The system being created by Irkut will include a complex of interconnected and integrated systems designed to automate the business processes of aircraft after-sales service, including integration with the corporation's internal information systems and external information systems of technical service providers of aircraft after-sales service. In other words, a "single window" is being created to solve any operational issues that arise for the airline during the entire life cycle of the aircraft.

And here reasonable questions arise: how did the system work earlier, why, in fact, is such a system being created only now, and is this a consequence of sanctions? To answer these questions, you will have to start from afar. In Soviet times, our aviation developed such a system of interaction between the aviation industry and civil aviation, in which the manufacturer transferred the aircraft or helicopter to Aeroflot, and then civil aviation itself was responsible for its operation in the person of the relevant Ministry of Civil Aviation of the Soviet Union (MGA SSSR), under which there were scientific institutes and repair plants.

At the same time, a different, parallel reality was being formed in the West, where the manufacturer independently provided the entire life cycle of the aircraft, from the moment of transfer to the airline until the moment of decommissioning of the aircraft after many years. As the number of foreign aircraft in the fleets of the airlines of the new Russia increased in the 2000-s years, domestic operators also got acquainted with the new aircraft after-sales service system for us. At that time there were already hundreds of them in the country.

In parallel, in the same years, a difficult process of consolidating the assets of the aviation industry and the formation of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) took place. And the first implemented project of the corporation in the civil sector was the SSJ 100 aircraft. Everything would be fine, an aircraft with good characteristics, imported components, but the MGA has not been around for a long time, and the industry was not ready to provide the life cycle of the aircraft. Yes, she simply did not know how, since she had never done this in her hundred-year history. But the airlines were already used to Western standards and did not want, and could not "scroll the film" back.

This was to a large extent the reason for the claims against the aircraft by airlines in the first years of its operation. Not some failures and breakdowns, but the efficiency and quality of technical support. That's when a comprehensive operator support system began to be created. As they say, I had to study in "combat conditions". Of course, at the first stage, the main task was to ensure the technological process: maintenance and repair centers (MRO), spare parts warehouses, personnel training centers, simulators, documentation and much more.

In parallel, software solutions were also created, some of which today form the basis of the future Unified Digital Platform. At the initial stage, airlines and technical centers used electronic services of foreign suppliers of components, of which the first-generation Superjet mainly consists. But even then it became obvious that it would be difficult to develop the project without similar own services. The decision to create them was made a long time ago, long before the sanctions.

So, back in 2018, we talked about the Operational Situation Center (OSC) operating in the UAC to support Superjet operators. Today, the OSC works not only on Superjet, but is one of the already functioning elements of the future Unified Support System within the entire UAC-Civil Aircraft division, in whose area of responsibility there will be both the MC-21 and other promising civilian developments of the corporation.

The OSC employs specialists who are in touch with operators or organizations that perform maintenance of aircraft 24/7 365 days a year and are ready to solve any issue that arises during the operation and maintenance of the aircraft. Of course, there are no specialists of such a wide profile who could immediately answer any question. The most difficult tasks are solved with the involvement of engineers from the developer's design bureau or specialized MRO centers.

And here, before proceeding directly to electronic services, it is necessary to tell what the customer's after-sales Support Service is in general. The first element I have already mentioned is the Operational Situation Center. The second direction is the provision of operational documentation. The third direction is the provision of information services. For example, informing the operator about where he can perform certain technical works or forms of maintenance on an aircraft, which organizations have the appropriate competencies and specialists.

The fourth is material and technical support. Where you can buy this or that unit and where it can be serviced. The fifth direction is the training of personnel, training and retraining of both flight and technical personnel.

Sixth and seventh, the most technologically advanced. There is such a thing on modern aircraft as recording flight information. We all know about the flight recorders "black boxes". But this is for the investigation of accidents. And in case of normal life, this information is recorded and decrypted by special programs, after which you can get a specific report. Namely, about piloting techniques and the technical condition of the aircraft. According to these reports, it is possible to anticipate possible malfunctions if the parameters for some time clearly indicate that such a malfunction may occur.

And then there is the OMS (on-board defect detection system for maintenance). That system provides up-to-the-minute information to the computer that is on the plane. You can also get data from this information and analyze it again. This allows not only to eliminate the immediate defect that has already arisen, but also to implement some preventive measures.

And in order to do this, we need software products on earth that will process this information. The ultimate goal is to create means for operational data transmission. That is, the plane arrives at the airport, the data is automatically downloaded from the onboard media and transmitted to the support center. At the same time, the operator can access the portal and see the analysis of his data and the activities offered to him. And in the future, the OMS will be able to transmit information to the ground directly during the flight.

Well, the eighth, no less important element of the system is the collection of operational data. Each airline has its own electronic databases of developments, failures, produced and planned maintenance. So, in each aircraft delivery contract, certain requirements for the operator are prescribed. He must provide information on a monthly basis: on the final flight of all his aircraft - operating hours and landings; on all defects found and their elimination; on the movement (replacement) of units during operation. This information is accumulated in the database and based on it, reliability indicators are calculated, which are transmitted to the design bureau. The design bureau, on the basis of this data, will be able to make improvements and optimize the maintenance program. For example, to issue a bulletin on additional inspections and works, or, on the contrary, to increase the service life of the unit between repairs, showing high reliability and trouble-free operating hours.

Summarizing all of the above, we can say that the system consists of two main directions:
1) providing information and design support to the operator to ensure the maintenance of the airworthiness of the aircraft;
2) collecting information that allows you to optimize processes, modernize systems, predict failures and plan technical work and spare parts purchases.

It should also be mentioned separately about the release of service bulletins by the manufacturer. These are prescriptions about the need to perform certain types of technical work on the replacement of systems and aggregates or their completion at certain times or after hours. In this case, the developer himself provides the operator with a set of spare parts necessary for the work. This task lies entirely on the system of after-sale support from the developer of the aircraft. It is necessary to build a schedule for the execution of service bulletins, knowing the raids of the entire fleet of aircraft and preparing for a certain moment for its implementation, regardless of whether the operator will independently perform these works or contact a specialized organization.

This is how the aircraft operator's after-sales service system looks like in brief.

And now we can move on to the overview of the information and communication part, which is currently being developed, that is, to the RADIUS system itself (Russian Aviation Digital Information Unity System). The Department of Information Support for processes of after-sales service system is responsible for the creation of a single digital platform at Irkut Corporation. The task of the department is to build the logic of the system, algorithms for communication of external services with internal systems of the corporation and on a competitive basis to attract direct performers of work.

Web portal of the RADIUS customer support system.

Thus, a certain technical task was formed for the system of online services of the WEB portal for customer support of SSJ100 and MC-21 aircraft, which included the following functions:

Operational Situation Center

• formation and direction of engineering and technical requests and requests for correction of operational documentation
• knowledge base on troubleshooting

Guarantees and claims

• forming and sending warranty statements and tracking the status of their execution

Operational data

• processing and analysis of operational data
• accounting for the implementation of the Airworthiness Directive and service bulletins on the aircraft fleet

logistics, aircraft maintenance and component repair

• catalog of service providers of logistics, aircraft maintenance, component repairs and a list of services they provide

Retraining of aviation personnel

• formation and direction of requests for retraining of aviation personnel
• publication of catalogs of aviation training centers, retraining programs, technical training tools, information about distance learning

Flight operation support

• downloading data from the aircraft's on-board recorders
• access to up-to-date versions of the application software and its documentation
• flight operation reports and analytics

Applications for after-sales service

• catalog of after-sales services, the formation of applications for after-sales services
• questionnaires and surveys

Aircraft ordering and delivery

• access to the delivery composition of aircraft, delivery documentation
• deferred obligations and a list of comments when accepting aircraft
• documents of the agreed configuration of aircraft

Technical publications

• access to operational documentation
• the possibility of customization of documentation and the formation of the order 34 from the document

Interaction with Suppliers of aviation equipment

• online services for interaction in terms of engineering, repair and advertising activities

Aircraft design status

• registration and maintenance of information on damage and repairs performed to the airframe and engine nacelle of the aircraft, indicating the location, type of damage and other characteristics on the 3D model of the aircraft

After-sales service news and events

As a result, these services of the RADIUS unified digital platform were distributed among five subsystems, some of which are already functioning, and some are under development:

CCSIS is a comprehensive customer support information system.

RAMAN is a system for displaying, maintaining and customizing interactive electronic technical manuals of civil aircraft.

RADAR is a system for registering information about the technical condition of the aircraft structure.

RAMASIS is a system for planning, accounting and monitoring the performance of work on the maintenance of aircraft.

RAFAS is a digital service for monitoring the technical condition of the air fleet.

In addition to external services, the RADIUS platform also includes integration with the internal information systems of Irkut Corporation. In fact, it is a communication system between the operator, the developer and the MRO centers. At the same time, data exchange takes place on one platform in a single format, which greatly facilitates the process for all parties in accounting, communication, and data exchange.