August 2022

Can aircraft manufacturers from Russia or China compete with the top dogs Airbus and Boeing in 10 or 20 years? Will Irkut and Comac be able to take significant market share away from European and US manufacturers?

During debates regarding the future of aircraft construction, these were questions that came up once more and once more in recent years. Many experts were of the opinion: If at all, China might make it with its huge market and large state-owned airlines.

Rostec spreads “creative” images

On the other hand, very few believed that Russia, which had already failed internationally with the Sukhoi Superjet, had anything to do with it. And since the attack on Ukraine and the subsequent Western sanctions once morest Russia, that’s no longer an issue, one might think. But the Russian state-owned company Rostec apparently sees things differently.

Rostec controls the aircraft construction consortium UAC, which includes Irkut, Ilyushin, Tupolev and Sukhoi. The technology and armaments group has now published pictures on its Telegram channel in which a design competition has made it “a bit creative”, according to Rostec. On it you can see not only an Irkut MS-21 in the livery of the Russian Aeroflot, which customer of the model is.

MS-21 in Lufthansa colors is called D-RUS

There are also visualizations of the MS-21 in Lufthansa and American Airlines liveries. Rostec writes: “So far, Lufthansa and American Airlines have used Boeing and Airbus aircraft, but who knows what will happen in five to ten years?”

Rostec advertises that the MS-21 consists of 40 percent composite materials, a record for medium-haul jets. This makes the model lighter and more economical. The group also praises large windows and the wide cabin. “Aeroflot will be the first operator of the aircraft,” says Rostec. “Lufthansa and American Airlines can line up.”

Brussels Airlines once flew with Superjet

The MS-21, designed on the computer in the Lufthansa design, bears the license plate D-RUS and next to it a German and a Russian flag. On the front of the fuselage, under the model name, you can read: #ExploreTheNew. The Russian PD-14 can be seen as the engine, what there is no alternative for Irkut due to the sanctions.

In fact, long before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there were Russian planes in the Lufthansa Group. From the beginning of 2017, the Belgian subsidiary Brussels Airlines used up to six Sukhoi Superjets at times. Although the passengers from Brussels were quite satisfied with the model, if it flew. But there were too many breakdowns and Sukhoi’s insufficient service network. The planes were too often and too long on the ground and such the airline phased them out once more in early 2019.

Aeroflot jet with Bermuda registration

Even if Russia were to find interested parties from Europe today, it would not be possible to operate the models, at least not for the time being. In March, the European aviation authority Easa approved several Russian models, including the Superjet, the certifications revoked. She also stated that she would not accept any more applications from Russian companies until further notice, so that the MS-21 will not receive the green light for the time being.

In the meantime, there is another exciting detail in the pictures distributed by Rostec: the Aeroflot jet bears the registration number VP-BDC, a registration from Bermuda. Before the Russian attack on Ukraine, many Russian planes were registered in Bermuda, although that was always a thorn in the side of the domestic authorities. After the start of the Russian invasion however, the government of the islands revoked the license for the pilots.

You can see the three designs in the picture gallery above.