The delivery deadline for the Il-114-300 regional passenger aircraft has been extended until 2025, and the model will enter commercial operation in the 2024-2025 period. This was reported to the TASS news agency by the press department of Rostec.

«As for the Il-114-300, we are talking about an old contract, established under different conditions, which is now being aligned with the current CPGA (comprehensive program for the development of the aviation industry). The delivery deadline has been extended until 2025, which means that the aircraft will be delivered in the 2024-2025 period,» Rostec said, as noted by our associated media, Aeroin.

In July 2021, the State Transport Leasing Company (STLC) and Aurora Airlines signed an intention agreement for the supply of 19 Il-114-300, with a start planned for 2023. Previously, the former Deputy Prime Minister and current head of Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov, noted that the launch date of the Il-114, previously planned for 2023, would be adjusted in the context of the Il-112V disaster in August 2021.

The Kommersant newspaper reported that the deliveries of the Il-114 were delayed until the end of 2025 due to the suspension of flight tests and engine certification works following the Kubinka disaster in 2021.

The publication also notes that the Mi-38 helicopters with a similar TV7-117 engine will not be delivered before 2026 due to the increased workload of UEC-Klimov as part of the state defense order.

Slightly smaller than the IL-114 that made its first flight in 1990, the IL-114-300 is fully equipped with parts and components manufactured 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 arrangement, having entrusted the interior design to Rusaviainter in 2018.

Russia expects to sell up to 100 units of this model by 2030, aiming to compete with ATR or De Havilland Canada.

The goal of Rostec with the Il-114-300, designed for unpaved airports and without ground services (the ladder 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.

The Il-114-300 represents a new advance in something that Russian manufacturers know how to do very well: convert military versions to the civil sphere. Similarly, they will do it in a system that allows utilizing existing technology and infrastructure for the MC-21 and the SSJ-100. Taking advantage of this modularity is key for the development to be accessible and logistics – one of the historic weak points of the industry, especially when exporting – to be notably simpler.