As is by now well-known to anyone who follows aviation news, Russia's civil aviation industry has gone through quite a shake-up since Putin launched a war of aggression on Ukraine almost a year ago. The sanctions imposed have caused Russia to find 'import-substitute' solutions for already ongoing aircraft projects such as the Sukhoi SSJ-100 and its new narrowbody contender MC-21.

Meanwhile, to meet the demand for new aircraft from Russian airlines, those in charge have decided to kick up the production of another plane - the Tupolev Tu-214, previously only available on special order.

On Tuesday, February 7, the tenth edition of the National Civil Aviation Infrastructure Exhibition (abbreviated NAIS from the Russian title) commenced in Moscow. As reported by the Russian state-owned news agency TASS, Yury Slyusar, the head of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), told reporters that the plane is to increase the output of the Tu-214 to 20 units per year.

Mr. Slyusar told reporters on-site,

"We are working on it. We are making a cargo and shortened version for flights in the Far East. We will increase production gradually."

Furthermore, the UAC boss said that commercial serial deliveries of the Tu-214, the MC-21-310, and the SSJ-NEW are scheduled to begin in 2024. Meanwhile, Aeroflot CEO Sergei Aleksandrovsky has stated he is expecting his airline group to take delivery of the first all-domestic Superjet version in December this year.

Soviet heritage design

The Tu-214 is a version of the Soviet design Tu-204, both medium-range twin-engine narrowbodies with a max capacity of 210 passengers. The Tu-214 is a higher gross-weight version that has extra fuel tanks installed. Both versions of the aircraft, which took their first flight in 1989, are powered by Aviadvigatel PS-90 turbofan engines.

The plans to revamp the program have been taking shape over the past year. Initially, production will ramp up gradually to ten yearly to reach the intended 20 units by 2026. Why not more, you may ask, as Russia foresees a need for 1,000 new civil aircraft by 2030. As expressed by the country's Minister for Industry and Trade, Denis Manturov, the program's cost would simply be too high.

The Baikal gaining traction.

Another Russian aircraft type that we perhaps do not talk that much about here at Simple Flying, as it is a utility aircraft rather than a commercial passenger jetliner, is the Baikal. The single-engine utility plane made its first flight a little over a year ago, on January 30, 2022. It is intended to replace the outdated Soviet-built Antonov An-2, can carry a payload of two tonnes, and has a range of up to 1,500 kilometers.

On Tuesday, also at NAIS, Aeroflot's Far East subsidiary Aurora said it would take eight SSJ-NEW and ten Baikal aircraft by 2026. Four SSJs will arrive with the fleet in 2024 and another four in 2025.

Source: TASS