Russian Aerospace Industry


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58v7cNV_E5Y
Anatoly Gaidansky, Deputy General Director and Head of the Engineering Center at PJSC "Yakovlev", shares insights into the near and distant future of aviation. We discuss the upcoming test flights of the MS-21 aircraft and the long-term development of composite aircraft manufacturing. A visionary conversation on the future of aerospace engineering.
 
Flight tests of the MS-21 aircraft in an import-substituted version have begun


April 30th, 23:50
As reported on April 29, 2025 by PJSC United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), a prototype of the medium-range MS-21 aircraft, equipped with new Russian systems and units, took off for the first time from the airfield of the Irkutsk Aviation Plant of the Yakovlev Company (part of the UAC of the Rostec State Corporation). Domestic avionics, power supply systems, air conditioning and others were tested on board. The flight marked the beginning of factory development tests.

On the part of bmpd, we would like to point out that the first flight prototype of the MS-21-310 passenger aircraft (serial number 21012/MS.0012, registration number 73055) with Russian PD-14 engines, previously built at the Irkutsk Aviation Plant (IAZ) and which made its first flight there in its original configuration on December 15, 2020 (and was the fifth MS-21 built overall), thus made its first flight in the new "import-substituted" guise of the MS-21-310RUS. Since 2023, the aircraft has been undergoing re-equipment at IAZ under the MS-21-310RUS program with the replacement of some imported systems with Russian-made systems.



The first flight in the new "import-substituted" version of the MS-21-310RUS after the modernization of the first flight prototype of the MS-21-310 passenger aircraft (serial number 21012/MS.0012, registration number 73055). Irkutsk, 04/29/2025 (c) PJSC United Aircraft Corporation( Collapse )The UAC press release states:The flight was performed by a crew consisting of test pilots Alexander Guskov, Hero of Russia Roman Taskaev and leading flight test engineers Alexander Popov and Alexander Solovyov. The aircraft was in the air for 1 hour and 15 minutes, reaching a speed of 580 km/h and an altitude of 3000 m.Alexander Guskov stated that the flight mission was fully completed. Roman Taskaev added that all the aircraft systems, including new domestic ones, worked without any problems.“The MS-21 is designed to replace Boeings and Airbuses in the skies of Russia. This is an advanced aircraft in terms of its characteristics, very modern and comfortable, with outstanding aerodynamics and new generation systems on board. In combination with PD-14 engines, this ensures low operating costs and good economics for airlines. Our aircraft manufacturers have done a great job, replacing about 80 foreign systems and units in order not to depend on sanctions and suppliers from other countries. Today's flight brings us one step closer to certification and the start of deliveries to the market of the import-substituted MS-21,” said Oleg Yevtushenko, Executive Director of the Rostec State Corporation.Two modified experimental MS-21 aircraft, which were previously involved in certification tests with foreign systems, will take part in flight tests under the import substitution program.The first of them, which flew on April 29, 2025, had some of the foreign systems replaced. The aircraft received a Russian set of onboard radio-electronic equipment, including computers, switches, navigation systems and radio communication equipment, a domestic auxiliary power unit, air conditioning and pressure control systems, lighting equipment, and aircraft system consoles. Domestic components are included in the power supply system, hydraulic system, and chassis.“This flight opens the factory development tests of the MS-21 in a new, Russian appearance. Our plans include a flight to Zhukovsky to perform flights under the certification test program. In parallel, we continue to work on the fully Russian MS-21, which is now in the final assembly shop and will join the flights later,” said UAC CEO Vadim Badekha.The MS-21 is a new generation medium-range passenger aircraft. The airliner, created on the basis of the latest developments, is focused on the most popular segment of the passenger transportation market. Advanced aerodynamics, PD-14 engines and the latest generation systems provide high flight performance and reduced operating costs compared to analogues. PD-14 is the first new-generation aircraft turbofan engine created in modern Russia. When working on PD-14, designers of the United Engine Corporation Rostec introduced 16 critical technologies: new materials, coatings and design solutions were created. The engine was certified in 2018.
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First flight of the prototype of the fully import-substituted SJ-100 aircraft

April 23rd, 23:35

As reported by PJSC United Aircraft Corporation (UAC, part of the Rostec State Corporation), on April 22, 2025, in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, the first flight of the prototype of the fully import-substituted modified regional passenger aircraft SJ-100 (SSJ100) Superjet️ took place under the SSJ-NEW program - the prototype aircraft OP-3 (003) with factory number 97003 and registration number 97023. The aircraft was built by the Production Center of PJSC Yakovlev UAC in Komsomolsk-on-Amur and is equipped with Russian PD-8 engines.

The first flight of the prototype of the fully import-substituted modified regional passenger aircraft SJ-100 (SSJ100) Superjet️ under the SSJ-NEW program (experimental aircraft OP-3 (003) with factory number 97003 and registration number 97023). Komsomolsk-on-Amur, 04/22/2025 (c) PJSC United Aircraft Corporation

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According to the UAC press release, the stable operation of all domestic systems was confirmed during the tests. The aircraft took to the skies on Russian PD-8 engines developed by the United Engine Corporation of Rostec. The machine demonstrated good controllability and stability in the air.

“The import substitution program for the Superjet aircraft has entered the home stretch. The cooperation of Rostec enterprises has done a great job. About 40 imported systems and units were replaced on the airliner, including the most important component - engines. Today, the third prototype made its first flight. It is used to test the interaction of the PD-8 power plants with domestic onboard systems. Connecting a third aircraft to flight tests will speed up the certification program. Now we are on schedule," said Vladimir Artyakov, First Deputy Director General of Rostec State Corporation.

In honor of the upcoming holiday, the Superjet was decorated with the logo of the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. The aircraft was piloted by a crew consisting of commander, Honored Test Pilot of the Russian Federation Sergei Zavalkin, second pilot, 1st class test pilot Alexander Verkhov, and lead flight test engineer - flight operator Maxim Grukanov. The flight duration was about 40 minutes, it took place at altitudes of up to 3,000 meters and speeds of up to 500 km / h.

After landing, the crew commander Sergey Zavalkin reported on the successful completion of the flight mission. During the first flight, takeoff and an altitude gain of 3,000 meters were performed in the takeoff mode of the engines. In the sky, the control systems, hydraulics, air conditioning, as well as the flight and navigation equipment were checked in the range of speeds from the minimum to the maximum for this flight. In addition, the gas-dynamic stability of the PD-8 engines was checked. The landing gear was retracted and released in flight.

“Today we witnessed a historic event - the first flight of a completely Russian Superjet aircraft. I am confident that this will be an important step towards strengthening the technological independence of our country and will make a significant contribution to the development of domestic aircraft manufacturing. The import-substituted version of the aircraft is being created in an extremely short time frame. We plan to complete certification tests by the end of this year in order to begin deliveries to airlines in 2026,” said UAC CEO Vadim Badekha.

Three aircraft are participating in flight tests in order to speed up the certification program. Last year, tests of the first prototype of the Superjet began, equipped with Russian-made systems and units and Franco-Russian SaM146 engines. In March of this year, the second prototype with domestic PD-8 engines and partially imported systems joined the flight test program. Now, a third, fully Russian aircraft with serial number 97003 has been connected to the flight program.

The Superjet is a short-haul narrow-body aircraft. As part of the import substitution work, the machine is equipped with Russian engines, avionics, chassis, auxiliary power unit, control systems, power supply, air conditioning, fire protection and others. The aircraft also received a new fuselage, which has been modified to simplify the production and maintenance of the aircraft.
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The PD-8 bypass turbofan engine with a thrust of 8 tons for the Superjet passenger aircraft and the Be-200 amphibious aircraft was created using new Russian materials and advanced technologies. The work involves broad cooperation between UEC enterprises, and the experience of creating the PD-14 engine is actively used.

On the part of bmpd, we would like to remind you that on March 17, 2025, the first flight of a prototype of the modified SJ-100 (SSJ100) Superjet️ aircraft with two new Russian PD-8 engines took place in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. The PD-8 engines were installed instead of the standard SaM146 on the Superjet️ aircraft with factory number 95157 (OP-2, serial number 157) and
serial number 97012, built in 2018. This marked the beginning of flight tests of the PD-8 as part of the SJ-100 Superjet️ under the SSJ-NEW program.

The first prototype OP-1 (001, serial number 97001, registration number 97021) of the partially import-substituted Russian short-haul aircraft SJ-100 (SSJ-NEW), manufactured by the Production Center of PJSC Yakovlev (part of the UAC of the Rostec State Corporation), made its first flight in Komsomolsk-on-Amur on August 29, 2023. At the same time, OP-1 is still equipped with Russian-French SaM146 engines.

The goal of the SSJ-NEW program, launched in 2019, is to create a modification of the aircraft with maximum use of Russian-made equipment.
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The prototype OP-3 of the SJ-100 aircraft, which took off on April 22, 2025, became the 229th flight aircraft of the SuperJet SSJ100 family built since 2008, and the first one built in almost two years.

 
MS-21 – April 2025 digest
03.05.2025, 11:57
Photo from the Yak-130 es
cort aircraft. © IAZ test pilot D. Denisov / Provided by the press service of PJSC UAC
The first flight of the import-substituted MS-21-310 with tail number 73055 became the key event of the month. The aircraft took off on April 29 from the airfield of the Irkutsk Aviation Plant. The crew, consisting of the commander, test pilot, flight test director of PJSC Yakovlev Roman Taskaev, test pilot of PJSC Yakovlev Alexander Guskov, as well as leading flight test engineers of PJSC Yakovlev Alexander Popov and Alexander Solovyov, spent 1 hour and 15 minutes in the sky. The flight took place at altitudes of up to 3,000 meters, and a speed of 580 km/h was reached. During the first flight, the MS-21 was accompanied by a Yak-130 aircraft, from which the filming was carried out. The Yak-130 was piloted by PJSC Yakovlev test pilot, Hero of Russia Oleg Mutovin, and the filming was conducted by Irkutsk Aviation Plant test pilot Dmitry Denisov. During the flight, the MS-21-310 crew checked the operability of domestic onboard radio-electronic equipment (avionics), power supply systems, air conditioning and some others. After completing the factory development tests, the aircraft will return to Zhukovsky to undergo certification tests.

The Gagarin Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aviation Plant (KnAAZ) is upgrading its pressing equipment to speed up the production of skins for the MS-21. Previously, these parts were manufactured in Ulyanovsk at the Aviastar plant, but now production has been moved to the Far East. When mastering a new production, each skin requires an individual approach. Such work is rarely carried out, usually when launching new models. The last time something like this happened was when creating the Superjet eight years ago.

The difficulty in mastering the process of forming the MS-21 skin blanks was that KnAAZ and Aviastar use different presses. Because of this, the tooling transferred by Aviastar was not suitable. Engineer Anton Krivenok found solutions for manufacturing the skins, but they were not the most optimal. In connection with this and the tight development deadlines, an agreement was signed with the engineering company "ITS", whose specialists prepared programs for six skins and proposed improvements in the molding technology.

The transfer of skin production to KnAAZ is part of the strategy to increase the rate of production of the MS-21. This also allows the use of the production capacity of the plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, which is one of the key enterprises of the Russian aviation industry.

Find out more
The Irkutsk Aviation Plant continues to re-equip its machine tools for serial production of the MS-21. The plant plans to produce 36 MS-21 aircraft per year. In recent years, a large-scale technical re-equipment program has been implemented here in order to increase production efficiency and reach the MS-21 production rates set by the government. The plant has already replaced outdated equipment, reconstructed workshops and introduced modern technologies.

The specialists of shop 227 are completing the connection and commissioning of the new previously received machines equipped with an index chuck, which allows the workpiece to be rotated by 45 or 90 degrees. This simplifies the manufacture of complex fittings: tees, angles, crosses. Now such elements can be produced in one setup, which reduces their production time. The old turret lathes were dismantled.

In addition, five Proton T250 series machines from the Perm plant AO STP PZMC were installed in shops 226 and 227. They have already been put into operation, another 11 units are undergoing commissioning. The main equipment needs for serial production of MS-21 in these shops are covered.

In shop 246, the laying of the 24th MS-21 semi-fuselages in new PF20 and PF30 stations took place. With their help, the fairing will be assembled on the units and prepared for docking at the F05 station. The new stations for shop 246 were manufactured and assembled at IAZ by specialists from shop 218 and Irkut-StankoService. The PF20 station is designed to work with the front half-fuselage, and the PF30 station is designed to work with the rear half-fuselage. The upper part of the stations has an area for storing passenger floor panel templates.

Before being laid down, PF20 and PF30 were tested using special loads. Then the half-fusels were carefully removed from the cradle by crane and moved to two synchronized trolleys. On these trolleys, the half-fusels were moved to the station area and installed on the positioners.

Positioning is carried out using software that takes into account the slightest differences in loads on the positioners and eliminates incorrect installation of the unit on the rigging assemblies. In the new stations, the half-fusels

The detailed assembly of the walls and diaphragms, installation of the assembled walls on the fuselage and installation of the beams will be carried out at the firth stations. Also, the fitting of new air intakes will be carried out on the front half-fuselage. After the work is completed, the units will be sent for docking. Their place at the new stations will be taken by the half-fuselages of the next set of MS-21.

In April, the media again touched upon the topic of MS-21 flight safety: the combination of an extended flight parameter control system with an active side control stick. TsAGI General Director Kirill Sypalo noted that the peculiarity of the MS-21 is the control of more than ten critical flight parameters, which significantly exceeds the capabilities of the previous generation of aircraft.

If the Tu-204 limited four movement parameters (overload, angle of attack, Mach number and speed), then on the MS-21 the restrictions concern, among other things, dynamic overloads, critical angle of attack, flutter prevention, lateral stability, roll and pitch.

The active side stick provides tactile feedback to the pilot. Unlike the passive systems used in the Airbus A320 or the Chinese C919, the Russian development physically resists dangerous pilot actions. When approaching critical modes, the stick changes the force or vibrates, warning the crew of a potential danger. Additional parameters of the KSU include yaw control, prevention of excessive aileron or elevator deflections, automatic balancing in the lateral channel in the event of failure of one of the engines, as well as control of engine operating modes to match aerodynamic limitations. Such multi-factor protection reduces the likelihood of crew error.

TsAGI believes that the MS-21 safety system is superior to similar systems used in previous-generation aircraft. Control of a larger number of parameters and an active side stick provide a higher level of protection against emergency situations.

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The Ministry of Industry and Trade has announced a competition for experimental design work in order to increase the competitiveness of the PD-14 engine. The R&D work, designed to solve several key problems, is divided into three stages with the work to be completed in December 2027.

The engineers will have to increase the engine life, improve fuel efficiency, reduce weight, achieve additional noise reduction, and optimize production processes to reduce labor intensity and material consumption for manufacturing parts. The Ministry of Industry and Trade will allocate more than 14 billion 230 million rubles for this. It is also necessary to modify the PD-14 based on the results of certification tests of the import-substituted version of the aircraft and the initial stage of operation of the MS-21-310.

* * *

The Yakovlev company has commissioned a pneumatic-frame hangar for a linear maintenance station at Kurumoch Airport (Samara). This hangar has become the largest such structure in Europe. It will provide maintenance for aircraft, including short-haul Superjet 100s, and in the future, medium-haul MS-21-310s. The first aircraft to undergo maintenance will be the SSJ100 of Rossiya Airlines. The aircraft will undergo 4Y-check (periodic maintenance).

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Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Gennady Abramenkov announced in mid-April at a meeting of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy that the start of certification flights of the partially import-substituted MS-21 aircraft is expected in the spring of 2025, and the fully Russified version - in the summer. Work on forming the final appearance of the aircraft and ground testing of the systems is being completed. His words were confirmed by the first flight after replacing foreign systems on board 73055 (MS.0012) on April 29. In parallel with this, the installation of systems on machine 73057 (MS.0013), which is completely in an import-substituted appearance, is being completed.

At the same time, work is underway to prepare for serial production. Twelve machines are docked in various stages of readiness, awaiting completion of certification tests and retrofitting with Russian systems. Completion of certification and the start of serial production of the MS-21 are key goals of the Russian aviation industry.

Photo from the Yak-130 escort aircraft. © D. Denisov / Provided by the press service of PJSC "UAC"
The experimental MS-21, flight 73055, arrived in Irkutsk from Zhukovsky on July 7, 2023. During the modification, the inertial navigation system, auxiliary power unit, air conditioning and pressure control systems, lighting equipment, and aircraft system consoles were replaced with domestic ones. A Russian power distribution system and hydraulic system were installed. The chassis was originally Russian-made. Some imported components on this experimental aircraft remained in the avionics complex.

The most difficult and time-consuming task was replacing the power supply system. It took France's Thales seven years to develop a similar
 

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