Tbilisi Aircraft Manufacturing

Coordinates: 41°40′9.73″N 44°52′30.57″E / 41.6693694°N 44.8751583°E / 41.6693694; 44.8751583
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the Tbilaviamsheni Manufacturing Company. For the Georgian airline, see TAM Air. For private military manufacturer, see TAM Management.
JSC "TAM" Tbilisi Aircraft Manufacturing
Websitehttp://www.tam.ge/

Tbilisi Aircraft Manufacturing (TAM), also known as JSC Tbilaviamsheni (formerly known as 31st Aviation Factory), is a Georgian aerospace development and manufacturing company, which also partially manufactures APCs and IFVs.

Su-25KM Scorpion

History

Tbilisi Aircraft Manufacturing (former Tbilisi Aircraft State Association) was established on December 15, 1941. In the early days of

Yak-3. During World War II, the company was the sole supplier of fighter aircraft to the Caucasian front.[1]

Following World War II, TAM worked in conjunction with the Yakovlev Design Bureaus to build the first Soviet jet fighter, the

Yak-23 and Yak-23 twin-seat trainer jet.[1]

In the 1950s the factory started the production of

MiG-21 two-seater fighter-trainer aircraft and its various derivative aircraft, continuing the MiG-21 production for about 25 years. At the same time the company was manufacturing the K-10S air-to-surface guided missile.[1] The company also began to diversify into civil engineering projects, producing cable car cabins and equipment between 1950 and 1990. Still-functioning Tbilisi Aviation Factory cable cars include those in Crimea, Kislovodsk, Pyatigorsk, Sochi, Sigulda, Khulo, Chiatura, Borjomi, and Kutaisi.[2]

The first

R-73 IR guided missiles, a production effort that built over 6,000 missiles a year and that lasted until the early 1990s.[1]

In the late 1990s, there was a joint project of Tbilaviamsheni and the Georgian Space Constructions Institute to design and produce the space antenna-reflector which were successfully used in their first attempt on the Russian space station "MIR".[1]

From 1996 to 1998 the factory produced

Su-25
U.

In 2001 the factory started upgrading basic Su-25 airframes to the

Su-25
KM Scorpion variant.

During the

South Ossetia war of August 2008, the Russian Air Force bombed the TAM factory.[3]

After 2008 Russo-Georgian war it became apparent that Georgia could not rely on outdated soviet APCs, hence the factory started development and construction of the

Didgori Armoured Personnel Carrier series and Lazika Infantry Fighting Vehicle in cooperation with STC Delta
.

In 2020 the factory started restoration of Georgian Air Force aircraft.[4][5]

Current capabilities

TAM currently is capable of restoring the following military aircraft to flyable condition:

Customers

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Tbilisi Aerospace Manufacturing (TAM)". Retrieved 2021-03-24.
  2. ^ Канатная дорога. // Большая советская энциклопедия : [в 30 т.] / гл. ред. А. М. Прохоров. — 3-е изд. — М. : Советская энциклопедия, 1969–1978.
  3. ^ "Tbilisi Aerospace Manufacturing [TAM]". Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
  4. ^ "Georgian Defence Forces air assets undergoing repair, update". Agenda.ge. Retrieved 2020-10-25.
  5. ^ "New aircraft manufacturing plant to repair aircraft owned by Defence Forces of Georgia". Agenda.ge. Retrieved 2020-10-25.

External links

41°40′9.73″N 44°52′30.57″E / 41.6693694°N 44.8751583°E / 41.6693694; 44.8751583

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