The deal with India on the production of "Superjets" on the territory of the republic is beneficial for Russia, as it guarantees profit for the domestic aircraft industry. The scheme of the deal was explained to "The First Technical" by aviation expert, editor-in-chief of Avia.ru Roman Gusarov.
According to him, at the first stage we can talk about knockdown assembly of aircraft. That is, Russia will send ready-made aircraft kits to India.
Gusarov stressed that the licensed production of SJ-100 in the republic is very beneficial for the Russian Federation and recalled the negative experience for the country in assembling the first version of "Superjets".
When we produced the first "Superjets", foreign components were very expensive. All the money that the airline paid for the plane went to Western component manufacturers. Zero remained for us, at best, if not at a loss. That is, they were pulling out all the money.
In January 2026, the United Aircraft Corporation concluded an agreement with the Indian state corporation Hindustan Aeronautics on joint activities, regulating cooperation in the field of production of the Superjet 100 aircraft in the republic. The timing of the start of aircraft production is unknown.
Honored Pilot of the USSR Oleg Smirnov explained to "The First Technical" how former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi influenced the prospects of "Superjet" abroad.