The production of MC-21s could reach approximately ten aircraft in 2027, with six aircraft already assembled at the Irkutsk Aviation Plant and several more liners currently under assembly. This forecast was provided by Major General, Honored Military Pilot of Russia Vladimir Popov, as he assessed the current state of domestic aircraft manufacturing.
According to the expert, a significant production backlog for the MC-21 has already been formed at the Irkutsk enterprise. Popov claims that many fuselages, wings, and stabilizers for the new aircraft are already on the assembly jigs.
Popov expects that by 2027, the plant will be able to increase MC-21 production to approximately ten units. Subsequently, he estimates, production will gradually increase.
At the same time, the expert believes that the growth in production of MC-21 and other Russian liners is important not only for specific programs but also for the entire industry. Popov suggests focusing on the USSR's aircraft manufacturing model, when the country independently produced a wide range of civilian and military aircraft.
We should aim for the level of independence of that era.
Separately, Popov assessed the situation with the import-substituted Superjet-100. According to his data, the first aircraft with Russian PD-8 engines have already been delivered to one of the airlines. For now, these are individual aircraft, but next year the expert expects a transition to the production of dozens of aircraft.