Struggling state aviation giant United Aircraft Corporation is designing a new 130-seater aircraft — the Sukhoi Superjet NG — with the intention of launching it on the market by 2020.
UAC is currently funding the development itself, the deputy industry and trade minister, Yury Slyusar, told Vedomosti, and it will not receive government funding until 2016.
The size of the government’s contribution is not yet known, but funding is not expected to present a serious problem in the initial stages.
“The project does not currently require significant investment. Funding is less than 300 million rubles [$9 million] per year,” a UAC representative said.
Construction costs are being kept to a minimum by basing the design largely on the MS-21 and SuperJet 100 models, already in development.
A large section of the fuselage will be drawn from the MS-21 aircraft’s design, while an extended version of the central wing section will be taken from the SuperJet 100.
Up to $8 billion will also be invested in the MS-21, a short- to medium-range twin engine jet. Of this, the budget will contribute $3.5 billion, while aircraft manufacturer Irkut — one of UAC’s many component companies — will foot the remainder.
Italian company Alenia, which owns 25 percent of Sukhoi, could also contribute to the plane’s development.
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