The role of "Baikal" has become known: it will not replace An-2

Anton Alikhanov: the new aircraft was built to modern requirements

The new light multi-purpose aircraft "Baikal" will not replace the Soviet biplane An-2. The head of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, Anton Alikhanov, spoke about the role of the new aircraft in the structure of Russian aviation.

According to him, the LMS-901 was initially built to meet current modern safety requirements.

At the technical specification stage, all future operators were involved, and they actually formed the requirements for the aircraft.
Anton Alikhanov, Head of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade

Alikhanov added that the VK-800 engine and AV-901 propeller for "Baikal" will be certified in December 2026. The LMS-901 is designed for local air lines. However, aviation expert Alexey Zakharov stated that the development of "Baikal" has reached a dead end.

Earlier, "Pervyy Tekhnicheskiy" in a large article compared the capabilities of An-2 with "Baikal". Despite its Soviet past, this aircraft turned out to be surprisingly versatile and unpretentious, although it raised questions about its speed and fuel consumption.

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