MOSCOW, July 28. /TASS/. A decision on the expediency of the mass production of the modernized version of the Il-96-400M four-engine long-haul plane will be made after certification tests, a source in the aircraft-building industry told TASS on Thursday.

According to the source, the plane’s maiden flight is planned for late 2022. The first plane will later be used as a flying laboratory.

"The first plane will be assembled and will be used as a flying laboratory to test technical solutions for wide-body long-haul planes. It is used to test modernized systems, including domestically-made navigation equipment. The engine, PS-90 is also Russian-made. It is planned to make a maiden flight before the yearend. After the certification tests, a decision on the mass production will be made," the source said.

The Il-96 aircraft was designed by the Ilyushin Design Bureau in the late 1980s. It has been manufactured inn limited series in Voronezh since 1993 and is mostly used for government flights.

Rostec chief Sergey Chemezov said in April that the Il-96-300 would not be mass produced. According to Yury Slyusar, CEO of the United Aircraft Corporation (part of Rostec), it is planned to manufacture two Il-96-300 planes a year, since the demand for such aircraft among Russian air carriers is not very high.

The Russian ministry of industry and trade said in January that the modernized Il-96-400M plane would make its maiden flight before the yearend. The plane will have up to 370 seats and its range will be more than 8,000 kilometers. The plane is supposed to be built from Russian-made components.