MOSCOW, October 15 (Itar-Tass) — Investments in the MS-21 passenger plane project will reach 160 billion roubles, United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) President Mikhail Pogosyan said.
He said the first supplies of serial MS-21 planes to consumers are scheduled for 2017 and the reason for this is the need “to specify technical parameters of the plane that have been approved by the customers”.
“This is a serious amount of investment, we are specifying it and we are working to implement the programme within the period of time we have approved,” Pogosyan said. “We estimate investment at about 160 billion roubles.”
Russia’s new MS-21 passenger plane will go on its maiden flight in the middle of 2015, the chairman of Irkut’s Board of Directors, Alexei Fyodorov, said earlier.
“We plan to finish certification of the plane at the end of 2016 or early 2017 not only by Russian but also by European and possibly American standards. The supply of aircraft to customers will begin in 2017,” Fyodorov said.
Eighty-five planes will be supplied to Russian Technologies. Of those 50 will go to Aeroflot (with Pratt & Whitney engines) and the remaining 35 (with PD-14 engines) to other Russian airlines where the federal government has a large participatory interest.
Negotiations are underway to supply MS-21 planes to foreign airlines. “There are 185 orders, including 113 firm ones, and the rest are options. And about 70 protocols of intents have been signed,” Fyodorov said.
“This is only the beginning. The number of orders will grow after the first flight,” he added.
About 50 percent of the plane will be made of composite materials.
MS-21 planes will have a wider body for the comfort of passengers. They will have a better wing sweep to increase safety during landings and takeoffs. The wings will be a bit thicker in order to take on more fuel, which will allow the planes to travel greater distances.
The Yakovlev Design Bureau is the principal designer of the MS-21 plane. It is working under the federal programme "Development of Civil Aircraft in Russia". The state contractor is the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
The MS-21 aircraft has been developed on the basis of Yak-242 type by the Yakovlev Design Bureau in association with the llyushin Aviation Complex. The MS-21 airplane has been readily embraced by the aircraft market since it meets all the requirements and can compete against similar Boeing and Airbus aircraft, outdoing them in price, fuel efficiency and passenger comfort.
The MS-21 aircraft is to replace all models of Tu-154B and Tu-154M aircraft as well as Yak-42 in Russia. It is planned to build around 600 aircraft of the MS-21 family within 20 years, with an annual production rate of 30 to 36 machines. It is planned to sell around 640 MS-21 aircraft in 2008-2009, including around 415 planes going to Russia's domestic market and 225 to foreign customers. The MS-21 will provide the basis for a whole family of aircraft, including an MS-21-100 plane capable of carrying 132 or 116 passengers in a two-class configuration, an MS-21-200 to carry 156 or 140 passengers in a two-class configuration, an MS-21-300 to carry 174 or 158 passengers in a two-class configuration, an MS-2IK to carry cargoes, an MS-21KP to carry cargoes and passengers.