The project, led by Russian aircraft giant Sukhoi, involves the construction of the SuperJet-100, a regional airliner family in the 60- to 95-seat category. Major subcontractors include Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Ilyushin, Yakovlev and PowerJet.
The aircraft will be equipped with two PowerJet SaM146 turbofans, and is intended to compete against the Antonov An-148, EMBRAER E-Jets and the Bombardier C-Series programs. Its design, based on the principle of maximum standardization of frame assemblies and systems, will make it possible to improve performance at a moderate cost.
Serial production of the SuperJet-100, with an average flight range of 1,750 kilometers (1,088 miles), will begin in 2008, with at least 700 aircraft expected to come off the assembly line in the years ahead. Some 35% of the jets will be sold to North America, 25% to Europe, 10% to Latin America, and 7% to Russia and China.
Another key project launched to renovate Russia's aging fleet of regional mid-range airliners is the MS-21, being developed by the aircraft companies Ilyushin, Tupolev and Yakovlev. Due to enter service in 2012, it will be designed to seat between 130 and 170 passengers and to fly up to 5,000 kilometers (3,125 miles).
Both projects are part of the Russian government's ambitious plan to raise the national aircraft industry's competitiveness on the global market, and so, too, is the establishment of the United Aircraft Building Corporation, an umbrella group that will consolidate major domestic assets in the sector.
