Russia is planning to expand production of a passenger plane that could become a key aircraft for domestic airlines - RBK Business daily reported, quoting Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin as saying.
The government will invest nearly 42 billion rubles ($500 million) in improving and producing Tupolev Tu-214, Prime Minister Mishustin said during a visit to an airline factory last week.
The Tu-214 is a modern twin-turbocharged narrow-wheel aircraft with a range of 6,500 km and a capacity of 210 passengers. The Tu-214 was introduced in 1996 to replace the Tu-154 - the most widely used aircraft in the Soviet Union and Russia from the 1960s to the early 2000s.
Russia has been working to develop a replacement for imported aircraft since the West imposed sanctions over its military campaign in Ukraine.
The world's two largest aircraft manufacturers, Boeing and Airbus, have been forced to stop supplying spare parts, maintenance and technical assistance to airlines or maintenance companies in Russia. The Russian government said that the current imported aircraft will operate until 2030 if properly maintained.
Russia's largest airline, Aeroflot, sees the Tu-214 as a potential vehicle and plans to buy 40 of them before 2030.
The Tu-214 has been used by two smaller domestic airlines and Aeroflot has made recommendations to manufacturers on how to modernize and improve the design of the aircraft.
According to the government's estimate, it will take Russia up to five years to mass produce domestic aircraft to replace foreign ones.
Among other domestic aircraft under development are MC-21 single-track passenger aircraft, which are in the testing phase, and Sukhoi Superjet New - a version of the Superjet (SSJ 100 - completely Russian-made.
According to Air Space, Russia is also preparing to mass-produc the Ilyushin Il-96-400M - the passenger version of the Il-96-400T cargo aircraft.
With the Il-96-400M prototype preparing for its first flight invoronezh, Russia aims to meet the demand for domestic commercial aircraft. Russia plans to produce two to three Il-96-400M aircraft per year.
The modernized Il-96-400M will have a modern cockpit and communication system, making a difference compared to the previous version. However, the plane will retain old parts for the fuselage, wings and engine.
The UAC aircraft manufacturing group announced that the Il-96-400M will have an operating range of 10,000 km and is capable of carrying 386 passengers. This updated version aims to overcome the shortcomings of previous aircraft, which were less successful and had a limited sales of only 30 units.
The development of the Ilyushin Il-96-400M has received significant investment from the Russian Government, with a total value of 57.4 million USD since 2017. This financial commitment underlines Russia's determination to strengthen the aviation industry and reduce dependence on foreign suppliers in the face of geopolitical challenges.
By nurturing domestic aircraft manufacturing capacity, Russia aims to ensure stability and resilience of the aviation industry in the face of global instability.
