The Russian state aviation company Rosatom will produce replicas of parts from foreign aircraft from Airbus and Boeing. Production is expected to begin in the first half of 2024, as reported by the newspaper Izvestia. This initiative emerged in response to sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union, which ban the legal import of parts to the country since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The collaboration between Aeroflot and Rosatom, which has technical and production capacity, will allow the manufacture of various components, such as air and water filters, plastic, metal, composite, and rubber products, as well as electronic equipment for passenger cabins.
The General and Technical Director of Aeroflot, Alexey Mikhalik, spoke to Izvestia about the creation and certification process of the parts. According to him, all items will be tested and certified by the Federal Air Transport Agency before being used in aircraft. However, they remain non-original parts from the factories and are not approved.
Testing and production of the replicas are already underway. According to Mikhalik, the collaboration will meet the high demand for components and spare parts for foreign aircraft in Russia, which currently feels affected by the sanctions imposed by the west.
The production process of the replicas is complex and involves the development, certification, and manufacturing of the components. The partnership between the Russian companies will be responsible for producing the items for all types of foreign aircraft used in the country, from cabins to structures and repairs.
It is expected that, with Rosatom’s collaboration, Aeroflot will be able to reduce the dependence on its own engineers and will have the support of local suppliers for the maintenance of its aircraft. To ensure the safety and quality of the replicas, the procedure for processing the necessary documentation for their use in aircraft is already being defined in conjunction with the Federal Air Transport Agency, according to Mikhalik.
