http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=419836&version=1&template_id=39&parent_id=21
Designer of Sukhoi fighter craft dies
Publish Date: Saturday,5 March, 2011, at 12:04 PM Doha Time
AFP/Moscow
Simonov: died aged 81
Mikhail Simonov, the designer of the legendary Sukhoi fighter jets that brought
fame and fortune to the Soviet and Russian defence industries, has died aged
81, news reports said yesterday.
Simonov began designing small passenger aircraft in 1959 before being named the
head of Sukhoi's design bureau in 1983, a post from which he spearheaded
Moscow's bid to out-duel Washington in the skies during the Cold War.
His reign at Sukhoi saw the production of the Soviet Union's most feared and
powerful fighters, including the Su-27 and Su-30.
The planes, which rivalled fourth-generation US jets produced in the 1980s and
1990s, are still being produced and flown today. Designed in the 1970s when the
Soviet Union first became aware of its dire technological lag behind the United
States, the Su-27 is widely acknowledged as one of the 20th century's best
multi-purpose jets.
Becoming almost as famous on the world arms market as the Kalashnikov rifle,
the jet attracted clients in African countries as well as China and Vietnam,
with two craft even acquired by the United States for testing purposes.
The Su-30, meanwhile, is considered one of the most powerful two-seat aircraft
in its class, with its production and sales growing in the post-Soviet era.
Before joining Sukhoi, Simonov served for five years as deputy head of the
Soviet Union's aerospace agency. In 1998, he received the official state title
of "Legend of the Aerospace Industry"
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