The Production Association Yuzhny Machine-Building Plant named after A.M. Makarov, PA Pivdenmash or PA Yuzhmash is a Ukrainian state-owned aerospace manufacturer. It produces spacecraft, launch vehicles, liquid-propellant rockets, landing gears, castings, forgings, tractors, tools, and industrial products. The company is headquartered in Dnipro, and reports to the State Space Agency of Ukraine. It works with international aerospace partners in 23 countries.
History
Yuzhmash operated initially as "plant 586" in the Soviet Union. In 1954 Russian aviation engineer Mikhail Yangel established the autonomous design bureau designated OKB-586, from the former chief designer's division of plant 586. Yangel had previously headed OKB-1 and was primarily a supporter of liquid fuel technology – unlike Sergei Korolev at OKB-1, who was a supporter of missiles using cryogenic fuels. To pursue development of ballistic missiles using storable liquid fuels, Mikhail Yangel had received authorization to convert the chief designer's division of the plant into an autonomous design bureau. Following this, OKB-586 was designated Southern Design Bureau and plant 586 was renamed Southern Machine-Building Plant in 1966, with a focus on the design and production of ballistic missiles. The plant was later renamed Southern Machine-Building Production Union, or Yuzhmash. Missiles produced at Yuzhmash included the first nuclear armed Soviet rocket R-5M, the R-12 Dvina, the R-14 Chusovaya, the first widely deployed Soviet ICBMR-16, the R-36, the MR-UR-100 Sotka, and the R-36M. During the Soviet era, the plant was capable of producing of up to 120 ICBMs a year. In the late 1980s, Yuzhmash was selected to be the main production facility of the RT-2PM2 Topol-M ICBM. After the beginning of perestroika, demand for military production declined significantly, and the Yuzhmash product line was expanded to include non-military uses such as civilian machinery. One line of products added after 1992 are trolleybuses. Models include the articulated YuMZ T1, its non-articulated brother YuMZ T2 and more modern YuMZ E-186 which features a low floor cabin. Leonid Kuchma, long-time chief manager of the company, became the Prime Minister in 1992, and later President of Ukraine in 1994. In addition to production facilities in Dnipro, Pivdenne Production Association includes the PavlohradMechanical Plant, which specializes in producing solid-fuel missiles. Pivdenmash's importance was further bolstered by its links to Ukraine's former President Leonid Kuchma, who worked at Pivdenmash between 1975 and 1992. He was the plant's general manager from 1986 to 1991. In February 2015, following a year of strained relations, Russia announced that it would sever its "joint program with Ukraine to launch Dnepr rockets and no longer interested in buying Ukrainian Zenit boosters, deepening problems for space program and its struggling Yuzhmash factory." With the loss of Russian business some thought that the only hope for the company was increased international business which seemed unlikely in the time frame available. Bankruptcy seemed certain as of February 2015, but was averted.
Today
On August 14, 2017, the Institute of International Strategic Studies issued a report presenting evidence that "North Korea has acquired a high-performance liquid-propellant engine from illicit networks in Russia and Ukraine", likely produced by Yuzhmash facilities. Both the company and the Ukrainian government denied the allegation. An Antares rocket using a Yuzhmash core was launched from Wallops Island in October 2016 to deliver supplies to the ISS. A Zenit rocket was launched in December 2017, after a two-year hiatus, to deliver AngoSat 1. In March February 2018 Yuzhmash announced plans to develop a testing platform for Hyperloop that was scheduled for completion in 2019 in Dnipro. In September 2019 the Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine, Vladyslav Krykliy, cancelled this project.
