Tbilisi Aircraft Manufacturing Tbilisi Aircraft Manufacturing ( TAM ) , also known as JSC Tbilaviamsheni , is a Georgian aerospace development and manufacturing company , which also partially handles the construction of domestic weapons , armoured vehicles and artillery systems . TAM has trained a number of their production supervision , employees and engineers in long - term training programs in Western aerospace manufacturing plants . History . Tbilisi Aircraft Manufacturing ( former Tbilisi Aircraft State Association ) was established on December 15 , 1941 . In the early days of World War II the aircraft factories of Taganrog and Sevastopol ( Ukraine ) were moved to Tbilisi , Georgia . Soon after the move , Tbilisi Aircraft State Association ( TAM ) launched the production of its first fighter aircraft , the LaGG - 3 . Through the war TAM manufactured a number of additional fighter aircraft for the former Soviet Air Force such as LaGG - 3 and Yak - 3 . During World War II , the company was the sole supplier of fighter aircraft to the Caucasian front . Following World War II , TAM worked in conjunction with the Yakovlev Design Bureaus to build the first Soviet jet fighter , the Yak - 15 in 1946 followed by the Yak - 17 , Yak - 23 and Yak - 23 twin - seat trainer jet . In the 1950s the factory started the production of Mikoyan ' s MiG - 15 and later , the MiG - 17 fighter aircraft . In 1957 Tbilisi Aircraft State Association built the MiG - 21 two - seater fighter - trainer aircraft and its various derivative aircraft , continuing the MiG - 21 production for about 25 years . At the same time the company was manufacturing the K - 10 air - to - surface guided missile . The first Sukhoi SU - 25 ( known in the West as the " Frogfoot " ) close support aircraft took its maiden voyage from the runway of Tbilisi State Association . Since then , more than 800 SU - 25s have been delivered to the customers worldwide . From the first SU - 25 to the present day , JSC Tbilaviamsheni is only manufacturer of this type of aircraft . Along with the SU - 25 aircraft Tbilisi State Association also launched large scale production of air - to - air R - 60 and R - 73 IR guided missiles , a production effort that built over 6 , 000 missiles a year and that lasted until the early 1990s . In the mid 1980s Tbilisi Aircraft State Association also participated in former Soviet space program " Buran " ( the Soviet analog of Space Shuttle ) by manufacturing and assembling various parts and assemblies for this program . In the late 1990s there was a joint project of Tbilaviamsheni and the Georgian Space Constructions ' Institute to design and produce the space antenna - reflector which were successful used in their first attempt on Russian space station " MIR " . Since 2001 , TAM is constructing the Su - 25 U , upgrading the Su - 25 to the Su - 25 KM Scorpion and also constructing and marketing civilian Very light jet ( VLJ ) known as the TamJet . During the South Ossetia war of August 2008 , the Russian air force bombed the TAM factory , resulting in unknown damage . The company cooperates closely with the defence ministry ' s scientific technical center for military research . Since 2005 TAM is constantly being upgraded and added more industerial complexes , including tank construction and maintenance plants . After 2008 , focus is mainly tensioned on the development and construction of the Didgori Armoured Personnel Carrier series , Lazika Infantry Fighting Vehicle , and ZCRS - 122 MLRS . In April 2012 , Georgia unvealed its first unmanned aerial vehicle to the public . The manufacturer will most likely produce a constantly modified series of such vehicles , equipped with latest technology . TAM also includes diverse weapons manufacturing plants which were unvealed for the first time to the public in 2012 . These plants produce a large variety of small arms , ammunition and artillery systems . Current Production Table . TAM has been upgraded and added several additional plants to fulfill the needs of the military , which took complete directorate over the company in 2009 . That however does not prevent the factory to continue the production of civilian aircraft . This is the current line of production :