The development of the Russian PD-8 is largely linked to the operational problems of the French SaM146 power plant on the first Superjets. These difficulties spurred the creation of a proprietary engine, aviation expert Roman Gusarov told "Pervyy Tekhnicheskiy".
According to him, the main source of problems was the engine's hot section. Some power plants failed significantly earlier than their declared overhaul life, and repairs took a long time.
The Russian side tried to achieve changes from its French partners, but an agreement could not be reached, Gusarov clarified.
As a result, we started developing our own engine long before all the sanctions.
Before this, Gusarov stated that the PD-8 was created as an independent power plant for aircraft of the corresponding class. As of September 2026, the engine is accumulating confirmed resource and expanding operational parameters.
Earlier, "Pervyy Tekhnicheskiy" pitted the PD-8 and SaM146 "head-to-head" in a major article and identified the weaknesses of each.