Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) has issued a Major Change Approval for the Tu-214 aircraft, covering a redesigned configuration featuring an entirely domestically produced avionics suite and onboard safety systems, the agency said in a statement.
The decision follows a positive compliance finding by the Aviation Register of Russia (AR MАК), which confirmed that the modified aircraft meets the applicable certification basis. The approval certificate was formally presented to Zufar Mirgalimov, First Deputy Managing Director of Tupolev JSC and Director of the Kazan Aviation Plant named after S.P. Gorbunov.
The approval effectively completes the certification cycle for a deeply reconfigured version of the Tu-214, in which a wide range of systems previously dependent on foreign components have been replaced. The aircraft demonstrated full compliance with airworthiness requirements during additional certification flight tests.
Speaking at the certification ceremony, Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Anton Alikhanov highlighted the strategic significance of the program:
“Russian aircraft designers have developed the country’s first domestically produced airborne collision avoidance system and ground proximity warning system. Globally, these systems are manufactured by a single supplier, and we have succeeded in overcoming that monopoly. These proven systems will now be installed on other aircraft types as well.”
The flight test campaign was conducted using a modified Tu-214 flying testbed (serial number 64509), upgraded under Russia’s import substitution program. The aircraft completed its first post-modification flight in November 2024. This was followed by system refinement flights, leading to the start of additional certification flight tests in February 2025. Upon completion, the developer and certification authorities proceeded with final compliance documentation.
A central element of the major change is a new domestically developed avionics suite integrating navigation, communication, display, and alerting systems. The configuration includes Russian-built airborne collision avoidance and ground proximity warning systems. In the updated Tu-214, these functions are implemented entirely on a domestic hardware and software basis and have completed the full certification process.
Issuance of the Major Change Approval formally validates the updated type design and allows the configuration to enter unrestricted serial production. For the Tu-214 program, this removes a key regulatory constraint that previously limited production scale-up. According to United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) corporate plans, output at the Kazan Aviation Plant is expected to increase to up to 20 aircraft per year by the end of 2027.
The approval also establishes a foundation for broader avionics and safety system standardization across other Russian aircraft programs. Solutions validated on the Tu-214 may be adapted and scaled for use on additional platforms.
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