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Production of Baikal aircraft not expected — Trutnev

Earlier reports indicated that the first serial deliveries of the regional Baika aircraft were scheduled to begin in 2026

MOSCOW, May 14. /TASS/. The Baikal aircraft project has reached an impasse, and production is no longer expected, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Yury Trutnev announced.

"You are aware that we had been working on the development of the light aircraft Baikal. As of today, that work has reached a dead end—meaning the Baikal aircraft is no longer expected," Trutnev stated during an expanded meeting of the State Duma Committee on the Far East and the Arctic.

Earlier reports indicated that the first serial deliveries of the regional Baika aircraft were scheduled to begin in 2026. At the time, the Ural Civil Aviation Plant, the aircraft’s developer, had guaranteed that the cost of the Baikal would not exceed 280 mln rubles ($3.48 mln).

The LMS-901 Baikal light multipurpose aircraft was intended to replace the Soviet-era Antonov An-2 multipurpose aircraft. It is designed to seat nine passengers. The aircraft’s cruising speed is up to 300 km/h, and its maximum flight range is 3,000 km (or 1,500 km with a payload of 2 tons).

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