MOSCOW, May 14. /TASS/. Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District Yury Trutnev intends to form a consortium to resume work on the Baikal aircraft project.

"I will engage in a type of activity that is not typically part of my responsibilities, but I will gather additional aircraft designers and listen to their proposals," he told reporters.

Trutnev emphasized that he opposes the idea of abandoning aircraft production. "First, we need to understand who was responsible for this project and hold them accountable. Second, I fundamentally dislike the idea of abandoning the development of a new aircraft and continuing to fly planes that were designed 60-80 years ago," the Deputy Prime Minister added.

Trutnev had previously stated that the Baikal aircraft project had reached an impasse and that production was not expected.

However, the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade has emphasized that the effectiveness of improvements to the Baikal light aircraft has been confirmed, and that research and development efforts on the project will continue.

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).