Commercial deliveries of the Russian plane Il-114-300 will be delayed until 2026, according to a governmental resolution project published by the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation and reported by the Interfax agency.
The first recipient of these aircraft was to be the State Transport Leasing Company (STLC), which had signed a contract in 2020 to receive three planes in 2023. However, the start of deliveries is now expected only in 2026, due to the delay in the certification of the Il-114-300 following another plane’s crash in August 2021.
According to the project materials, the delay is explained by the similarity of the propulsion system of the Il-114-300 with the Il-112V military transport aircraft, which crashed due to problems with the TV7-117ST engine, used in the Il-114-300.
The delay in certification tests will directly affect the development, manufacturing, and delivery work of the Il-114-300 as established in the contract with the STLC. The Russian government’s updated plan for the aviation industry’s development anticipated a total of 70 aircraft to be built by 2030, but this has not yet been changed.
Slightly smaller than the IL-114 that made its first flight in 1990, the IL-114-300 is fully equipped with parts and components made in Russia (including the Klimov TV7-117SM engines). In a standard design, it will be able to accommodate between 52 and 68 passengers in a 2 + 2 configuration, with the interior design entrusted to Rusaviainter in 2018.
Russia hopes to sell up to 100 aircraft of this model by 2030, aiming to compete with ATR or De Havilland Canada.
Rostec’s goal with the Il-114-300, designed for unpaved airports without ground services (the staircase for passengers is integrated into the fuselage), is for the model to establish itself as the replacement for the Antonov An-24, in service in Russia and in the CIS member countries. The design provides space for cargo, especially mail, to serve the most remote areas.
