This aircraft is an innovative project for world aviation
The final appearance of the completely imported MC-21 aircraft will be finalized in the second half of this year. The press service of «Rostec» stated that the process involves replacing foreign components with domestic ones, which leads to a change in the weight characteristics of the aircraft.
«The initial time frame for the implementation of the import-substituted civil aircraft program was targeted at 2026. Then they were shifted to 2024. Partially realized technical risks are pushing the program implementation deadline to 2025, which is still earlier than the original deadlines», — stated in the UAC.
The MS-21 aircraft, in its current state, already corresponds to the flight performance characteristics of most of the imported fleet of Russian airlines. The phased implementation of the program will allow it to be brought to parameters that meet the highest requirements of airlines.
It is planned to expand the flight performance characteristics of the basic modification of the MS-21 and create a line of modifications with an increased range.
MS-21 was called an innovative project for both the Russian and global aviation industries due to the high level of technical novelty: «For comparison: the level of technical novelty at the stage of development work on the Airbus A320neo program accounted for 18%, the latest wide-body Boeing 787 — 40%, and for MS-21 this parameter is a record 70%».
Earlier, before the annual message of the President of the Russian Federation, the head of the state corporation Sergei Chemezov announced the postponement of the start of MC-21 deliveries to 2025 or even 2026. Certification and start of deliveries of MS-21 are planned for 2025, taking into account additional work and an increase in the time frame for the creation, testing and delivery of Russian systems and units.
The shift in supplies of imported MC-21 and SJ-100 aircraft was explained by the lack of compromises and thoughts about passenger safety.