In 2023, the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC, part of Rostec) continued work on import substitution in civil aviation. The UAC's efforts are aimed at providing Russian airlines with domestic aircraft in the face of Western sanctions.

According to analysts, one of the main events of the outgoing year in this area was the first flight of the prototype of the Russian airliner SJ-100. The aircraft is an import-substituted version of the short-haul Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft.

"This is a very serious and important achievement, taking into account the fact that the on-board complexes on the original version of the Superjet, which is now flying, are almost entirely imported. And now they are becoming domestic," Andrei Fomin, editor-in-chief of Vzlyot magazine, said in a comment to RT.

The flight of the prototype SJ-100 took place on August 29 and took place at altitudes of up to 3,343 m and speeds of up to 54 km/h.

  • SJ-100
  • © UAC Yakovlev

In the course of the tests, in particular, the automatic control system for pressure in the cabin and the approach with a second go-around were tested.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, during the tests, the stable operation of all domestic components, as well as the controllability and stability of the aircraft in the air, were confirmed.

The ministry added that about 40 systems and assemblies were replaced on the updated liner. According to analysts, as a result of import substitution, there will be no foreign components left in the design of the SJ-100.

"It is planned to replace all the imported systems that were on the aircraft, including the engines. By now, all onboard systems and almost all avionics on it are already Russian. The next stage will be the replacement of the engines," explained Andrey Fomin.

The editor-in-chief of the Avia.ru portal, Roman Gusarov, believes that the first flight of the new Superjet with Russian PD-8 engines may take place as early as 2024.

"Domestic engines have already been installed on one of the prototypes. Permission for the first flight is now awaited. The timing of the issuance of the permit will depend on the progress of the certification of the engine itself, which is currently underway. After the certification of the engine, tests of the aircraft will begin with the PD-8," the specialist explained in a conversation with RT.

The first flight of the IL-96-400M

Another important event in 2023 was the first flight of the wide-body long-haul IL-96-400M aircraft, which took place on November 1.

This airliner is an upgraded version of the Il-96-300 and differs from it in the fuselage extended by 9.35 m and more powerful PS-90A1 engines. The aircraft can accommodate up to 370 passengers.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, the Il-96-400M has received new operational and transport capabilities due to the modernization of flight, navigation and radio communication equipment, which meets the current and future requirements of Russian and international aviation regulators.

"The first and successful flight of the upgraded Il-96-400M is a demonstration of the highest level of competence of domestic design bureaus and aircraft factories. The aircraft not only retained the high performance of the Il-96-300, but also received new operational and transport capabilities... In the future, the new aircraft will allow us to develop and improve our competencies in the creation of wide-body long-haul aircraft," said Denis Manturov, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and Trade.

According to analysts, the commissioning of the Il-96-400M will allow Russian airlines to operate flights on long-haul routes.

"Thanks to the parameters of this aircraft, including its flight range, domestic air carriers will be able to carry passengers on almost all routes," Oleg Panteleev, executive director of the AviaPort industry agency, told RT.

At the same time, the expert added that the use of "a four-engine scheme makes the cost of a flight hour on the Il-96-400M aircraft somewhat higher than that of twin-engine counterparts, so the use of the Il-96-400M is likely to be limited."

"Nevertheless, it is fundamentally important that we have retained our experience and competencies in wide-body long-range aircraft. In this sense, the flight of the Il-96-400M is an important milestone in the development of the line of wide-body long-haul airliners and a confirmation that our country does not abandon its ambitions to create aircraft of this class," Oleg Panteleev emphasized.

"The MC-21 is our aircraft of the future"

In 2023, work continued on the implementation of one of the main projects of domestic aviation in recent years — the creation of the MC-21 medium-haul passenger airliner. Its development is carried out by PJSC Yakovlev (part of the UAC).

Due to Western sanctions imposed in the past few years, the creation of the MS-21 has slowed down, as developers have had to replace foreign components with Russian samples. According to analysts, domestic analogues have already been found for a significant part of this equipment.

For example, the Aerocomposite plant in Ulyanovsk began serial production of the wing for the MC-21 made of completely Russian composite materials this year. In addition, UEC-Perm Motors has started serial production of the latest PD-14 engines, which were created for this airliner.

  • MS-21
  • globallookpress.com
  • © irkut.com

In turn, Rostec handed over the first set of fully Russian avionics to the developers of the aircraft. The first domestic models of the air-to-air collision avoidance system for the MS-21 and SJ-100 were also produced.

In December, the MC-21, based on the results of tests, the Federal Air Transport Agency issued a permit to carry the maximum number of passengers - 211.

"The MC-21 is our aircraft of the future. The procedure for import substitution of equipment on it is in full swing," said Andrey Fomin.

"According to the plans, all tests should be completed in such a time frame that by the beginning of 2025 the aircraft will be ready for delivery. There are hundreds of these tests. Some have already been carried out. Let's hope that all the remaining work and inspections will be completed on time," the expert added.

Return of the Tu-214

In the outgoing year, the Kazan Aviation Plant named after S.P. Gorbunov began to expand its production capacity for the production of Tu-214 passenger airliners.

This aircraft is a modification of the Tu-204 medium-haul passenger airliner, created in the 1980s. Due to the economic problems of the 1990s and the crisis in the aviation industry after the collapse of the USSR, the production of Tu-204 and Tu-214 aircraft did not become massive, and these aircraft are used today mainly in state organizations.

However, Western sanctions, which made it impossible to buy new Airbus and Boeing aircraft operated by Russian companies, gave the Tu-214 a second life. In 2022, it was decided to increase the production of the Tu-214 to cover the needs of airlines for new aircraft. At the same time, the liners will be modified in such a way that there are no foreign parts left in them.

  • Tu-214
  • RIA Novosti
  • © Press service of KAPO named after S.P. Gorbunov

According to existing plans, it is planned to produce about 2030 Tu-115 aircraft by 214.

"By the beginning of this year, we had several hundred medium-haul airliners in civil aviation. But it's all Airbus and Boeing. After the imposition of sanctions, obtaining spare parts for them has become a problem, although this process is somehow going on and being improved. But everyone understands that this task will become more difficult every year. Therefore, the question arose of replacing all these aircraft with domestic ones. Of course, all of them would have to be replaced with the MS-21, but this will not be possible to do right away. Therefore, it was decided to build the Tu-214 aircraft in parallel," said Andrey Fomin.

The analyst added that the Tu-214 "is a good machine" that is not inferior to analogues from Boeing and Airbus.

"The Tu-214 has already been fully mastered by specialized specialists. It is also important that it is almost entirely Russian," Fomin stressed.

"Focus on development"

As Oleg Panteleev notes, the implementation of the import substitution program in the aviation industry will not be fast, but the efforts and funds invested in this matter are justified.

"The policy of import substitution is certainly justified, because the development of key technologies in Russia, which determine the level of technical perfection of aircraft, is an unconditional blessing. Work in this direction will ensure our independence from Western aircraft suppliers and saturate our own fleet," the expert believes.

The analyst also added that after meeting the demand among domestic airlines, Russian aircraft can enter the world market.

"In the future, the saturation of the Russian aircraft fleet will allow us to return to international markets. Unfortunately, this is not happening as quickly as we would like, but the bet on the development of our scientific and design schools, on the development of advanced technologies will bear fruit in any case," Oleg Panteleev summed up.