RuAviation

At the Sokol Aviation Plant in Nizhny Novgorod, preparations are ongoing for the production of MC-21 aircraft components. Manufacturing of door parts and the ventral fin bay has been transferred here. The plant is establishing a duplicate production line, involving its stamping, mechanical assembly, metallurgy, forging, pressing, casting and structural assembly departments. In February 2025, Sokol started installing its first Russian-made automated riveting system. This equipment will speed up assembly, improve accuracy and reduce reliance on foreign technology.

To accommodate the automated riveting machine, an area within the structural assembly shop has undergone a major refurbishment, including the preparation of foundations. Specialists are currently assembling the track system, which will ensure precise movement of the equipment along the assembly line. Completion of installation is scheduled for November 2025, followed by testing and staff training on the new system.

Rosaviatsia has issued PJSC Yakovlev with an extended certificate, authorising the serial production of the MC-21. The document now includes the medium-range airliner, in addition to the SSJ100. Key components have been added to the list of approved works: the multi-function display, integrated computing system and on-board firewall.

In addition to the Irkutsk Aviation Plant (IAZ), the agency’s commission inspected co-operating enterprises – AeroComposit in Ulyanovsk and OKB Aerospace Systems in Dubna, near Moscow. The extended production organisation approval certificate, No. FAVT-I-11, was signed by Rosaviatsia’s deputy head, Andrei Dobryakov. To date, 80 Russian companies hold aircraft manufacturer certificates.

* * *

In workshop 205 at the Irkutsk Aviation Plant, assembly of section F2 for the serial production aircraft, serial number MC.0026, has been completed. The section has been removed from the main assembly jig and transferred to the coatings department. It will then proceed to workshop 246 for the assembly of the forward fuselage. Section F2 will be mated with section F1, which has already been assembled in workshop 205. The next task for workshop 205 is to complete the assembly of sections F4 and F4A for aircraft MC.0026.

Furthermore, work has already commenced on aircraft number 27 in workshop 205; this serial production aircraft has the factory number MC.0027. Assembly of the nose landing gear bay section of section F1 and door cut-outs is in progress.

* * *

A new building for the tooling workshop and automation department has been commissioned at the IAZ. The three-story building has a floor area of 12,811 square metres and will house approximately 200 specialists.

Construction of the building has been organised as part of the project to technically re-equip the structural assembly production facility for civil aircraft. The plan provides for the freeing up and reconstruction of several bays within the engineering building for the MC-21 project.

All the needs of the departments due to relocate to the new building by the end of July have been taken into account: spacious premises, climate control systems, lifting gear and a canteen. Handover of the premises is 99% complete.

* * *

The Irkutsk Aviation Plant has been included in the city’s register of investment projects. The aim is to establish an annual production rate of 36 MC-21 aircraft by 2027, and to carry out the major overhaul and modernisation of military aircraft within the specified timeframes and to the required quality standards.

Plans include the reconstruction of buildings, expansion of storage areas and the upgrading of equipment. The authorities of the Irkutsk region and the aviation plant are working together to resolve issues relating to transport, infrastructure and site development. The project is scheduled for completion in 2030.

* * *

Drilling machines with automated feed (DMAF) have been developed at the IAZ, fully replacing foreign equivalents. The tool is lighter, more compact and more powerful than the foreign equivalents, which ceased to be supplied in 2022 due to anti-Russian sanctions. The main advantage of the IAZ’s DMAFs is the controlled delivery of coolant, which reduces consumption. Parts for the DMAFs are manufactured at the plant itself, including the motor cowling, which is 3D-printed. The new machines are three times cheaper than Western machines and are already ready for use on the MC-21 assembly line.

* * *

Rostec has commented on a scathing article published by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) regarding the Russian aerospace industry. Despite the sanctions, the MC-21 and SJ-100 programmes are entering the final stages, the State Corporation said. In three years, 80 systems and components have been replaced, including the engines. For example, the PD-8 for the Superjet was developed in six years – twice as fast as foreign equivalents.

Serial deliveries of aircraft will commence in 2026, encompassing the MC-21, SJ-100 and Il-114-300. Russia has proven that it is capable of developing its aerospace industry without dependence on imports and Western high technology.

* * *

Industry and Trade Minister Anton Alikhanov has stated that the first flights of fully import-substituted MC-21 and SJ-100 aircraft will take place in the first half of 2025. By March 2025, 13 serial production MC-21s had been assembled at the Irkutsk Aviation Plant. Nine airframes are ready for systems installation, and four are at the structural assembly stage. As for the SJ-100, 20 aircraft are in progress, ten of which are nearing completion.

Currently, two prototype aircraft, 73055 and 73057, are at the IAZ being prepared for the start of factory acceptance flight trials. The readiness of aircraft 73055 in a partially import-substituted configuration was reported in January. However, the aircraft has not yet taken to the skies. According to the Minister, the fully import-substituted aircraft, 73057, may commence flights at the end of June or the beginning of July of this year.

* * *

In March 2025, the MC-21 prototype, registration number 73054, performed two flights at Zhukovsky. On March 11th, the aircraft took off at 09:10 Moscow time and landed at 12:55. The flight duration was 3 hours 45 minutes. On the following day, take-off was at 07:32 and landing at 11:47. The flight duration was 4 hours 15 minutes. Both flights were conducted to refine the statistics for the MC-21’s Aerodynamic Data Bank (ADB).

The Aircraft Type Aerodynamic Data Bank is intended for various purposes, such as evaluating and predicting aircraft aerodynamics without the need for flight testing, wind tunnel experiments or numerical modelling. Accurate aerodynamic characteristics are essential in the creation and refinement of control laws and algorithms for the integrated flight control system. It is also used in the development of a mathematical model of the aircraft’s spatial motion for the flight simulator. Given that work on the MC-21 will continue for several decades, periodic updates to the ADB will always remain relevant.