Sergey V. Mikheev

President of the Helicopter Industry Association from 2008 to 2018.

PhD in Technical Sciences (1984), academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences (2011), Professor, Hero of the Russian Federation (1997), Laureate of the Lenin (1982) and Russian State Prizes (1996), holder of the Order of Lenin and the Order of the October Revolution, Laureate of the Tupolev Prize, member of the Helicopter Association International (HAI) and member of the Helicopter Societies of Russia, Europe and the United States.

Sergey Mikheev was born on December 22, 1938, in Khabarovsk (Russian Federation). His life is inextricably connected with the Kamov Design Bureau, which he joined in 1962 after graduating from the Moscow Aviation Institute. In 1974, he was appointed Chief Designer, and in 1987 — General Designer of the Kamov Design Bureau.

Sergey Mikheev is a great scientist and practical expert, a leading specialist in the field of helicopter engineering, the head of a scientific and design school, which develops rotorcraft systems for the Ministry of Defense and civil operators. Within 35 years of Sergey Mikheev’s work as the General Designer, the coaxial rotor scheme of helicopters received positive acclaim and worldwide recognition, became the national heritage of the Russian Federation.

Sergey Mikheev has proved himself to be a specialist with a conceptual thinking approach. He is the author of a number of original concepts of combat and civil helicopters, author of the sea-based aviation scientific school in the “helicopter-ship” system, which ensures high efficiency of countermeasures against strategic submarine fleet. Under his supervision, a generation of modern shipboard helicopters with highly-automated flight-navigation systems has been developed: Ka-27 and its modifications, search-and-rescue Ka-27PS, transport and combat Ka-29, as well as the company’s unique development — radar-picket Ka-31 with no analogues in the world.

In the mid-1970s, for the first time in the world, Sergey Mikheev proposed the development of a single-seat combat-and-attack helicopter Ka-50. The implementation of this idea being ahead of time required not only design knowledge and skills, but also strategic economic thinking, predictive abilities, and some persuasion skills. In 1995, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation, the Ka-50 helicopter was adopted by the Russian Air Forces.

In the 1990s, during the most difficult period of the domestic aircraft industry, Sergey Mikheev did everything possible to support the design school and to successfully promote “Kamov” helicopters on the world market. During this difficult period, the Design Bureau team developed and put into service coaxial Ka-31 and Ka-52 helicopters, as well as Ka-226 multifunctional civil helicopter. A prototype of the Ka-60 multipurpose army helicopter was created. In 2008, the mass production of Ka-52 was launched, which has become a significant event for the entire aviation industry, and an important step in strengthening the national defense capabilities.

Contributing to the reputation of the Russian Federation as a leader in the world helicopter engineering industry, Sergey Mikheev has made a lot of effort and has spent a lot of energy on solving a fundamentally important task — certification of helicopters according to the international airworthiness standards. As a result of complex work and negotiations, a certificate for the Ka-32A11BC multi-purpose helicopter, which is widely operated abroad, has been obtained in accordance with the American airworthiness standards. 

Sergey Mikheev sees further prospects for the helicopter industry development in a significant increase in the speed of rotorcraft. Today, one of the promising lines of the Design Bureau work is the development of the naval Ka-52K combat attack helicopter and further modernization of Ka-52 to Ka-52M. New civil Ka-62, a further development of the Ka-60, to be put in production in 2020. 

The scientific and engineering activities of Sergey Mikheev, which can be distinguished by their versatility and great effectiveness, have earned him well-deserved authority and worldwide recognition. He is the author of a number of scientific works, monographs and dozens of inventions.

The most important merit of the General Designer Sergey Mikheev is that “Kamov” design bureau today is not only a powerful scientific and engineering domestic center, but first of all is a team of highly qualified people, outstanding scientists, brilliant engineers, designers, who are continually develop the most modern technologies for famous Russian helicopters.

In 2019 Sergey Mikheev  was awarded with the Medal of the Helicopter Industry Association «For contribution to international cooperation in the helicopter industry» and included in the number of Honorary Members of the Association.