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General Designer at the Sukhoi Experimental Design Bureau, Hero of Russia (1999), Laureate of the Lenin Prize (1976), and the State Prizes of the Russian Federation (1998, 1999).

Mikhail P. Simonov was born in 1929 in Rostov-on-Don. After graduation from the Kazan Aviation Institute (KAI), he worked at the university as the head of the laboratory and assistant at the Department of Aircraft Structural Design.

In 1956-1959 Simonov was the head of the first KAI Student Design Bureau (SDB KAI); he also was among those, who established the Experimental Design Bureau of Sport Aviation.

With his participation, at the KAI Design Bureau and the Sport Aviation Design Bureau M. Simonov managed to develop and introduce into serial production the KAI-6 Sports Airframes, the country's first all-metal airframe such as KAI-11, KAI-12, KAI-14, KAI-19.

Since 1969, Mikhail P. Simonov had been the Deputy Chief Designer at the plant of the Ministry of Aviation Industry, since 1977 – Chief Designer, First Deputy General Designer of the Sukhoi Experimental Design Bureau. In 1979-1983 he worked as the Deputy Minister of the USSR Aviation Industry. Since 1983, he had been the General Designer of the Sukhoi Experimental Design Bureau.

M. Simonov took part in the creation of the Su-24 supersonic front-line bomber, the Su-25 attack aircraft and their modifications. On the basis of the Su-27 fighter, a series of multirole aircrafts were created: interceptor fighters, front-line fighter-bombers, carrier fighter aircrafts (Su-27K, Su-30, Su-32, Su-30MKI, Su-33, Su-35). Moreover, he made a great contribution to the creation of the Su-37 multirole fighters of original aerodynamic design called Canard with a swept-forward wing. Under his leadership, a family of Su-26, Su-29, Su-31 sports aerobatic aircraft was developed, which were supplied to many countries in the world.

In 1986-1988, on the P-42 aircraft was set 27 world records. Fighters of the Su-27 family made it possible to master a new area of flight envelopes – an area of supermaneuvrability.

Furthermore, thanks to Simonov such aircrafts as S-80GP (cargo-passenger aircraft), and S-38 (agriculture aircraft) were developed.

Mikhail P. Simonov was the president of the International Aviation Consortium (IAC), established in 1988 on the basis of enterprises in Kazan and Moscow, Research Institutes of the Russian Federation, Sukhoi Experimental Design Bureau. His name is listed in the Hall of Fame at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington (USA).

In 2014, the Sokol Experimental Design Bureau was named after Mikhail P. Simonov. A bust of M. Simonov was placed in the third educational building of KNRTU-KAI.