Russia’s flag carrier Aeroflot is going to place an order for 323 new domestically manufactured aircraft.
The plan was announced in a meeting between the CEO of Aeroflot Sergey Alexandrovsky and Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia.
The order is set to include 73 Sukhoi Superjets, 210 Irkut MC-21s and 40 Tupolev Tu-214s. According to Alexandrovsky, this is the largest aircraft order in Russia “in a long time.” He also noted that the order is part of the company’s “main priority”: the transition from foreign-made aircraft to domestically manufactured ones.
Rumors that such an order might be placed have been swirling for a while, with Russian press reporting that Aeroflot was mulling buying 300 new aircraft in June 2022.
The follows previous announcements by Russian officials about United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), which owns the majority of Russia’s aerospace manufacturers, significantly expanding its production.
According to UAC’s parent company, Rostec, Russia plans to manufacture over 110 commercial aircraft by 2025 and over 500 by 2030. The numbers, if reached, would mark a significant rise in the country’s aircraft production in comparison with previous years.
Part of such an expansion is expected to be driven by the restart and ramp up of the production of older Soviet-era models, such as the Tu-214 and the Ilyushin Il-96.