Russian Aviation Insider Aerospace

Superjet 100 test aircraft has made the first flight with the new Russian-made PD-8 turbofan engines, the aircraft’s manufacturer United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) announced on March 17. During its 40-minute flight from Komsomolsk-on-Amur the aircraft reached the speed of 500 km/h and climbed to 3,000 m. The test flight with Russian engines was made by the Superjet test aircraft MSN95157 produced in 2018.

The new engine is the key component of the “import phase-out” localized modification of the aircraft. It replaces the Franco-Russian SaM146, the production of which was suspended in 2022 following Safran and other Western suppliers exited Russia.

In fact, the PD-8 program development had started in 2019 – albeit as an alternative engine option for the type. Some issues detected during the initial flight tests on the flying testbed in 2023 required additional modifications, which resulted in delays in deliveries of the Russified version of the Superjet 100 regional jet– dubbed SJ-100, until 2026, almost two and a half years behind the original schedule.

The next pair of PD-8 engines are to be delivered to UAC by late March, director of United Engine Corporation (UEC) Alexander Grachyov promised. They will be installed on the SJ-100 aircraft in their fully import-free version. The aircraft will then join the flight-test program in April.

Grachyov said that “type certification of the PD-8 engine is slated for the autumn of this year.” This pushes the first deliveries of the localized SJ-100 to February 2026. UAC has been testing some new systems for the modified version since 2023, using an aircraft powered by SaM146.

Earlier this month, at a meeting with Russia’s prime-minister Mikhail Mishustin, head of UAC Vadim Badekha revealed that the certification program which encompasses 200 flights, had been done by 20 per cent.

Russian authorities expect UAC to deliver 142 SJ-100s by the end of 2030, head of Rosaviatsiya Dmitry Yadrov confirmed recently.

The initiation of peace talks between Washington and Moscow regarding the expected ceasefire and military conflict resolution in Ukraine have prompted the U.S. business to voice their suggestions on further progress in lifting of sanctions.

“First of all, we ask for sanctions to be lifted in the aviation sector: this concerns both the supply of spare parts and technical support for aircraft,”— the AmCham Russia president Robert Agee said in an interview to RBC outlet on March 7. The American Chamber of Commerce has been representing and lobbying US businesses in Russia since 1994.

Agee emphasized, that supporting the western-built aircraft fleet, operated by Russian airlines is “less about business ambitions and more about a humanitarian necessity, as ordinary citizens suffer the most” and aviation safety in general is at stake. AmCham Russia has launched The Two Continents initiative jointly with another foreign association, the Franco-Russian CCI France Russie in January 2025.

According to Russia’s aviation authority Rosaviatsiya, as of December 2024, the country’s airlines had approximately 600 western-built aircraft in operation, which catered for 92 per cent of all air travel demand in Russia. Over 260 of them are Boeing aircraft.

Boeing discontinued technical support and sales of spare parts to Russian carrier on March 1, 2022 following introduction of sanctions. It also shut down its aviation training center near Moscow.

According to Agee, lifting of aviation-related sanctions will be one of the key measures listed on the white paper that he will present to the US government in April. Among other suggestions is relief on restrictions for American investments in Russia, lifting sanctions on Russian banks to restore cross-border payments and resuming the supply of luxury goods. AmCham estimates that about 150 US companies are still operating in Russia, while 150 more have left the market and further 50 sold their assets to local companies.

During the US – Russia talks in Istanbul, Moscow also suggested to resume the bilateral air connection, which has been suspended since 2022.