Work on the Baikal aircraft, related to engine import substitution, is at the stage of development work – design and technological documentation is being developed and the prototype is being manufactured according to them, said the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Anton Alikhanov in an interview with Rossiya-24 TV channel on 18 September.
The original version of Baikal envisaged the installation of an imported General Electric H80-200 turboprop engine. With this powerplant, the aircraft made its maiden flight on 30 January 2022, and then its factory flight tests were underway.
‘We are in a state of essentially developmental work. It was decided that we are switching to the domestic VK-800 engine. Next year we should have the certification of the engine and propeller completed by our contractor. And certification of the entire aircraft should be completed in 2026. The first deliveries, the first five aircraft, they will have to deliver in 2026,’ the minister said.
In August 2022, Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District Yuri Trutnev said that it was planned to complete the certification of the aircraft by the end of 2023. Yury Trutnev also repeatedly criticised the dragging out of the timeframe for the creation of the aircraft, comparing it to the timeframe for the development and launch of the An-2.
In September 2019, TsIAM issued approval for an advance design project for the use of the VK-800SM engine as a propulsion system for the LMS-901 Baikal aircraft, with a recommendation to develop both twin-engine and single-engine versions. In the same month the technical documentation of the VK-800SM engine for adaptation to the Baikal was transferred to Ural Civil Aviation Plant (UZGA). Anton Alikhanov’s statement about the development work on the aircraft may indicate that the replacement of the power plant was not as easy as it seemed earlier, and it took time to seriously improve the design of the machine.
Anton Alikhanov also said that the existing capacity of the UZGA is insufficient for the projected demand for the LMS-901 Baikal aircraft.
‘We are now working it out together with UZGA and the United Aircraft Corporation. There are several options that we will be working out in the coming weeks. I am sure that both Denis Valentinovich (First Deputy Prime Minister Manturov) and other colleagues from the government will support us. And we will still be able to enter new production sites with this aircraft in 2026’, – said the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting on infrastructure development in the Far East demanded to solve the issue with the construction of the Baikal aircraft, which is constantly postponed.
In December 2023, Khabarovsk Territory Governor Mikhail Degtyaryov said that construction of a new aircraft factory is starting in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, which will be engaged in serial production of the LMS-901 Baikal aircraft. It is planned to build the workshops by the end of 2024, and in 2025 – to start assembling the aircraft. Units and components for the LMS-901 will be manufactured at the UZGA. The aircraft will be directly assembled in Komsomolsk-on-Amur.
The comprehensive programme for the development of the aviation industry predicts that UZGA will produce the first five aircraft in 2025. In 2026-2029 – 25 aeroplanes annually and from 2030 to reach the production of 34 aeroplanes annually. A total of 139 Baikals are planned to be built from 2024 to 2030.
As for the VK-800SM engines, it is planned to equip Osvey aircraft and Yak-152 UTS with them. By the end of the decade, the company should produce 448 such engines: in 2026 – 25 power units, in 2027 – 65, in 2028-2029 – 117 each and in 2030 to reach the rate of production of 124 VK-800CM engines annually.
