GOST vs. DSTU: Why the Transition to Modern Aviation Standards Could Last Until 2030 19 June 2025

Until 2014, Ukrainian aviation enterprises massively used Soviet GOST standards for aircraft repair. After 2014, the country began a gradual transition to national DSTU standards, but this process turned out to be lengthy, and many enterprises have not yet completed it. With the start of the full-scale war, the problem has intensified, as in conditions of combat operations, the use of outdated norms can carry critical risks. This was stated in an exclusive comment to UNN by Ihor Loban, Deputy Head of the State Aviation Administration of Ukraine – State Inspector for Aviation Supervision of Aircraft Airworthiness of the Small Aircraft Department of the Aviation Technique Type Certification Directorate.

Ukraine has been constantly improving, gradually transitioning to new standards… But, as was established earlier, all enterprises, still under the Soviet legacy, operated according to common industrial standards, and they were used in all enterprises. It was a single system.

He explained that for a full transition to modern Ukrainian or international standards, a "great school" was needed – institutions, specialists who had to be involved in all stages of the transition. It was their absence that caused the slow modernization of approaches in the aviation industry. At the same time, in Loban's opinion, it would not be correct to break the existing system of aviation industry operating standards and simultaneously switch to new modern state standards or start working according to European or NATO rules. This requires training and a transition period.

According to the state aviation inspector, after 2014, Ukraine began to implement state standards, and later began to approach European and NATO standards.

We took a hybrid system as a basis, abandoning Soviet standards, and began to transition to a more modern European-American approach… We started using European approaches, improving this system step by step.

However, not all enterprises have completed this transition. Some still operate under the so-called "hybrid system," combining GOSTs and new regulations. This approach is dangerous, especially in wartime conditions.

He added that after 2022, the need for national standards became more urgent.

"We have moved away from those (Soviet and post-Soviet - ed.) standards, and we needed to change all of this, we need to use them for our design, for our equipment, for its repair. Because we don't have the components, we don't have the requirements that we can take from the USSR," Loban explained.

The risks that arise in combat conditions when using outdated standards are related not only to flight safety but also to the equipment's resource. The state inspector explained that currently, enterprises continue to work on implementing new modern standards so that after aircraft repair, they can fly longer – up to 2,000 hours.

Currently, Ukraine has no other choice but to fully transition to NATO standards. However, full implementation, according to Loban, is not possible before 2030.

Work in this direction (approaching NATO standards - ed.) has been ongoing for several years. Moreover, military aviation equipment is transitioning to NATO standards. And we too, our body, are helping in every way. And Ukraine has no other path than to transition to these standards. Fully, I think, it will be by 2030, not earlier. Because there is constant improvement, because there is translation, and understanding of how much we can prepare our enterprises, not just translate (their documentation - ed.), take it as a basis, but how much our enterprises will be ready to fulfill certain conditions according to standards, for example, NATO.

Thus, today Ukraine lives in a state of parallel existence of two regulatory systems: the outdated Soviet one and the modern one, oriented towards European standards and NATO standards. Such a "duplication" is a temporary forced compromise, which, as experts note, should be completed as quickly as possible with a final transition to unified modern requirements – for the sake of safety, efficiency, and survivability of Ukrainian aviation equipment in wartime conditions.

Let's add

Such a collision with "duplicated" standards sometimes leads to an unexpected turn, which in the current conditions of Russia's full-scale invasion seems very dangerous. For example, when one company modernizes equipment according to a state standard, and then another, which works according to GOSTs, undertakes to repair it, it turns out that the parts do not match, and a tug-of-war with law enforcement agencies begins. Meanwhile, the equipment does not fulfill its intended purpose.

UNN previously covered the situation that arose with two helicopters used by military units. After modernization according to DSTU standards, carried out by the company "MS Avia-Grade," two Mi-8 helicopters were armed and became combat-ready. After they were due for major overhaul, they were transferred under contract to another company working according to GOSTs.

The armament was removed and dismantled from the helicopters. Due to the fact that the companies use different technical documentation under different standards, during the repair it was found that allegedly "non-authentic" parts were used. This is despite the fact that after modernization, the necessary tests were carried out and approvals from all necessary services and departments were obtained.

The Security Service of Ukraine became involved in the situation, and currently, the armament from the helicopters is under arrest. The repair is to be completed by June 30, but due to the arrest of the equipment, the helicopters will return to the military units not combat-ready.

Read more about the situation in the article Russian GOSTs versus the Ukrainian Army: Why Two Combat Helicopters Risk Returning from Repair Without Weapons