The Russian government has allowed the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) to redirect unused funds allocated for the creation of a wide-body long-range aircraft to the modernization of the MC-21 and Tu-214 aircraft. The government decree was published on the official website of legal information.
Up to 2.2 billion rubles have been authorized to be directed towards reducing the weight and improving the flight performance and aerodynamic characteristics of the MC-21-310. This task must be completed by the end of 2027.
Also, UAC will be able to spend 400 million rubles on extending the service life of at least four aircraft communication units on the Tu-214 of the Special Flight Detachment "Russia". This work must be completed by the end of 2028.
The head of the flight safety service RunAvia, Andrei Patrakov, explained to «Первому техническому» that the drop in the flight range of the MC-21-310 is related to import-substituted composite materials.