Marat Raviliyevich Alykov (russian: Марат Равильевич Алыков; born 20 August 1959) is a Russian

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

. Alykov, an ethnic

Tatar The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

, was born on 20 August 1959 in

Kapustin Yar Kapustin Yar (russian: Капустин Яр) is a Russian rocket launch complex in Astrakhan Oblast, about 100 km east of Volgograd. It was established by the Soviet Union on 13 May 1946. In the beginning, Kapustin Yar used technology, material ...

in the Vladimirovskaya District of

Astrakhan Oblast Astrakhan Oblast (russian: Астраха́нская о́бласть, ''Astrakhanskaya oblast'', , ''Astrakhan oblysy'') is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast) located in southern Russia. Its administrative center ...

to a military family. He joined the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

in 1976, and in 1980 graduated from the

Kachinsk Military Aviation School The Kacha Higher Military Aviation twice Red Banner order of Lenin School of Pilots named for A.F. Myasnikov (KVVAUL) (Качинское высшее военное авиационное дважды краснознаменное ордена Л ...

. Alykov flew the

Sukhoi Su-17 The Sukhoi Su-17 (''izdeliye'' S-32) is a variable-sweep wing fighter-bomber developed for the Soviet military. Its NATO reporting name is "Fitter". Developed from the Sukhoi Su-7, the Su-17 was the first variable-sweep wing aircraft to ent ...

between 1983 and 1984 in the

Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union and the Afghan mujahideen (alongside smaller groups of anti-Soviet ...

and was awarded the

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star (russian: Орден Красной Звезды, Orden Krasnoy Zvezdy) was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 193 ...

. After leaving the Air Force, Alykov graduated from the Test Pilot School and became a

Mikoyan Russian Aircraft Corporation "MiG" (russian: Российская самолётостроительная корпорация „МиГ“, Rossiyskaya samolyotostroitel'naya korporatsiya "MiG"), commonly known as Mikoyan and MiG, was a Russi ...

test pilot. For his actions in testing aircraft, Alykov was awarded the title

Hero of the Russian Federation Hero of the Russian Federation (russian: Герой Российской Федерации, Geroy Rossiyskoy Federatsii), also unofficially Hero of Russia (russian: link=no, Герой России, Geroy Rossii), is the highest honorary title ...

in 1998. Alykov currently works as the general director of the aviation maintenance company International Center of Business Aviation.

Early life and military service

Alykov was born on 20 August 1959 in

to a military family. He was drafted into the Soviet Army in 1976. Alykov graduated from the

in 1980. He served in Soviet Air Force combat units. Alykov was a pilot and flight leader flying the Su-17M3 in Afghanistan from May 1983 and October 1984. Alykov made 214 sorties and was awarded the Order of the Red Star. He retired from the Air Force in 1985 with the rank of Major.

Civilian life

In 1987, Alykov graduated from the Test Pilot School. Between 1987 and 2005, he worked as a test pilot with Mikoyan. In 1990, Alykov and navigator Yuri Bramkov flew to Canada in a MiG-29UB for the 1990 National Capital Air Show. In the summer of 1991 he flew an MiG-29 at the

Cleveland National Air Show The Cleveland National Air Show is an annual air show held on Labor Day weekend at Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland, Ohio. It was established in 1964 as an indirect successor to the National Air Races. The show includes stunt airplanes, m ...

and the Harrisburg Air Show as part of "Soviet MiG-29 Friendship Tour '91". In November 1997, he tested the

Mikoyan MiG-29 The Mikoyan MiG-29 (russian: Микоян МиГ-29; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum) is a twin-engine fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during the 1970s, the MiG- ...

SM on its maiden flight. He also tested the MiG-29SMT, MiG-29UBT,

MiG-31 The Mikoyan MiG-31 (russian: link=no, Микоян МиГ-31; NATO reporting name: Foxhound) is a supersonic interceptor aircraft that was developed for use by the Soviet Air Forces. The aircraft was designed by the Mikoyan design bureau as a ...

, and MiG-AT. For his actions Alykov was awarded the title Hero of the Russian Federation on 31 May 1998. On 26 September 2001 he and test pilot

Pavel Vlasov Pavel Nikolaevich Vlasov (russian: Павел Николаевич Власов; born 13 October 1960) is a Russian test pilot, engineer, one of the Gromov Flight Research Institute directors (2010–2017), chief of the Gagarin Cosmonaut Trainin ...

flew the MiG-29M2 for the first time. He received the title Honoured Test Pilot of the Russian Federation in 2003. In 2006 he graduated from the

Russian Academy of Public Administration Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries * Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and pe ...

with a PhD in economics. In the same year, Alykov moved from Moscow to Zhukovsky. By 2014, Alykov was general director of the International Center of Business Aviation, a business aviation maintenance company. He is a member of the Club of Heroes of the Soviet Union, Heroes of the Russian Federation and Full Cavaliers of the Order of Glory.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alykov, Marat Raviliyevich 1959 births Russian aviators Heroes of the Russian Federation Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG People from Znamensk, Astrakhan Oblast Tatar people of Russia Living people Soviet aviators Recipients of the Order "For Personal Courage" Soviet military personnel of the Soviet–Afghan War Soviet test pilots Soviet Air Force officers

Early life and military service

Civilian life

See also

References