Late last month, officials from Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) announced plans to produce six MC-21 passenger jets in 2021 and twice as many in 2022, bringing the output to 72 aircraft by 2025.
The announcement also said the company will manufacture 155 SSJ 100 aircraft by the end of 2019, 185 such planes in 2020, and 215 in 2021. UAC Chairman Yury Slyusar said that the corporation planned to increase the production of MC-21 medium-haul single-aisle passenger planes to 120 a year. To date, UAC is capable of manufacturing 70 such aircraft a year.
The UAC MC-21, a Russian medium-haul single-aisle passenger plane, is being developed and manufactured by the Irkut Corporation (with UAC being its majority stakeholder). The MC-21-300 (seating from 163 to 211) made its maiden flight in late May 2017. It is also planned to manufacture two more modifications, namely MC-21-200 seating from 132 to 165 passengers and MC-21-400 with up to 250 seats.
Commercial sales of these planes are planned to be kicked off in 2021. The plane is currently undergoing trials and will be certified in Russia in 2020. The Russian certificate will be later validated for the European market.
UAC has a portfolio that includes orders for 175 MC-21 planes, with the biggest client being Russia’s flagship air carrier Aeroflot, which has a contract for 50 such aircraft.
In other news from the company, Irkut Corporation completed the construction of the fourth MC-21-300 flight test aircraft, the new aircraft scheduled for transfer from the final assembly shop to the plant’s flight-test division.
[…] Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov commented that MC-21 passenger jet production would hopefully start in 2021. But, the new statement says the first deliveries will be made in […]