NPP Salyut is a Nizhny Novgorod microwave electronics enterprise founded in 1961 and part of Rostec. It develops and mass-produces electrovacuum and semiconductor devices for the microwave (SVCh) range, as well as modules and materials for radar, communications, and navigation. It is located at 7 Larina Street, in the Prioksky District of Nizhny Novgorod. Since 2012 it has been a joint-stock company, "Scientific and Production Enterprise Salyut," all of whose shares are owned by the Roselectronics holding of the Rostec state corporation [1][2][3][4][5]

History

The enterprise was established in March 1961 by order of the USSR State Committee for Radioelectronics to develop and manufacture microwave equipment for special and civilian economic purposes [1][2]. According to the magazine NiNo52, it was based on Gorky University and NIRFI, and its initiator was Maria Tikhonovna Grekhova, who in 1956 organized the first radiophysics institute in the USSR in Gorky [2][6].

Roman Mikhailovich Strelsky was appointed the first director. A memorial plaque on the building at 7 Larina Street names him the founder and director of Salyut in 1961–1971: under him the enterprise was built and equipped, and its scientific and technical direction was defined [2][4].

With reference to the Soviet period, the scholarly literature calls the enterprise the State Institute "Salyut" (GI "Salyut") [7]; it has borne the name "Salyut Research and Production Enterprise" since 1990 [2]. On December 26, 1991, it was registered as a federal state unitary enterprise, and on January 10, 2012, the FSUE "Salyut RPE" was transformed into a joint-stock company with a charter capital of 1,456,389,600 rubles; its sole shareholder is JSC "Roselectronika" [3][8].

Main areas of work by decade
YearsArea of work
1960svacuum electron devices for the millimeter-wave range, traveling-wave tubes (TWTs), quantum electronics devices; small-sized continuous-wave and pulsed TWTs are still in production today [1][2]
late 1960ssemiconductor microwave technology, tunnel diode amplifiers [2]
1970sgallium arsenide semiconductor devices: diodes, transistors, and later monolithic microwave functional units [1][2]
1975first industrial gyrotron complex [7]
1980shigh-power gyrotrons for controlled thermonuclear fusion experiments [1][2]
2010sgallium nitride on silicon carbide; solid-state components from meter waves to submillimeter waves [2][9]

Gyrotrons

The gyrotron is a powerful source of microwave radiation, invented in the early 1960s at the Gorky NIRFI, from which the Institute of Applied Physics split off in 1977 [10]; the creation of gyrotrons is counted among the main scientific achievements of Academician A. V. Gaponov-Grekhov [6]. The very first tests produced record-breaking results, and in the USSR two electronics industry enterprises began developing and manufacturing pilot-production units — the Salyut State Institute and the Toriy Scientific and Production Enterprise [7].

In 1975, the first industrial gyrotron complex was built at the Salyut State Institute: a gyrotron operating at the second harmonic of the gyrofrequency, with an operating frequency of 33–47 GHz and continuous power of 3–5 kW, and an oil-cooled solenoid. The complex was built in several copies for different customers, but production was discontinued for lack of orders; according to V. E. Zapevalov (Institute of Applied Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences), it "was ahead of its time" [7]. In the 1980s, Salyut began producing high-power gyrotrons for experiments in controlled thermonuclear fusion on tokamak-type installations in various countries around the world [1].

The same author names the Salyut State Institute as the predecessor of the Gycom Scientific and Production Enterprise [7] — a Nizhny Novgorod company that today manufactures gyrotrons developed at the Institute of Applied Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, including for the international ITER fusion reactor, to which Russia supplies 8 of the 24 gyrotron systems [10]. As late as 2019, Salyut itself listed gyrotrons built jointly with the Institute of Applied Physics among its high-power devices for the centimeter and millimeter wavelength ranges [9].

Products and technologies

The enterprise maintains a closed production cycle for microwave products — from high-purity substances and epitaxial structures to finished modules [11]; in 2019, Kommersant called Salyut the only enterprise in the country with a fully closed cycle [9]. The main product groups [11][12]:

  • solid-state electronics based on gallium arsenide and gallium nitride: microwave monolithic integrated circuits, transistors, diodes, control devices, amplifier, converter, and transceiver modules [11][12]
  • electric vacuum devices: centimeter- and millimeter-band traveling-wave tubes, magnetrons, and amplitrons [11][12]
  • quantum devices, including those based on rubidium-87 [11][12]
  • electronic materials: aluminum nitride ceramics, high-purity hydride gases (arsine, phosphine, monosilane, ammonia), organometallic compounds, volatile halides, epitaxial structures of gallium nitride and gallium arsenide [11][12]
  • civilian communications equipment: thin clients and IP-KVM switches [12]

Developments of the 2010s–2020s

By 2018, Salyut had developed more than 200 types of devices, over 130 of which had been mastered in serial production; a longtime partner of the enterprise is the Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute [11]. In 2014, Salyut developed a technology for producing ultra-high-purity arsenic (99.9999%) for the synthesis of semiconductor materials, and Roselectronika considered locating such production at the Saratov-based FKP Gorny [13].

In 2019, the enterprise reported the first heterojunction bipolar transistor in Russia made at Salyut, the mastering of gallium nitride on silicon carbide technology, and the development of a compact radar station [9]. In 2023, a preferential loan of 185 million rubles from the Industrial Development Fund (about 250 million rubles in total investment, with Novikombank acting as guarantor) was used to purchase measuring and process equipment, and output of synthesizer modules and Ku-band receiver modules for radar, radio navigation, and telemetry doubled, to 480 units per year [5].

Creating high-performance, full-cycle microwave (SHF) fabs is a crucial component of the country's technological independence

Executives

Directors of NPP Salyut
YearsHeadNotes
1961–1971Strelsky Roman Mikhailovichfounder and first director [2][4]
2002–2012Viktor Pavlovich Osipovdirector of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "NPP Salyut" from October 29, 2002; listed as its head when the enterprise was converted into a joint-stock company on January 10, 2012 [8]
until 2016Vorobyov Dmitry Petrovich, Khudin Andrey Aleksandrovichgeneral directors of the joint-stock company until A. N. Bushuev; the company was also run by a management organization, JSC "NPP Almaz" [3][14]
2016–2024Bushuev Aleksandr Nikolayevichbefore Salyut, worked at NPP Almaz in Saratov [3][14]
since April 16, 2024Isaev Evgeny Evgenyevichalso general director of JSC "NPP Salyut-25" since 2017 [3][15]

The Staff and the Present Situation

In 2018 the enterprise employed more than 900 people, including 19 candidates and 4 doctors of science [2]; its revenue for 2018 came to 1.3 billion rubles [3]. According to Salyut's own figures, it now has more than a thousand employees and over 300 product lines, and the enterprise is part of the microwave division of the Rostec state corporation [16]. Its quality management system is certified to GOST R ISO 9001-2015 [1]; the company holds four valid licenses, including in the defense and space sectors [3]. The enterprise owns the Taiga recreation center [12].

Place in the City

Salyut's buildings stand at 7 Larina Street in Prioksky District; the company's registered address is 7 Larina Street, Building 4 [3][4]. A memorial plaque to R. M. Strelsky is installed on Building 1 [4]. In August 2023, Salyut's general director A. N. Bushuev was elected chairman of the Council of Directors of Prioksky District [17].

The enterprise has been tied to the city's scientific institutions since its founding: it was created on the basis of Gorky University and NIRFI [2], and it makes gyrotrons together with the Institute of Applied Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences [9].

Namesake Organizations

In the same complex at 7 Larina Street, there are separate legal entities registered with related names: JSC NPP Salyut-25 (since 1997, Building 1; radio communication equipment; general director since 2017 — Ye. Ye. Isaev) and JSC NPP Salyut-27 (since 1996, Building 2; semiconductor devices; general director since 2002 — A. A. Bykadorov) [15][18].

The Nizhny Novgorod Salyut should not be confused with the Moscow-based JSC NPP Salyut (6 Plekhanov Street), a developer of shipborne radar stations [19].

In 2020, Salyut began producing the UFIB-270 household ultraviolet emitter based on UVC LED 3535 technology — a compact device for disinfecting air and surfaces; the new product was presented at the Army-2020 military-technical forum.[20]

Sources

  1. napp52.ru — Nizhny Novgorod Association of Industrialists — In 2020, Salyut began producing the UFIB-270 household ultraviolet emitter based on UVC LED 3535 technology (archive)
  1. nppsalut.ru — JSC NPP Salyut — official website, "About the Enterprise" section — About JSC NPP Salyut (archive)
  2. nino52.ru — NiNo52 — Nizhny Novgorod news magazine, 12/23/2019 — Nizhny Novgorod plant of OJSC NPP Salyut (archive)
  3. rusprofile.ru — details of JSC NPP Salyut (INN 5261079332) — JSC NPP Salyut, Nizhny Novgorod (archive)
  4. 2gis.ru — 2GIS — building at 7 Larina Street, Building 1, memorial plaque to R. M. Strelsky — 7 Larina Street, Building 1, in Nizhny Novgorod (archive)
  5. ruselectronics.ru — Ruselectronics — A Ruselectronics enterprise has doubled its production of microwave modules for radar and navigation (archive)
  6. nn.aif.ru — AiF Nizhny Novgorod — E. Matveeva — A Century of a Titan. Five Facts About the Great Physicist Andrey Gaponov-Grekhov (archive)
  7. radiophysics.unn.ru — Izvestiya Vuzov. Radiofizika, 2011, vol. LIV, nos. 8–9 — V. E. Zapevalov (IAP RAS) — The Evolution of Gyrotrons (archive)
  8. rusprofile.ru — details of FSUE NPP Salyut (INN 5261001463) — FSUE NPP Salyut, Nizhny Novgorod (archive)
  9. Kommersant (Volga Region) — Kommersant Nizhny Novgorod, 08/01/2019 — Domestic Electronics Is Reviving with Salyut (archive)
  10. strana-rosatom.ru — Strana Rosatom, 09/09/2020 — N. Fetisova, O. Ganzhur — The First Plasma of the ITER Fusion Reactor Will Be Ignited by Russian Gyrotrons (archive)
  11. glavportal.com — Glavportal, 09/19/2018 — NPP Salyut: Precise Selection of Optimal Solutions for Customers (archive)
  12. nppsalut.ru — JSC NPP Salyut — official website, catalog of products and services (archive)
  13. Kommersant (Volga Region) — Kommersant Nizhny Novgorod, 02/12/2014 — Nizhny Novgorod's NPP Salyut Takes Part in a New Ruselectronics Project (archive)
  14. nnov.er.ru — Nizhny Novgorod branch of United Russia — biography — Bushuev Alexander Nikolaevich (archive)
  15. rusprofile.ru — details of JSC NPP Salyut-25 (INN 5261019855) — JSC NPP Salyut-25, Nizhny Novgorod (archive)
  16. nn.hh.ru — HeadHunter — employer profile of JSC NPP Salyut (archive)
  17. napp52.ru — Nizhny Novgorod Association of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, 08/23/2023 — Alexander Bushuev Has Become Head of the Board of Directors of Prioksky District (archive)
  18. rusprofile.ru — details of JSC NPP Salyut-27 (INN 5261017801) — JSC NPP Salyut-27, Nizhny Novgorod (archive)
  19. vpk.name — VPK.name — reference page on JSC NPP Salyut (Moscow) — Joint-Stock Company "Research and Production Enterprise Salyut" (archive)