The Motor Sich Joint Stock Company () is a Ukrainian aircraft engine manufacturer headquartered in Zaporizhzhia. The company manufactures engines for airplanes and helicopters, and also industrial marine gas turbines and installations.
Overview
Motor Sich currently produces the Ivchenko Progress D-18 turbofan which powers variants of the Antonov An-124 and An-225 freighters, although the Ivchenko Progress D-36/Ivchenko Progress D-436 series remain the highest production-rate engines in the CIS.
Motor Sich inherited some of the former Soviet Union's aero engine manufacturing capabilities. It produces turbofan, turboprop and rotary-wing turboshaft engines that power aircraft in Russian service, such as Mi- and Ka-series military helicopters.
In 2017 Beijing's Skyrizon Aviation purchased a 41% holding in Motor Sich. Skyrizon Aviation had agreed to first invest $250 million in the Ukrainian Zaporizhzhia plants and help Motor Sich to set up a new assembly and servicing plant in Chongqing.
The company announced that it planned to launch its own helicopter, dubbed Hope, in 2018.
Some individuals, including former counsel to the US Senate Foreign Relation Committee, William C. Triplet, have criticized Ukraine for allowing Motor Sich to conduct business with Chinese firms. Oleh Lyashko, a leader of one of Ukraine’s parties said if the US does not want Motor Sich to be closer with the Chinese, then they need to buy enough aircraft engines. Motor Sich severed ties with Russia in 2014, its biggest client, consequently put efforts to find new markets. In the administration of President Donald Trump, Washington added Skyrizon to a Military End-User (MEU) List. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy then signed a decree imposing sanctions on Skyrizon to restrict its trading operations, while the company responded with a $3.5 billion arbitration case. On 11 March 2021, the Ukrainian government announced that it intends to nationalize Motor Sich by buying back shares from Chinese holders. Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov said the government's decision is to "return Motor Sich to the Ukrainian people" and that "investors will be compensated".
Several Turkish military products use Motor Sich engines including the Bayraktar TB2 and Bayraktar Akinci drones, and TAI T929 ATAK 2 helicopter. Director-General of Motor Sich, Vyacheslav Bohuslayev noted that a $100 million loan from China needs to be repaid in 2026.
Among the company's new products is the MS-500V turboshaft engine, originally intended for the Russian Ansat helicopter.
2022 nationalisation
The Motor-Sich plant in Zaporizhzhia was destroyed by Russian forces in late May 2022 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
On 6 November 2022 the government of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy used martial law to seize control of the company, among others.
Components
Zaporizhzhia Engine Engineering Factory, Zaporizhzhia
Omelchenko Engineering Factory (1988), Zaporizhzhia
Snizhne Engineering Factory (1970), Snizhne
Volochysk Engineering Factory (1971), Volochysk
Motor Sich Airlines (1984) Aleks TV (1995), local television company
In 2011 it acquired Orsha Engineering Factory, Orsha, Belarus.