The Ministry of Transport has decided to accelerate the certification of new Russian seaplanes, which could become transport for remote areas of the Far East. This refers to private developments for six passengers with the possibility of increasing capacity to nine seats. Against this background, the problem with the larger Be-200 is particularly noticeable: its production has effectively entered a restart phase after switching to Russian PD-8 engines.
Head of the Ministry of Transport Andrey Nikitin said that the department will study the aircraft presented by private aircraft manufacturers and, if they meet the requirements, will try to certify them as quickly as possible.
Seaplanes can take off and land on water, which is of great importance for regions where creating and maintaining airfields is a difficult task, while using bodies of water as landing sites is a more accessible option.
It is indicative that the demand for small seaplanes arises at a time when the Russian Be-200 program has still not reached full-scale serial production. OAK formally lists the amphibious aircraft as being in serial production, but the previous version depended on D-436TP engines, the supply of which has ceased. Now TANTK im. Berieva is converting the Be-200 to the Russian PD-8 and preparing the aircraft for flight tests of the new power plant.
The timelines show the scale of the task: it was previously reported that flight tests of the Be-200 with PD-8 should begin in 2026, and serial production of the updated version is expected no earlier than 2028. That is, the seaplane niche is already in demand, while the large domestic amphibious aircraft is currently undergoing a technological restart.