May 19 marked 18 years since the first flight of the Sukhoi Superjet 100. The aircraft first took to the skies in 2008 from the Dzemgi airfield in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. The test flight was performed by first-class test pilots Alexander Yablontsev and Leonid Chikunov.
The SSJ 100 became the first mass-produced passenger aircraft developed in Russia after the collapse of the USSR. The project is also considered the first Russian passenger airliner created entirely using digital technologies and certified according to EASA standards in the transport aircraft category.
How the Superjet 100 was created
The aircraft was developed by Sukhoi Civil Aircraft, which later became part of PAO Yakovlev. The airliner was designated RRJ95 – Russian Regional Jet 95.
The Superjet 100 is designed to carry 87 to 108 passengers over a distance of up to 4600 kilometers. The aircraft used SaM146 engines manufactured by PowerJet, a joint venture between NPO Saturn and the French company Snecma. A significant part of the avionics, including communication systems, navigation, and displays, was developed by Thales.
Operation in Russia and abroad
The first production SSJ 100 was delivered to the Armenian airline Armavia in April 2011. In the summer of the same year, deliveries of aircraft to Aeroflot began under a contract for 30 aircraft.
Since 2007, 232 SSJ 100 aircraft have been produced. The main operators were Russian airlines, including Aeroflot, Rossiya, Azimuth, and Red Wings. Today, more than 150 aircraft continue to operate flights across Russia – from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok, as well as on international routes.
The aircraft was also supplied to foreign carriers, but long-term operation outside Russia was not achieved. The main reasons cited were difficulties with reliability and the after-sales service system.
Production and import substitution
After the introduction of sanctions, serial production of the SSJ 100 was effectively halted. In response, the Russian aviation industry launched a deep localization program for the aircraft called SJ-100.
On March 17, 2025, a prototype of the import-substituted SJ-100 first took to the air with Russian PD-8 engines. On April 23, a fully import-substituted aircraft developed by PAO Yakovlev made its first flight in Komsomolsk-on-Amur.
The aircraft is currently undergoing certification tests. Serial production of the new version of the airliner has not yet been launched.
Superjet remains the basis of regional transportation
Despite the complex history of the project, the Superjet 100 remains one of the most mass-produced modern Russian passenger aircraft. Over 18 years of operation, the airliner has become an important part of regional air transportation and a basic platform for the development of the new fully import-substituted SJ-100.
