team (PAN) Frec ...
.
Some highlights include:
* The first public unveiling of the forward-swept-wing S-37 (later Su-47) ''Berkut'' at MAKS-1999.
* The handling of the corporate programs overall cost reductions scandal which made EADS (later Airbus) refuse to attend the same airshow, damaging the image of the airshow substantially.
* The first inclusion of American aircraft at MAKS-2003.
* The leasing of Plesetsk cosmodrome for launching 5 German SAR-Lupe satellites at MAKS-2003, the first aerospace contract signed throughout the MAKS history.
* The unveiling of the
Kliper
Kliper (Клипер, English: Clipper) was an early-2000s proposed partially- reusable crewed spacecraft concept by RSC Energia. Due to lack of funding from the ESA and RSA, the project was indefinitely postponed by 2006.
Designed primarily to ...
spacecraft at MAKS-2005.
* The tribute flight of 4 Su-27s from the Russian Knights to pay tribute to the team's commander, Igor Tkachenko at MAKS-2009, who died in his aircraft after a collision with another Su-27 during a flight training 2 days prior to the opening of the airshow.
* The unveiling of
Sukhoi Su-57
The Sukhoi Su-57 (russian: Сухой Су-57; NATO reporting name: Felon) is a Twinjet, twin-engine stealth Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft developed by Sukhoi. It is the product of the PAK FA (russian: ПАК ФА, russ ...
prototype at MAKS-2011.
* The first inclusion of other foreign aerobatic teams such as the
August 1st from China and the Baltic Bees from Latvia at MAKS-2013.
* The unveiling of a prototype of a fifth-generation lightweight, single-engine, stealth fighter jet
Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate
The Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate (russian: Сухой Су-75; LTS, short for Light Tactical Aircraft in Russian) is a single-engine, stealth fighter aircraft under development by Sukhoi for export and for the Russian Aerospace Forces. The Sukhoi Des ...
at the MAKS-2021.
Other facts
* The educational "MAKSyata" club for teenagers was established in 2001, bringing children born in Zhukovskiy in the days of the air show.
* At MAKS-2009, employees from the Moscow department of the Federal Bailiff Service(FSSP) of the Russian Federation, in coordination with the staff of the Internal Affairs Directorate carried out a raid on debtors hiding among the visitors of the airshow. Bailiffs stationed near the Vereya village of the Ramenskoye village and intercepted debtors, with a poster that read: "Debtor, do you want to experience the feeling of flying?! Pay your debts and fly!". A total of more than 12 million rubles was recovered from debtors.
Accidents
* The prototype
Beriev Be-103
The Beriev Be-103 (in English sometimes called "Snipe") is an amphibious seaplane designed by Beriev and constructed by the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association (KnAAPO) in Russia. Intended for autonomous operation in the unmarked ...
amphibious aircraft crashed on the day before the opening of MAKS-1997. After takeoff at 11:14 local time, at an altitude of about 100 meters, the pilot attempted to stay in his designated flight zone by a steep turn, which unintentionally set the aircraft into a steep climb, causing a stall at a supercritical angle of attack without adequate altitude to recover. The pilot was killed.
* On August 16, 2009, while preparing for the MAKS-2009, two
Sukhoi Su-27s of the
Russian Knights aerobatic team crashed into each other, killing the commander of the team and injuring several other people, including residents at "Belozyorikha" garden community. The death of the pilot was paid tribute to by a minute of silence at the opening of the airshow.
References
External links
MAKS official website (English language)
{{International Airshows
Air shows
Aviation in Russia
Events in Moscow
Trade fairs in Russia
Arms fairs