Aviation Expert Trashed Russia's MS-21 And Superjet
- 3.08.2025, 17:49
Both airplanes cannot be produced without foreign components.
The United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) has announced the completion of assembly of the first "fully import-substituted" MC-21 aircraft. According to the company, Russian PD-14 engines have been installed on board No. 0013, major control and power supply systems have been replaced, and a domestically produced interior has been installed for the first time. However, an aviation expert spoken to by The Insider believes that Russian airlines are not yet able to produce modern aircraft without foreign components.
After the switch to Russian composite materials, the airliner's weight increased by almost 6 tons, while its range more than halved. To partially compensate for this, the designers shortened the fuselage, reducing the passenger capacity to 140-170 people.
An aviation expert, who wished to remain anonymous, noted that the aircraft cannot be fully import-substituted due to the lack of necessary components of Russian production:
"The fact that neither MS-21 nor Superjet can be made 100% import-substituted was said back in 2023 by both [Deputy Prime Minister Denis] Manturov and the then head of UAC [Yuri Slyusar. Part of the avionics, airborne electronic equipment - albeit small - is still foreign, because Russia cannot replace it yet. And whether they will be able to replace it is a big question. And it is important to emphasize that even if everything is formally assembled in Russia, but on a Chinese component base, this is not import substitution. Import substitution is when everything depends entirely on enterprises inside the country. And if the enterprises stop receiving Chinese electronic component base, then everything will stand.
But more importantly, because of the use of domestic composites in the wing, assemblies, units and other things, the plane was overweight by almost 6 tons. It is not so important what will be domestic and what will be imported, but it is important how they will take 6 tons off the structure. Because the airplane does not meet the technical specifications.