Russia's MS-21-310 aircraft
Discussion
Posted by No-Adeptness-8986@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 29 comments
The first serial import-substituted aircraft MS-21-310 has been transferred from the final assembly shop to the flight-test unit of the Irkutsk Aviation Plant.
This will allow to conduct tests of the aircraft systems in advance, which are to be carried out in the flight-test unit. The unit's specialists will perform a set of checks provided for in the test program for serial machines and will additionally work out the technology of preparing aircraft for transfer to customers.
The transfer of the aircraft to the customer will take place after the completion of certification tests and the receipt of approval of the main change to the type certificate.
UAC, General Director of the Irkutsk Aviation Plant, Andrey Soynov
sofixa11@reddit
Weird, the engines themselves are still undergoing flight testing. And for the last year the target was 7 of them in total, down from originally planned 24.
Similarly MS-21 entry into service keeps getting pushed back, and manufacturing targets keep getting scaled back.
By this rate the war will be over before this thing enters serial production.
And I hope UAC, for their sake, have learned their lesson and might be better equipped than before to handle maintenance and spare parts. The SSJ-100 was a disaster.
No-Adeptness-8986@reddit (OP)
You're completely right about the delays, but it's important to look at the unprecedented position UAC was thrown into. The MS-21-300 and SSJ-100 were designed as globalized aircraft packed with Western components. They aren't just facing assembly delays; they are completely re-engineering the airframes, wings, and avionics to be domestic component under total isolation. The fact that the PD-8 engine has just finalized certification testing after thousands of hours shows they are building a parallel aerospace ecosystem from scratch, all while state resources are heavily diverted toward military production. And also pd-14 did get type certificate but it still need refinement to make it competitive.
sofixa11@reddit
You're ignoring the fact that both the SSJ-100 and MS-21 were already struggling well before any sanctions cut them off. Neither manages to enter any serious serial production, and even the few SSJ-100s that flew were often grounded due to lack of spare parts. It's as if UAC has completely lost the capability of doing anything other than prototypes. And again, this is before sanctions.
No-Adeptness-8986@reddit (OP)
You are conflating a commercial supply chain error with a lack of technical capability. The SSJ-100 was grounded precisely because it wasn't entirely Russian its SaM146 engines were a joint venture with France's Safran. When the hot-section parts (designed by France) suffered premature cracking, UAC couldn't legally manufacture the fixes, and Safran’s abysmal spare parts support caused the groundings.Furthermore, stating they didn't reach serial production is incorrect; over 170 Superjets were built and flown. Production wasn't stopped due to lack of capability; it was intentionally slowed down when UAC realized that heavy reliance on Western avionics and components was an existential risk. UAC produces dozens of highly complex Su-35s, Su-57s, and Il-76s in serial batches every year—they know how to manufacture at scale. The commercial civil sector is simply transitioning away from a broken globalized integration model to total domestic autarky. MS-21-300 version sanctioned before 2022 so yeah after that they completely cut of from western systems.
sofixa11@reddit
Nonsense, InterJet went bankrupt because they couldn't get any spare parts from UAC. The specific claim back then was that there were no spares at all, everything was made to order.
Over 18 years of manufacturing, which barely qualifies as serial production.
Where are those Su-57s manufactured? Il-76 isn't highly complex, it's a 1980s design that hasn't evolved a lot. Reportedly 7 Il-76s were built in 2025. Su-35 is also a very old design, and there is an estimate of around 12 received for last year. Barely above replacement for losses.
The UAC started with full autarky and it sucked. The Tu-204/214 still has a three person crew, many decades after comparable passenger jets from Canada to Brazil have been on two person crews. Production rates were also embarrassingly low, even though there haven't been any external dependencies.
The Russian aircraft (and not only) industries are broken. Considering that not even the urgency of wartime seems to be having any positive effect on them, it appears that corruption has rotten the core.
No-Adeptness-8986@reddit (OP)
You’re spot on regarding InterJet and the historical corruption, but your critique attributes the failures to the wrong parts of the supply chain.
The InterJet disaster wasn't because UAC couldn't build parts; it was because the SSJ-100 relied on the PowerJet SaM146 engine a 50/50 joint venture with France's Safran. Safran designed the hot-section, which suffered from premature cracking. Because of joint-venture legalities, UAC couldn't legally manufacture the fixes or set up rogue part lines. It was a failure of the hybrid 'globalized' model, which is why they are abandoning it.
On Military Output: The Su-57 is built at KnAAPO. While the 2025 numbers were dismal, UAC finalized major factory modernizations (new fuel and avionics testing hangars), leading to expanded deliveries in early 2026. As for the Il-76MD-90A, calling it a 1980s design ignores that the original factory was in Uzbekistan and completely lost to Russia. The current version built at Aviastar in Ulyanovsk features a brand-new, jigless moving assembly line, entirely new composite wings, and PS-90A engines. Delivering 7 strategic heavy lifters a year from a resurrected factory is a legitimate industrial feat.
The Tu-204/214 comparison is a legacy outlier. The Tu-214 is a dinosaur kept alive purely as a state stop-gap. The actual commercial pivot is the MC-21-310, which features a modern 2-man glass cockpit and digital fly-by-wire. Systemic corruption absolutely slowed them down for two decades, but the baseline reality is that UAC has been forced to entirely rebuild two separate aerospace supply chains (civil and heavy transport) inside their own borders. It’s slow, but the infrastructure is physically turning over now out of pure necessity
sofixa11@reddit
No, they're abandoning the model because there literally isn't a choice in the matter because of the sanctions. Both the MS-21 and SJ-100 were designed with as much off the shelf (and therefore Western) components as possible.
And no, the reporting on InterJet was pretty clear that any parts are hard to get.
Lmao, sure! Because Russian industry is still stuck in a corrupt and abandoned version of the 1980s.
So expanded that we're almost at the halfway point of the year, and we have only seen one instance of it, once. Secret expansion makes the most sense when you're losing a war.
Unusual_Prune6696@reddit
It was the same way even before the war started, every year they claimed its serial production is going to start the next year lol
https://imgur.com/a/eyLIycB
No-Adeptness-8986@reddit (OP)
The 'next-year' delay loop is definitely a valid meme, but there is a massive structural difference between their pre-war and post-war delays. Before 2022, UAC was trying to build a globalized airliner optimized with Western tech, meaning every round of US sanctions (like the 2018 composite wing ban) completely froze the supply chain and forced a multi-year pause to invent domestic alternatives.Post-2022, they stopped chasing the Western integration model entirely. Ripping out Pratt & Whitney engines and Western avionics to build the 100% sovereign MC-21-310 isn't a standard production delay—it’s an entire re-engineering of the aircraft. The timeline has slipped to 2027 for final certification, but with 11 localized SJ-100 airframes already assembled in Komsomolsk-on-Amur and the PD-8/PD-14 engine campaigns deep into flight testing, the physical serial infrastructure is there; it's just being built on total autarky rather than global logistics.
Adjutant_Reflex_@reddit
That’s the state of Russian aerospace in the 21st century. They can build prototypes, *maybe* enter LRIP, but trying to establish any sort of regular, sustainable production rate (especially now that they’ve lost almost all exports) is next to impossible.
sofixa11@reddit
Yeah, it's pretty wild how far Russian aircraft manufacturing (and in general industry) have fallen. Anything beyond a drone in size/complexity can't ever pass the prototype stage
F0rbiddenD0nut@reddit
I imagine this will be about as successful as the Superjet. Probably even less so given Russia's currently geopolitical woes. I'll be shocked if these actually enter commercial service in any realistic capacity and doubly shocked if they manage to keep them flying regularly for more than a couple of years.
No-Adeptness-8986@reddit (OP)
The structural economic reality is that the MC-21 cannot be compared to the Superjet because the entire domestic market dynamic has radically changed.The SSJ-100 failed commercially because Russian airlines could freely buy or lease cheap, reliable Airbus and Boeing aircraft, meaning UAC had to compete globally on spare parts networks where they were weak. Today, that option is gone. Russian commercial airlines are under total Western embargo, their current fleets are aging, and cannibalizing parts from existing aircraft has a hard expiration date.The MC-21 doesn't need to compete on the global free market to be successful; it has a guaranteed, captive domestic market that absolutely needs it to survive. The Russian government has mandated a massive aircraft procurement plan to replace hundreds of retiring foreign planes. Keeping them flying won't depend on global supply chains either, because the MC-21-310 variant is engineered from the ground up to utilize the domestic PD-14 engine and 100% sovereign components. It is no longer an export project—it is an internal logistical lifeline.
sofixa11@reddit
On one hand the SuperJet could be sold abroad, but on the other Russian airlines have no choice other than buying this shit, regardless of quality. So it could do OK.
Individual_Dirt_3365@reddit
Надо дать комментариям получше настояться.
No-Adeptness-8986@reddit (OP)
Yeah wait for it
zenzvik@reddit
No-Adeptness-8986@reddit (OP)
Yeah get ready for it because I am getting called Russian bot because I posted a news
EaRLyHawk924@reddit
No joke, completely in‑house production of a modern, medium‑haul passenger airliner is pretty cool! Even if there are minor compromises in small sub‑systems.
Moreover, the PD‑14 is a really great engine for Russian industry at the moment!
It's a shame, of course, that the production plans are being cut so ungracefully... it would have been better to order in small quantities from the start than to do it like this...
LockStockNL@reddit
Yeah fuck everything coming out of Russia these days
Unusual_Prune6696@reddit
+15
No-Adeptness-8986@reddit (OP)
What does "+15" mean?
flying_wrenches@reddit
As per Google, it’s a slang term for pro-Russia troll.
Quite rude..
No-Adeptness-8986@reddit (OP)
OK the social credit joke, I understand now mostly it used when you post pro Chinese stuff, anyways thanks
Unusual_Prune6696@reddit
https://imgur.com/a/eyLIycB
aviation-ModTeam@reddit
Your comment has been removed for breaking the r/aviation rules.
This subreddit is open for civil, friendly discussion about our common interest, aviation. Excessively rude, mean, unfriendly, or hostile conduct is not permitted. Any form of racism or hate speech will not be tolerated.
If you believe this was a mistake, please message the moderators through modmail.
aviation-ModTeam@reddit
Your comment has been removed for breaking the r/aviation rules.
This subreddit is open for civil, friendly discussion about our common interest, aviation. Excessively rude, mean, unfriendly, or hostile conduct is not permitted. Any form of racism or hate speech will not be tolerated.
If you believe this was a mistake, please message the moderators through modmail.
NathanArizona@reddit
I have significant doubt Ruzzia will be able to get to any sort of production at scale with this, if it can even pass an international cert. Making it little more than a dead end
aviation-ModTeam@reddit
This content was removed for breaking the r/aviation rules.
This subreddit is dedicated to aviation and the discussion of aviation, not politics and religion. For discussion of these subjects, please choose a more appropriate subreddit.
If you believe this was a mistake, please message the moderators through modmail. Thank you for participating in the r/aviation community.