Russia has created its first domestic 32 MW industrial engine.

October 27 2025 9 571 2

Even in Soviet times, designers and scientists began to ponder the possibility of using time-tested aircraft engines to create ground-based power units. They attempted to install gas turbine units on trains, ships, and special vehicles. technique to solve engineering problems. But these were isolated examples, while the widespread use of so-called industrial gas turbine engines, based on aircraft engines, as drives for generating electricity or transporting gas through main gas pipelines.

Designed by Nikolai Kuznetsov, the engines were used to create a whole line of ground-based units of varying power, which are still essential today: the NK-12ST, NK-14ST, NK-16ST, NK-18ST, and NK-36ST. Born to fly, they have found a second life on earth, becoming a distinct form of engineering that continues to evolve and improve.

At the St. Petersburg International Gas Forum (SPIGF), which took place from October 7-10 in St. Petersburg at the ExpoForum exhibition center, where key issues in the gas industry were discussed, the United Engine Corporation (UEC, part of the Rostec state corporation) unveiled a new product – Russia's first fully domestically produced industrial engine, the NK-36ST-32, with a capacity of 32 MW, and also demonstrated the NK-36ST-25, with a capacity of 25 MW.

Andrey Vorobyov, CEO of UEC Engineering, reported that the NK-36ST-25 and NK-36ST-32 engines are manufactured at the UEC-Kuznetsov plant in Samara. There are approximately 600 different powertrain variants available. Innovations have made it possible to transform the NK-36ST-25 into the more powerful NK-36ST-32.

Pavel Chupin, General Designer of UEC-Kuznetsov, explained that the engine could be used to drive a centrifugal natural gas compressor for transporting natural gas through pipelines, as well as in liquefied natural gas (LNG) compressors and in electric generator drives for generating electricity. The engine could also be used in mobile power plants, which could be quickly deployed in hard-to-reach locations without a traditional power grid.

It's worth noting that creating a power plant or gas compressor unit isn't simply installing a gas turbine aircraft engine on a stationary base, but a completely new, complex engineering product, and the only thing it shares with its flying counterpart is the gas generator. In an aircraft engine, the gas jet creates thrust, but on the ground, it must rotate the shaft. Therefore, a free power turbine is added to the aircraft gas generator, driven by the energy of the gas jet. The turbine is connected via a gearbox to an electric generator or compressor. This means that the aircraft unit is fully adapted for ground operation. A distinctive feature of ground-based units is their significantly increased service life compared to aircraft engines—20-25 times longer.

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Sergey Latyshev

+3

27 October 2025 20: 17

Of course, it's good.
There was an article recently that Americans Such engines are widely used for temporary power supply, for example, for databases, data centers, AI arrays, etc.
1. Orange bigg
  
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  28 October 2025 17: 38
  In November, The Drive reported that the new NK-32-02 production engines for the Tu-160M were the most powerful combat aircraft power units in the world. The publication noted that the NK-32-02 produces over 55 pounds of thrust in full afterburner. According to The Drive, this engine will increase the Tu-160M's range by 000 kilometers. "The lack of engines has been a serious obstacle to Moscow's ambitious plans to resume Tu-160 production, which was initially halted in 1994," the publication recalled.
  
  The Drive is an online publication that explores the rapidly changing future of the automotive industry and captures the most current trends. The publication also features a special section, "War Zone," dedicated to global defense innovations, including missile systems and aviation.
  
  55,000 pounds of thrust equals 22,679.62 kgf (kilogram-force) or 22,679 tons of thrust.
  
  To convert pounds to kgf, multiply the value in pounds by the coefficient 0,014098. Thus, 55,000 pounds = 55,000 * 0,014098 = 22,679.62 kgf.
  
  It turns out that the thrust of the NK-32-02M2 is about 23 tons.
  
  Am I correct in understanding that the NK-36ST-32 engine, with the new power unit capacity increased to 32 MW, was created on the basis of the RF Product engine. While the serial power unit with the capacity of 25 MW NK-36ST-25 was created on the basis of the serial Product R, also known as the NK-32-02. Power
  The NK-36ST-32 was increased to 32 MW, that is, almost a third of the original capacity of the NK-36ST-25, which was equal to 25 MW.
  
  It is curious that the prospects for the NK-32-02 are not limited only to the projects of the Tu-160 family. Earlier it was repeatedly reported that on the basis of this engine a new product would be created for use on the promising PAK DA bomber. It was also proposed to perform on the basis of the NK-32 an engine for the transport An-124.
  
  https://topwar.ru/176811-dvigateli-nk-32-02-i-buduschee-dalnej-aviacii.html
  
  Then, logically, it follows that the NK-36ST-25, with a capacity of 25 MW, was created on the basis of the NK-32-02M2, with a thrust of approximately 23 tons. And the NK-36ST-32, most likely created on the basis of the Product of the Russian Federation, with a capacity of up to 32 MW, indicates that the thrust of the Product of the Russian Federation is in the region of 30 tons of thrust, meaning that it is essentially the previously announced PD-30.