Russian SSJ-100 Superjet Achieves Maiden Flight With Reduced Western Parts Dependency

A prototype of the Russian short-haul aircraft, SJ-100, produced by the Yakovlev Manufacturing Center in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, has successfully completed its inaugural flight. The tests confirmed the stable operation of all domestic systems, and the aircraft’s aerodynamic stability and controllability.

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Crew and Flight Details

The aircraft was piloted by test pilots Leonid Chikunov and Dmitry Demenev, accompanied by test engineer Denis Velizhanin. The flight duration was 54 minutes, reaching altitudes of up to 3000 meters and speeds up to 343 km/h. In line with the flight objectives, the crew evaluated the aircraft’s stability, controllability, cabin pressure regulation, and also performed a «cloud landing» and an approach for landing with a go-around procedure.

Approximately 40 systems and components have been replaced on the import-independent «Superjet». Yuri Slyusar, CEO of OAK, remarked, «Today’s Superjet flight with Russian systems reflects the combined efforts of the design team and factory staff. This flight demonstrates our country’s technological independence, proving that we can develop and produce modern civilian aircraft independently, without relying on imported technologies.»

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Looking Forward

To accelerate the testing program, the first prototype used Franco-Russian SaM146 engines. A subsequent prototype will commence flight tests with domestic PD-8 engines, currently undergoing bench tests and flight tests on the Il-76LL flying laboratory.

Sergey Chemezov, Rostec Corporation’s CEO, noted during a speech to the Russian Federation Council in 2022 that “we plan to start production of the SSJ with domestic PD-8 engines in 2024”. Also, the executive added that “twenty units per year should roll off our production line” of the model, equipped with Russian technology.

The company is technically capable, Chemezov told Tass at the time, of producing up to forty SSJs a year, provided there is market demand. United Aircraft Corporation – part of Rostec – planned for the first flight of the SSJ 100 with the Russian Aviadvigatel PD-8 engine to take place in early 2023, but that projection is evidently facing significant delays.