By The European Times | Created at 2026-08-06 11:45:34 | Updated at 2026-08-06 13:40:40
4 hours ago
/CROSS/ The newest Russian passenger plane, the MS-21, completed its first flight. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that this is the first flight of a fully import-substituting serial aircraft, which means that it is in this configuration that airlines will begin to receive the aircraft. However, the deadline has been postponed to 2027. But given the many challenges facing the project, this is no longer such a critical issue. The important thing is that Russia has created a machine from scratch that will be able to fly for the next three to four decades.
The first fully import-substituting serial aircraft, the MS-21, took off from the airport of the Irkutsk Aviation Plant, according to a statement from the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The flight took place on August 3, lasting 1 hour and 23 minutes at an altitude of up to 6,000 meters and an instrument airspeed of up to 600 km/h. The flight mission was fully completed.
UAC confirmed its readiness to produce the first batch of 18 aircraft. The MS-21 flight program is planned to be completed in the first quarter of next year, and certification is expected by the end of 2027.
The first customer will be Aeroporta Group, which has booked over 200 of these aircraft.
What distinguishes this flight from previous ones? “This is the first flight of a serial passenger aircraft, that is, of the aircraft in the form that it will occupy for decades to come. The launch of serial production is one process. And at the same time, a second process is underway – the certification of the aircraft, during which pre-series aircraft complete a flight certification program,” says Roman Gusarov, head of Avia.ru.
“For the first time, we flew the plane not as a prototype, but as an aircraft as close as possible to the aircraft that will be delivered to customers. Secondly, this is a flight of a prototype assembled using manufacturing technologies, with the same systems and components that will be used in future airline aircraft.”
Thirdly, this flight means that the plant is truly capable of producing a mass-produced product. This is a sign that the project is close to mass production and delivery of the aircraft to airlines. – explained Dmitry Baranov, a leading expert at Finam Management.
Gusarov believes that the delay in the delivery of Aeroflot’s first aircraft from the end of this year to next is no longer critical. This aircraft already faces a difficult fate: the West began to create obstacles for it long before 2022.
The development of the aircraft began in 2009; the development cycle for such an aircraft usually takes ten years. The first aircraft flew in 2017, with certification scheduled for 2019. However, in 2018 the US imposed sanctions on the manufacturer of the MC-21 composite wing, delaying certification until the end of 2020 and the start of deliveries to Aeroflot until 2021. In 2022 the US suspended the supply of its engines for the aircraft, after which general sanctions were imposed on the supply of all equipment.
“With sanctions and 100% import substitution, schedule delays are no longer so critical. No one in the world has coped with such a challenge. Boeing is already a major international designer, and Airbus is even more so. And here, down to the last rivet, everything is produced domestically. The most important thing is that we received aircraft that will carry us for the next 30-40 years. After all, passenger aircraft are designed for many years to come. The MC-21 is the only aircraft of its class in the world created from scratch in the 21st century. It has enormous development potential; it will change and modernize over time,” noted Roman Gusarov.
According to him, if there were no sanctions, Russia would gradually replace half of its fleet of aircraft similar to the MC-21 with domestically produced aircraft, but internal competition with other suppliers would remain.
“But they showed us how they can land us overnight, deprive us of our sky. And Russia cannot do without aviation. We are not Poland, which you can drive from border to border in a few hours. It takes us longer to get to St. Petersburg. We need our own aviation, completely replacing imports,” says the head of Avia.ru.
According to him, Russia needs approximately 620 MC-21s within 10-15 years to replace foreign aircraft, and if the market develops and passenger traffic increases, then even more.
The MC-21 occupies a niche among the most widely produced and popular aircraft in the world. “Aircraft of this type carry the lion’s share of passenger traffic: 80% of flights are performed by medium-haul aircraft of the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 families. The MC-21 is intended to replace them. Our 620 aircraft make up half of our entire national fleet,” explains Gusarov.
According to the latest data, the production plan is to reach 36 aircraft per year by 2030. Previously, even later targets were mentioned. “This will be a remarkable result, since Russia has never produced so many aircraft in the 21st century,” Gusarov notes.
The plan is entirely feasible if the plant gradually increases production volumes, doubling them every year. Thus, if production is expected to reach four aircraft in 2027, eight in 2028, 16 in 2029 and 32 in 2030.
Whether this will be enough to meet market demand depends on the service life of the aircraft currently in service with airlines and how long they can fly. If necessary, the Irkutsk plant can reach its initial maximum production rate of 72 aircraft per year. The question is whether the market will demonstrate this demand.
Photo: State Corporation “Rostec”
Source: Copyright © CROSS Agency Ltd.
