Russian-made MC-21 large aircraft will soon enter Aeroflot's fleet

Russian-made MC-21 large aircraft will soon enter Aeroflot's fleet

Russian-made MC-21 aircraft will soon enter the fleet of Russian international airlines, Russian Transport Minister Savilev said on July 9.

Speaking at the youth education forum "Territory of Ideas," Savilev said: "The MC-21 is extremely advanced. This aircraft can occupy a very good niche, namely the Boeing 737, Boeing 737 MAX or Airbus 320 NEO short- and medium-range narrow-body aircraft niche. This aircraft will soon enter Aeroflot's fleet."

He added that the MC-21 aircraft has large porthole size, large luggage rack capacity and quite spacious cabin.

As it is known, the MС-21 is a new generation of medium-range passenger aircraft developed by the Irkut group of companies of the United Aviation Manufacturing Group, which successfully made its first flight on May 28, 2017, and received its type certificate on December 28, 2021. The Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade noted that the type approval certificate was issued for wings made of foreign materials and foreign engines, which were examined and approved.

At the end of 2021, the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade noted that the next certification flights for the passenger aircraft certification process will begin in 2022 and will continue in 2023, and will continue until 2024. Changes to the type certificate are planned for 2022, which will mean the use of Russian composite wings and Russian engines.

Previously, Aeroflot 2021 said in July that it hoped to put the MС-21 airliner into operation in the summer of 2022.

Russian Irkutsk Governor Kobzev said in late April 2022 that the MC-21 airliner with Russian-made parts is scheduled for mass production in 2024.

On April 29 this year, Plenipotentiary of the Russian President in the Siberian Federal District Shereshev, Irkutsk Governor Kobusev and the leadership of Irkutsk Aviation Plant discussed the prospects of aviation manufacturing development.

The first MC-21 airliners with domestically produced parts are scheduled for delivery in 2024," Kobusev wrote on social media. An investment project has been launched to guarantee the speed of mass production. The implementation period is from 2022 to 2026."

Earlier, in early April, Yuriy Slyusari, president of the United Aviation Manufacturing Group, said in an interview with Russian television that the share of Chinese-made parts in the Russian MC-21 aircraft amounts to 50% and should be brought up to 100% as soon as possible.

Answering a question about the proportion of imported parts in the MC-21, Slyusari said: "The proportion of domestic parts in the MC-21 is higher than in the Sukhoi Superjet SSJ. The task is to bring it up to 100%. At the moment, it is about half domestic and half foreign, if you count Russian engines."

Slyusari noted that foreign parts should be replaced in the shortest possible time. He added: "The task itself is quite ambitious, because, in principle, a fully modernized aviation system within a country is currently established through extensive international cooperation. Nevertheless, we understand which companies will produce domestically produced systems. We have already started receiving some of the systems, installing them on the aircraft and planning to move to the flight test phase."

It should be noted that neither of the two aviation manufacturing giants, including Boeing and Airbus, are able to sell aircraft and supply aircraft parts to Russia due to the sanctions imposed on Russia by the West, which banned the sale of aircraft and parts to Russia after Russia sent troops to Ukraine for a special military operation in February. Russian Industry and Trade Minister Manturov said on March 21, 2022, that foreign manufacturers have refused to supply Russia with parts for the MC-21 airliner, or even to deliver orders for which Russia has paid in full and in advance.