Mikhail Simonov, one of Russia's top aircraft designers and creator of the famous Sukhoi fighter jets, has died. He was 81. Simonov died in Moscow on Friday, said Sukhoi company's spokesman Sergei Meshcheryakov. He wouldn't specify the cause of Simonov's death, but said he died after a long illness. A former Russian air force chief lamented Simonov's death as an "irreparable loss."
Simonov started working as an aviation engineer in the 1950s, and joined the Sukhoi design bureau as a deputy chief designer in 1970. During the following nine years he led the development of the Su-24, the Su-25 and the Su-27 combat jets. After serving as deputy minister of aircraft industries in 1979-1983, he was named the top Sukhoi designer and continued work on the Su-27 that became the Soviet Union's best fighter plane. When state defence orders drained after the 1991 Soviet collapse, Simonov played a key role in winning lucrative contracts to sell Su-27s to China, India and other foreign customers.
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