MOSCOW, March 21. /TASS/. Sanctions have accelerated the development of Russia’s industry, which enabled a return of Russia’s independence in the aviation sector, French aviation expert Cyril de Lattre told TASS.
"Russia is obviously regaining independence in this sector, which is demonstrated by such projects as Superjet New, MC-21, new Il-96, Tu-214 and more. Those are indeed exceptional aircraft, each with its distinctive features. It’s worth saying thank you to sanctions. They have seriously helped, allowed starting the production of critical high-technology products," he said.
Superjet was initially intended as an international project with the participation of France, which was involved in aircraft electronics and cockpit equipment, the expert said. "That was a very interesting concept proposed by Russia, to open its market and provide its possibilities to investors and partners from abroad. This allowed creating a jet demanded for export, which was certified for operation in many countries," he explained.
Today, Superjet may already be considered a fully Russian product, de Lattre noted. "It has 100% of Russian components. This is quite a valuable asset as Russia unfortunately cannot trust its Western partners now," he said, adding that in the future the country will no longer be dependent on foreign aircraft manufacturers. For example, it will be able to gradually phase out aircraft produced by Airbus, though this does not mean that those aircraft will not be utilized in Russia.
A prototype of the Superjet aircraft equipped with Russia-produced PD-8 engines completed its maiden flight on March 17. The flight performed in Komsomolsk-on-Amur lasted about 40 minutes, with the aircraft developing a speed of 500 km/h and rising to an altitude of 3,000 meters. Sergey Chemezov, director general of Russia’s Rostec state corporation, said that another domestically-produced Russian jet with PD-8 engines would join the certification flight tests in April.