OKB is a transliteration of the Russian initials of "" – , meaning 'experiment and design bureau'. During the Soviet era, OKBs were closed institutions working on

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...

and prototyping of advanced technology, usually for

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

applications. The english language corresponding term for such bureau's occupation is

Research and Development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...

. A bureau was officially identified by a number, and often semi-officially by the name of its lead designer – for example, OKB-51 was led by

Pavel Sukhoi Pavel Osipovich Sukhoi (russian: Па́вел О́сипович Сухо́й; be, Па́вел Во́сіпавіч Сухі́, ''Paviel Vosipavič Suchi''; 2 July 1895 – 15 September 1975) was a Soviet aerospace engineer and aircraft design ...

, and it eventually became known as the OKB of Sukhoi. Successful and famous bureaus often retained this name even after the death or replacement of their designers. These relatively small, state-run

organisations An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose. The word is derived from ...

were not intended for the

mass production Mass production, also known as flow production or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. Together with job production and batch ...

of aircraft, rockets, or other vehicles or equipment which they designed. However, they usually had the facilities and resources to construct prototypes. Designs accepted by the state were then assigned to factories for mass production. After the

collapse of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

, many OKBs became Scientific Production Organizations () (NPO). There were some attempts to merge them in the 1990s, and there were widespread amalgamations in 2001–2006 to create " national champions", such as

Almaz-Antey JSC Concern VKO "Almaz-Antey" (russian: link=no, ОАО "Концерн ВКО "Алмаз-Антей"») is a Russian state-owned company in the arms industry, a result of a merger of Antey Corporation and NPO Almaz, unifying some of the nat ...

to consolidate

SAM Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictional ...

development.

OKBs in aerospace industry

* KB-1 – NPO Almaz,

Vitaly Shabanov Vitali, Vitalii, Vitaly, Vitaliy and may refer to: People Given name * Vitaly Borker (born 1975 or 1976), Ukrainian American Internet fraudster and cyberbully * Vitaly Churkin (1952–2017), Russian politician * Vitaly Ginzburg (1916–2009), Russ ...

* OKB-1 – Korolev (today RSC Energia) * OKB-1 – Dr. Brunolf Baade disbanded by 1953 * OKB-2 – early name of

MKB Raduga MKB Raduga (russian: МКБ Радуга, meaning Raduga Design Bureau (russian: машиностроительное конструкторское бюро «Радуга»), where ''raduga'' literally means "rainbow") is a Russian aerospac ...

(OKB-155-2) * OKB-3 – Bratukhin * OKB-4 – Matus Bisnovat's Design Bureau (different from

NPO Molniya NPO Molniya (''lightning'') (russian: Научно-производственное объединение «Молния») is a Russian scientific and production enterprise, founded on February 26, 1976. Currently part of Rostec. Space system ...

) * OKB-8 – Novator (long-range SAMs) * OKB-19 – Shvetsov, Soloviev. Now: "Perm MKB" * OKB-20 – Klimov, Omsk-Motors * OKB-21 –

Alexeyev Alexeyev, Alekseyev, Alexeiev, Alexeev or Alekseev (russian: Алексе́ев) is a common Russian surname that is derived from the male given name Alexey (Алексей) and literally means ''Alexey's''. Often the same name appears in English in ...

* OKB-23 –

Myasishchev V. M. Myasishchev Experimental Design Bureau (Экспериментальный Машиностроительный Завод им. В. М. Мясищева) or OKB-23, founded in 1951 by MGB UdSSR Vladimir Myasishchev, was ...

(also OKB-482) * OKB-24 – Mikulin * OKB-26 – Klimov * OKB-39 –

Ilyushin The public joint stock company Ilyushin Aviation Complex, operating as Ilyushin (russian: Илью́шин) or as Ilyushin Design Bureau, is a former Soviet and now a Russian aircraft manufacturer and design bureau, founded in 1933 by Sergey Vl ...

* OKB-45 – Klimov * OKB-47 –

Yakovlev The JSC A.S. Yakovlev Design Bureau (russian: ОАО Опытно-конструкторское бюро им. А.С. Яковлева) is a Russian aircraft designer and manufacturer (design office prefix Yak). Its head office is in Aeroport D ...

originally, transferred to Shcherbakov * OKB-49 – Beriev * OKB-51 – Sukhoi * OKB-52 – Chelomei * OKB-86 – Bartini * OKB-115 –

* OKB-117 – Klimov, Izotov * OKB-120 –

Zhdanov (surname) Zhdanov (russian: Жданов) or Zhdanova (feminine; Жданова) is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Andrei Zhdanov (1896–1948), Stalinist politician, developer of the Zhdanov Doctrine that governed Soviet cultural activ ...

* OKB-124 – N/A (cooling systems for Tu-121) * OKB-134 –

Vympel Directorate "V" of the FSB Special Purpose Center, often referred to as Spetsgruppa "V" Vympel ( pennant in Russian, originated from German , and having the same meaning), but also known as KGB Directorate "V", Vega Group, is an elite Russian ...

* OKB-140 – N/A (first hydro-alcohol starter-generators for Tu-121) * OKB-153 –

Antonov Antonov State Enterprise ( uk, Державне підприємство «Антонов»), formerly the Aeronautical Scientific-Technical Complex named after Antonov (Antonov ASTC) ( uk, Авіаційний науково-технічни� ...

* OKB-154 – Kosberg, previously OKB-296 * OKB-155 –

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

(formerly Mikoyan-Gurevich) * OKB-155-2 – (sometimes designated as OKB-2-155) OKB-155 spin-off in

Dubna Dubna ( rus, Дубна́, p=dʊbˈna) is a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia. It has a status of ''naukograd'' (i.e. town of science), being home to the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, an international nuclear physics research center and one o ...

. Gurevich, Berezniak, Isaev... Now

. * OKB-156 –

Tupolev Tupolev (russian: Ту́полев, ), officially Joint Stock Company Tupolev, is a Russian aerospace and defence company headquartered in Basmanny District, Moscow. Tupolev is successor to the Soviet Tupolev Design Bureau (OKB-156, design off ...

* OKB-165 – Lyulka * OKB-207 –

Borovkov and Florov Borovkov (russian: Боровков) is a Russian masculine surname, its feminine counterpart is Borovkova. It may refer to *Aleksandr Alekseevich Borovkov (born 1931), Russian mathematician *Maksym Borovkov (born 1977), Ukrainian football midfielde ...

( Borovkov-Florov D,

Borovkov-Florov I-207 The Borovkov-Florov I-207 (''Istrebitel'' – fighter) was a fighter aircraft designed and built in the USSR from 1936. Development In 1935, two designers from GAZ-21 (''Gosoodarstvenny Aviatsiya Zavod'' – state aviation plant/factory), at ...

) * OKB-240 – Yermolaev * OKB-256 – Tsybin * OKB-276 –

Kuznetsov Kuznetsov, Kuznyetsov, Kuznetsoff, or Kouznetsov (masculine, russian: Кузнецов) or Kuznetsova (feminine, russian: Кузнецова) is the third most common Russian surname, an equivalent of the English "Smith" (derived from a Russian word ...

* OKB-296 – renamed to

OKB-154 Chemical Automatics Design Bureau (CADB), also KB Khimavtomatika (russian: Конструкторское бюро химавтоматики, КБХА, KBKhA), is a Russian design bureau founded by the NKAP (People's Commissariat of the Aircraf ...

in 1946 KB Khimavtomatika * OKB-300 – Tumansky * OKB-301 – Lavochkin * OKB-329 – Mil * SKB-385 – Makeev * OKG-456 – Glushko * OKB-458 –

Chetverikov OKB Chyetverikov was a Soviet aircraft design bureau headed by designer Igor Vyacheslavovich Chyetverikov at the TsAGI (''Tsentrahl'nyy Aerodinamicheskiy i Ghidrodinamicheskiy Institoot''- central aerodynamics and hydrodynamics institute) Menzhinski ...

* OKB-478 –

Ivchenko Ivchenko-Progress ZMKB ( uk, Запорізьке машинобудівне конструкторське бюро «Прогрес» ім. О.Г.Івченка, ''Zaporizhzhia Machine-Building Design Bureau "Progress" State Enterprise named af ...

* OKB-575 –

Kovrov Kovrov (russian: Ковро́в) is a city in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Klyazma River, a tributary of the Oka. Kovrov's population as of the 2021 Census was 132,417, down from 145,214 recorded in the 2010 Census, ...

* OKB-586 – Yangel * OKB-692 – JSC "Khartron" (formerly KB electropriborostroeniya, then NPO "Electropribor") * OKB-794 –

Leninets Leninets (russian: Ленинец) is a rural locality (a settlement) in Ilyichyovskoye Rural Settlement, Nikolayevsky District, Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The population was 56 as of 2010. There are 5 streets. Geography Leninets is located in s ...

* OKB-938 –

Kamov JSC Kamov (russian: Камов) is a Russian rotorcraft manufacturing company based in Lyubertsy, Russia. The Kamov Design Bureau ( design office prefix Ka) has more recently specialised in compact helicopters with coaxial rotors, suitable for n ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

Factories, Research and Design Establishments of the Soviet Defence Industry: a Guide
University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
Aviation.ru - "OKBs"
Science and technology in the Soviet Union Science and technology in Russia Technological races ru:Список конструкторских бюро СССР и России

OKBs in aerospace industry

See also

References

External links