The new Russian MC-21 aircraft, assembled exclusively from imported parts, has become heavier and flies half as far. A new scandal erupted after information leaked about the preliminary results of attempts to create a new Russian aircraft. The source of the leak was Dmitry Yadrov, head of the Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya).
The MC-21 is the first passenger aircraft in which all important parts and systems are entirely Russian-made. For the first time, it features a cabin made in Russia and uses new equipment for checking hydraulic systems, created in Novosibirsk. The aircraft was completed at the Irkutsk Aircraft Plant.
However, it turned out that the aircraft was much heavier than originally specified in the design documentation. According to various estimates, the weight increased from 5.75 tons to 6.8 tons. This, in turn, led to high fuel consumption and, accordingly, reduced the flight range. It can now fly approximately 2,800 kilometers instead of the previous 6,000.
In 2009, serial production of the aircraft was supposed to begin in 2016. However, it was repeatedly postponed. In February 2024, it was already planned for 2025-2026. The program, worth hundreds of billions of rubles, for the supply of domestic aircraft is being postponed again.
There are a number of reasons for this. We do not list these reasons in order of importance — each of them is important in its own right and they all affect aircraft manufacturing as a whole. The first is the sanctions imposed on Russia for starting a war against a sovereign state. The second is the shortage of specialists, some of whom have been mobilized for the war due to unforeseen losses. The third is the inability of Russia’s political leadership to manage the country as a whole and the degradation of entire industries. The fourth is that Russia’s political leadership is stupid and does not understand the limits of its capabilities — they loudly proclaim import substitution, the creation of their own aviation industry, and challenging the West, while they themselves simply steal taxpayers’ money and transfer the stolen funds to offshore zones.
It is already clear that the aviation industry has fallen behind the world leaders for good. And the promises of Moscow politicians to build 1,000 or even 600 domestic aircraft by 2030 have turned out to be nothing but lies.
