The Russian Sukhoi Corporation, which has been designing Russian combat aircraft since World War II, had sales of over $2 billion during the first five months of 2003. This is a record for the company, which has been very successful selling its Su-27 combat aircraft (and its many variations) over the last few years. Sukhoi aircraft have successfully competed against American and European warplanes, as well as longtime Russian rival MiG. As a result, the company plans to go public. During Soviet times, Sukhoi was a government owned organization and was one of the few to make a successful transition to a market economy.