Russia completes development of homegrown passenger aircraft

Russia has completed the development of domestically sourced passenger aircraft, with certification expected soon, Vadim Badekha, head of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), said in an interview with TASS ahead of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Badekha said the civil aviation sector had been tasked with rapidly replacing foreign components and securing certification for updated aircraft models. While development work had been progressing at a high pace, flight testing had been a key missing element until recently.

“In civil aviation, the task was set to carry out import substitution of equipment within a short timeframe and ensure certification. At that time, work was already progressing at a very high pace, but the key element was missing — flights. And in 2025, we put into the air all the aircraft the country had been waiting for: the MC-21-310, the SJ-100 with PD-8 engines, the Il-114-300 and the import-substituted Tu-214,” he said.

According to Badekha, the Tu-214 has already been certified. The Il-114-300 has completed certification flights and is expected to receive its certificate in the near future.

He added that certification testing for the MC-21 and SJ-100 is nearing completion. “For the SJ-100, around 20% of certification flights remain, and we will complete them by the end of summer. For the MC-21, 70% of flights remain. The import-substituted aircraft have been created, and certification is a matter of the near term,” he said.

By Tamilla Hasanova