The second production MS-21-310 with serial number MS.0015 retained French-made Saint-Gobain cockpit glazing. This is due to the fact that this aircraft and two other machines of the same series began to be built before the program switched to fully domestic components.
On August 31, MS.0015 was transferred from the final assembly shop of the Irkutsk Aviation Plant to the flight test station. Currently, the aircraft is undergoing ground preparation before its first flight and factory tests. At the same time, its configuration already corresponds to the fully import-substituted version of the MS-21-310.
The glazing story dates back to 2022. In October of that year, Anatoly Gaidansky, then Deputy General Director of Irkut, reported that aircraft with serial numbers MS.0014, MS.0015, and MS.0016 were already at a high stage of readiness: their fuselages were mated with composite wings. This means that their production began before the program switched to a Russian component base.
After the cessation of foreign component supplies, the previously installed elements on these three machines were not replaced. Therefore, MS.0014, MS.0015, and MS.0016 retained the previously supplied Saint-Gobain glazing. At the same time, other aircraft systems were gradually being converted to Russian solutions.
For new MS-21s, glazing is already being produced by ONPP "Tekhnologiya" named after A. G. Romashin. The enterprise began serial production of import-substituted kits in 2024. The kit includes two windshields, two side windows, and two rear window units with electric heating.
Russian glazing underwent a separate test program. In particular, in December 2024, "Tekhnologiya" reported on testing a windshield for bird strike at a speed of over 600 km/h. The design is a seven-ply structure of four silicate glasses connected by a polymer film, with an electric heating system.
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