The V.I. Luzyanin Research and Production Center Gidromash (NAO, Nizhny Novgorod), which celebrated its 220th anniversary last year, has completed the localization and certification of the landing gear system for the MC-21 medium-haul passenger airliner. All components — from hydraulic cylinders to shock absorbers and retraction mechanisms — have been designed and manufactured in Russia without the use of imported equivalents.
The MC-21 project is being implemented by PAO Yakovlev (part of the United Aircraft Corporation) with the aim of replacing outdated aircraft types such as the Tu-154 and Tu-204, as well as competing with Western counterparts in the domestic and international markets. The aircraft is designed for 163–211 passengers and is capable of operating flights over distances of up to 6,000 km.
Gidromash's participation in the program began in 2009, when the enterprise won the tender to supply the landing gear. In 2011, a contract was signed for a full cycle of work: design, manufacturing, ground and flight testing, as well as serial deliveries of the nose landing gear and two main landing gear struts for all MC-21 modifications.
By the time the first prototype was rolled out on June 8, 2016, at the Irkutsk Aviation Plant, the landing gear system had already passed all stages of ground testing. Gidromash head Vladimir Luzyanin then noted that the design was fully domestic, contained no imported elements, and was accompanied by a complete set of certification documentation required for admission to flight tests.
The MC-21 landing gear is built according to a tricycle scheme: the nose gear is single-wheel with a steering angle of ±70°, while the main gear is twin-wheel. The system is equipped with gas-hydraulic shock absorbers, hydraulic retraction/extension drives, and integrated load monitoring sensors. The mass of the entire system is about 5.5 tonnes, which meets weight-efficiency requirements for narrow-body airliners.
As of January 2026, the import-substituted version of the MC-21 is at the final stage of certification tests. According to Rosaviatsiya, out of more than 200 onboard systems, only five remain to be localized. In November 2025, the second flight test aircraft, fully equipped with Russian components including Gidromash landing gear, began testing.
At the first flight of this aircraft from the airfield of the Irkutsk Aviation Plant, Gidromash Chief Designer Andrei Tsyupiy was present. Together with MC-21 Chief Designer Vitaly Naryshkin, he monitored the landing gear's operation in real conditions — from takeoff to retraction and subsequent extension before landing.
Gidromash fully fulfilled its technical and certification obligations under the state contract, ensuring the localization of all MC-21 landing gear units and systems in accordance with AP-25 requirements (airworthiness standards for civil aircraft). The developed design passed a full cycle of endurance, static, and dynamic tests, including landing impact loads, retraction/extension cycles, and hydraulic system leak-tightness checks.
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