After the introduction of sanctions, the domestic industry, including the aviation industry, managed to quickly rebuild and develop its own competencies. This was stated by Vitaly Naryshkin, chief designer of the MS-21 aircraft.
He noted that when the MS-21 was just beginning to be developed, the plans already included a consistent replacement of foreign systems with Russian ones.
Therefore, when the thunder struck, we were able to quickly rebuild. Without any regard for sanctions, we had a strategy to develop domestic industry. Not only aircraft construction, but also instrument engineering, engine construction. And the first thing we completely import-substituted was the engine.
Naryshkin clarified that the PD-14 engine began to be developed before the MS-21, because the operating cycle of the unit is longer than that of the aircraft.
And the certificate for the PD-14 engine was received earlier. The first aircraft with the PD-14 engine flew with us back in 2020, that is, before the sanctions. So we were on this path right away.
Specialists of "ODK-Saturn" (part of the United Engine Corporation of the Rostec State Corporation) are working on reducing the weight and improving the characteristics of the new PD-14 engine for the MS-21-310 airliner using the new VKU-65 carbon fiber.