The SaM146 engine has been developed by PowerJet, a joint venture of the French firm Snecma and the Russian scientific and production association Saturn.
"The tests of the SaM146 engine have been a success in Russia. In 2008, in the second half of the year, I believe, the tests on board a 'flying research laboratory' will continue in France," Yury Lastochkin, the Saturn general director, told a news conference.
The test started on board an Il-76LL in early December, and Lastochkin said a batch of new engines had been sent to Komsomolsk-on-Amur, a city in the Far East where the SuperJet 100 is being assembled.
A Sukhoi official said earlier in the month that successful tests of the engine would allow Sukhoi to start mass production of the plane simultaneously with its certification in 2008.
The family of medium-haul passenger aircraft was designed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau in cooperation with major American and European aviation corporations, including Boeing, Snecma, Thales, Messier Dowty, Liebherr Aerospace, and Honeywell.
Sukhoi plans to produce at least 700 SuperJet 100s, and intends to sell 35% of them to North America, 25% to Europe, 10% to Latin America, and 7% to Russia and China.
The overall market for the SuperJet 100 is estimated at about 5,500 planes, worth $100 billion, up to 2023.
So far, Sukhoi has secured over 70 orders for its regional aircraft. Aeroflot, Russia's leading air carrier, is one of its largest clients, with contracts for the delivery of at least 45 planes.
