Yakovlev

The JSC A.S. Yakovlev Design Bureau (ОАО Опытно-конструкторское бюро им. А.С. Яковлева) is a Russian aircraft designer and manufacturer (design office prefix Yak). Its head office is in Aeroport District, Northern Administrative Okrug, Moscow. The bureau formed in 1934 under designer Alexander Sergeyevich Yakovlev as OKB-115 (the design bureau has its own production base at the facility No.115), but dates its birth from 12 May 1927, the day of maiden flight of the AIR-1 aircraft developed within the Department of Light Aircraft of GUAP (Head Agency of Aviation Industry) under the supervision of A.S. Yakovlev. During World War II Yakovlev designed and produced a famed line of fighter aircraft. Irkut acquired Yakovlev in April 2004. The Russian government merged the holding company with Mikoyan, Ilyushin, Irkut, Sukhoi and Tupolev as a new company named United Aircraft Building Corporation in February 2006. The firm designed the Pchela (Пчела, "bee") drone reconnaissance aircraft (first flown in 1990), but is perhaps best known for its highly successful line of World War II-era piston-engined fighter-aircraft. In August 2023, Irkut Corporation rebranded itself as Yakovlev. The Sukhoi Superjet 100 was redesignated as the SJ-100, and the Irkut MC-21 also adopted the Yakovlev name.