The Ministry of Industry and Trade has allocated funds for research and development (R&D) work on re-engining the existing SSJ-100 aircraft fleet. This was announced by the head of the department, Anton Alikhanov.
According to him, the ministry's own budget will be the source of funding. However, Alikhanov did not mention who specifically would pay for the installation of the PD-8 for the first versions of the SSJ-100.
In total, the re-engining will affect 140 aircraft currently in commercial use by airlines.
These are the machines that can be preserved. If this is not done, they will be decommissioned, and quite soon. We plan to carry out this work and will discuss with the Ministry of Transport the scheme for further financing of these re-engining programs.
Mikhail Gordin, Rector of Bauman Moscow State Technical University, explained that a direct "swap" of SaM146 for PD-8 is impossible. This requires coordinating the onboard systems with the domestic power plant.