OKB () is a transliteration of the Russian initials for "" (), which translates to "Experimental Design Bureau." It could also mean or "Special Design Bureau" in english. During the

Soviet era The history of the Soviet Union (USSR) (1922–91) began with the ideals of the Russian Bolshevik Revolution and ended in dissolution amidst economic collapse and political disintegration. Established in 1922 following the Russian Civil War, ...

, OKBs were closed institutions working on design and prototyping of advanced technology, usually for military applications. The corresponding English language term for such a bureau's activity is R&D or "

research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in some countries as OKB, experiment and design, is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products. R&D constitutes the first stage ...

." For security, each bureau was only officially identified by a number, but were often semi-officially referenced by the name of its lead designer. For example, OKB-51 was led by

Pavel Sukhoi Pavel Osipovich Sukhoi (; , ''Paviel Vosipavič Suchi''; 22 July 1895 – 15 September 1975) was a Soviet aerospace engineer and aircraft designer known as the founder of the Sukhoi Design Bureau. Sukhoi designed military aircraft with Tupolev ...

, and it eventually became known as simply

Sukhoi The JSC Sukhoi Company (, ) is a Russian aircraft manufacturer headquartered in Begovoy District, Northern Administrative Okrug, Moscow, that designs both civilian and military aircraft. Sukhoi was founded in the Soviet Union by Pavel Sukhoi ...

. Successful and famous bureaus often retained these names after the departure of their founding designer. These relatively small state-run organisations were not intended for

mass production Mass production, also known as mass production, series production, series manufacture, or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines ...

of aircraft, rockets, or other vehicles or equipment which they designed. However, they usually had the facilities and resources to construct prototypes. Designs accepted by the state were then assigned to factories for mass production. After the

collapse of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

, many OKBs became Scientific Production Associations (NPOs). There were some attempts to merge them in the 1990s, and there were widespread amalgamations in 2001–2006 to create " national champion" corporations, such as

Almaz-Antey JSC Concern VKO "Almaz-Antey" () is a Russian state-owned company in the arms industry, a result of a merger of Antey Corporation and NPO Almaz, unifying some of the national military enterprises, in particular, the developers of anti-airc ...

to consolidate

surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-ai ...

development.

OKBs in aerospace industry

* KB-1 –

NPO Almaz JSC NPO Almaz named after A.A. Raspletin (, former SB-1, 1947–1950; KB-1, 1950–1966; MKB Strela, 1966–1971; TsKB Almaz, 1971–1988; NPO Almaz, 1988–2008; GSKB Almaz-Antey, 2008–2015) is a Soviet/Russian military R&D enterprise foun ...

, Vitaly Shabanov * OKB-1 – Korolev today RSC Energia * OKB-1 – Dr. Brunolf Baade disbanded by 1953 * OKB-2 – early name of

MKB Raduga MKB Raduga (, meaning Raduga Design Bureau (), where ''raduga'' literally means "rainbow") is a Russian aerospace company, concerned with the production of various missile-systems and related technologies. It is headquartered in Dubna, Moscow ...

(OKB-155-2) * OKB-3 –

Bratukhin Bratukhin, or OKB-3, was a Soviet aircraft design bureau created in 1940 from within TsAGI to develop helicopters. Headed by Ivan Pavlovich Bratukhin, the bureau built several experimental helicopters over the next decade. Each model had the same b ...

* OKB-4 – Matus Bisnovat's Design Bureau (different from NPO Molniya) * OKB-8 – Novator (long-range SAMs) * OKB-19 –

Shvetsov UEC-Aviadvigatel JSC (Russian: АО "ОДК-Авиадвигатель", lit. Aeroengine) is a Russian developer and builder of aircraft engines, most notably jet engines for commercial aircraft. Based at the Perm Engine Plant, its products powe ...

Soloviev Solovyov, Solovyev, Soloviov, Solovjev, or Soloviev (Russian: Соловьёв) is a Russian masculine surname, its feminine forms are Solovyova, Solovyeva, Soloviova, Solovjeva or Solovieva. It derives from the first name or nickname Solovei (со� ...

. Now: "Perm MKB" * OKB-20 –

Klimov UEC-Klimov () is a Russian manufacturer of gas turbine engines, main gearboxes and accessory drive gearboxes for transport aircraft. Originally established as ''Kirill Klimov Experimental Design Bureau'' in Saint-Petersburg under the directio ...

, Omsk-Motors * OKB-21 – Alexeyev * OKB-23 –

Myasishchev V. M. Myasishchev Experimental Design Bureau (Экспериментальный Машиностроительный Завод им. В. М. Мясищева) or OKB-23, founded in 1951 by MGB UdSSR Vladimir Mikhailovich Mya ...

(also OKB-482) * OKB-24 – Mikulin * OKB-26 –

* OKB-39 –

Ilyushin The Open joint-stock company , public joint stock company Ilyushin Aviation Complex, operating as Ilyushin () or as Ilyushin Design Bureau, is a Russian aircraft manufacturer and design bureau, founded in 1933 by Sergey Ilyushin , Sergey Vladimir ...

* OKB-45 –

* OKB-47 –

Yakovlev The Joint-stock company, JSC A.S. Yakovlev Design Bureau () is a Russian aircraft designer and manufacturer (design office prefix Yak). Its head office is in Aeroport District, Northern Administrative Okrug, Moscow. It is a subsidiary of Yakovle ...

originally, transferred to Shcherbakov * OKB-49 –

Beriev The PJSC Beriev Aircraft Company (), formerly Beriev Design Bureau, is a Russian aircraft manufacturer (design office prefix Be), specializing in amphibious aircraft. The company was founded in Taganrog in 1934 as OKB-49 by Georgy Mikhailovich B ...

* OKB-51 –

* OKB-52 – Chelomei * OKB-86 – Bartini * OKB-115 –

* OKB-117 –

, Izotov * OKB-120 – Zhdanov (surname) * OKB-124 – N/A (cooling systems for Tu-121) * OKB-134 – Vympel * OKB-140 – N/A (first hydro-alcohol starter-generators for Tu-121) * OKB-153 –

Antonov Antonov (d/b/a Antonov Company, formerly the Aeronautical Scientific-Technical Complex named after Antonov or Antonov ASTC, and earlier the Antonov Design Bureau, for its chief designer, Oleg Antonov) is a Ukrainian aircraft manufacturing and ...

* OKB-154 – Kosberg, previously OKB-296 * OKB-155 –

Mikoyan Russian Aircraft Corporation "MiG" (), commonly known as Mikoyan and MiG, is a Russian aerospace and defence company headquartered in Begovoy District, Moscow. Mikoyan was the successor to the Soviet Mikoyan and Gurevich Design Bureau (Ми� ...

(formerly Mikoyan-Gurevich) * OKB-155-2 – (sometimes designated as OKB-2-155) OKB-155 spin-off in

Dubna Dubna ( rus, Дубна́, p=dʊbˈna) is a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia. It has a status of '' naukograd'' (i.e. town of science), being home to the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, an international nuclear physics research center and o ...

. Gurevich, Berezniak, Isaev... Now

. * OKB-156 –

Tupolev Tupolev ( rus, Туполев, , ˈtupəlʲɪf), officially United Aircraft Company Tupolev - Public Joint Stock Company, is a Russian aerospace and Arms industry, defence company headquartered in Basmanny District, Moscow. UAC Tupolev is succes ...

* OKB-165 –

Lyulka Lyulka was a USSR aero engine design bureau and manufacturer from 1938 to the 1990s, when manufacturing and design elements were integrated as NPO Saturn based at Rybinsk. The Lyulka design bureau had its roots in the " Kharkiv Aviation Institute ...

* OKB-207 – Borovkov and Florov (

Borovkov-Florov D The Borovkov-Florov D was an experimental fighter aircraft designed in the USSR from 1940. Development The 'D' was designed as a mixed power fighter with a piston engine and Merkulin ramjet booster operating in the same duct. A Shvetsov M-71 ...

Borovkov-Florov I-207 The Borovkov-Florov I-207 (''Istrebitel'' – fighter) was a fighter aircraft designed and built in the USSR from 1936. Development In 1935, two designers from GAZ-21 (''Gosoodarstvenny Aviatsiya Zavod'' – state aviation plant/factory), at ...

) * OKB-240 – Yermolaev * OKB-246 – OKBM (naval nuclear propulsion) * OKB-256 – Tsybin * OKB-276 –

Kuznetsov Kuznetsov, Kuznyetsov, Kuznetsoff, or Kouznetsov (masculine, ) or Kuznetsova (feminine, ) is the third most common Russian surname, an equivalent of the English "Smith" (derived from a Russian word ''kuznets'' that means ''blacksmith''). Men * Al ...

* OKB-296 – renamed to OKB-154 in 1946 KB Khimavtomatika * OKB-300 –

Tumansky Sergei Konstantinovich Tumansky (; – 9 September 1973) was a designer of Soviet aircraft engines and the chief designer in the Tumansky Design Bureau, OKB-300. He worked in TsIAM (1931–38 and in 1940), and at the aircraft-engine plant N 29, ...

* OKB-301 –

Lavochkin NPO Lavochkin (, OKB-301, also called Lavochkin Research and Production Association or shortly Lavochkin Association, LA) is a Russian aerospace company. It is a major player in the Russian space program, being the developer and manufacturer of t ...

* OKB-329 – Mil * SKB-385 – Makeev * OKG-456 – Glushko * OKB-458 – Chetverikov * OKB-478 – Ivchenko * OKB-575 –

Kovrov Kovrov () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Klyazma River, a tributary of the Oka River, Oka. Kovrov's population as of the Russian Census (2021), 2021 Census was 132,4 ...

* OKB-586 – Yangel * OKB-692 – JSC "Khartron" (formerly KB electropriborostroeniya, then NPO "Electropribor") * OKB-794 – Leninets * OKB-938 –

Kamov JSC Kamov () is a rotorcraft Aerospace manufacturer, manufacturing company based in Lyubertsy, Russia. The Kamov Design Bureau (OKB, design office prefix Ka) has more recently specialised in compact helicopters with coaxial rotors, suitable for ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

Factories, Research and Design Establishments of the Soviet Defence Industry: a Guide
University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
Aviation.ru - "OKBs"
Science and technology in the Soviet Union Science and technology in Russia Technological races ru:Список конструкторских бюро СССР и России

OKBs in aerospace industry

See also

References

External links