In the aftermath of Russia’s MAKS 2005 exhibition in August, DID reported that EADS had committed EUR 50 million (USD $62 million) to buy 10% of Irkut Corp. On December 16, 2005, Irkut Corporation and EADS closed the deal by signing a sale contract which makes out as many as 97.8 million shares in return for $65.3 million.

The two firms also signed an Agreement of Cooperation defining new principles of the two companies’ interaction, assigning additional workshare to Irkut for Airbus civil aircraft. OOO EADS CEO Vadim Vlasov will sit on Irkut’s Board of Directors, and EADS’ share purchase takes on added significance in the context of Moscow Defense Brief’s recent article on consolidation within the Russian aircraft industry.

Be-200 ChS
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On the aviation front, Irkut is being integrated into Airbus A350 production in a potential $3 billion/ 30-year deal, and Irkutsk Aviation Plant is manufacturing A320 family components. Currently, both companies are in process of negotiations to extend the amount of products to be manufactured in Irkutsk.

The parties will also move forward with their 2005 agreement to jointly certify and market the Beriev Be-200 multi-role seaplane and firefighting aircraft.

UPDATE: Airbus is placing additional large work packages for aircraft of the A320, A330/A340 and A380 Families with two Russian companies – IRKUT Scientific Production Corporation, and Voronezh Aircraft Production Association (VASO). The work packages will be worth $200 million over ten years to Russia, which means doubling the already contracted volume.