MOSCOW, March 14. /TASS/. The import-substituted Superjet has started the flight part of certification tests with more than 20% of the work completed, CEO of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) Vadim Badekha said at a meeting with the Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.
"As for the Sukhoi Superjet program - today the aircraft began the flight part of certification tests, with more than 20% of the work completed," he said.
At the same time, the Il-114 aircraft is at an advanced stage of flight testing, with more than 20% of certification flights completed, Badekha noted.
The first prototype of the import-substituted MC-21 has also been assembled. Ground systems testing is expected to be completed soon, and preparations are underway to begin flight operations.
It was reported earlier that serial production of the MC-21 aircraft is scheduled to begin in 2026. Production of the import-substituted SJ-100 aircraft is also scheduled to begin in 2026.
Badekha emphasized that Russia has all the competencies in the field of aircraft manufacturing. According to him, "we are the only ones in the world who develop and manufacture 100% of materials, elements, technologies, units, and systems in our country".
"Today we are in the final stage of creating a series of domestic civil aircraft. These are flight tests. Here we are working side by side with the Federal Air Transport Agency. Our main common task is safety. And I can say that our industry has completed the main task of import substitution of systems and units, it is a success in terms of ‘hardware’. That is, today all systems, all units, all necessary elements have been manufactured and are in the final stage of autonomous ground testing," Badekha noted.
He also added that for the first time in the last few decades, civil aircraft manufacturing is experiencing an investment boom: large-scale investments are being implemented at all enterprises in the industry.