The issue of building our own aircraft is important and acute for Russia. This was stated by the head of state Vladimir Putin at a joint Direct Line and press conference in Gostiny Dvor.
According to him, Russia has good traditions of aircraft construction, both military and civil. But the question has always been that civil aviation was a derivative of military transport aviation.
And the second has different approaches to the life cycle, noise, aviation kerosene consumption, and so on. We were rightly proud of Tupolev, Yakovlev, and Ilyushin aircraft, but in order for them not to be originally for civilian purposes, the USSR also underperformed in this sense.
Putin emphasized that Russia definitely needs modern domestic aircraft now. The increase in ticket prices is partly due to the lack of aircraft fleet.
Western companies that supplied us with aircraft, for various reasons, decided not to cooperate with us. This is bad for them, but it is good for us, because it makes us work ourselves and get involved in the work, using the opportunities of our market.
To replace retiring foreign aircraft, Russia is building new MS-21 and Superjet aircraft, but both aircraft are still undergoing certification. Apparently, carriers will not receive them in 2026 either.
Read more materials on the topic:
- MS-21, Superjet and Tu-214 are prohibited from flying: without TCAS, they simply will not be allowed into the sky
- No aircraft or engines: Russian cargo airlines on the verge of a complete fleet shutdown
- Russian replacement for Airbus and Boeing postponed: MS-21 certification will be completed at the end of 2026
