"As expected, the date will be officially announced today at the MAKS-2007 air show," the source said.
The SuperJet-100 project is a family of medium-haul passenger aircraft developed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau in cooperation with major U.S. and European aviation corporations, including Boeing, Snecma, Thales, Messier Dowty, Liebherr Aerospace, and Honeywell.
Sukhoi Civil Aircraft, a subsidiary of the state-owned Sukhoi holding, plans to produce at least 700 regional jets, and intends to sell 35% of them in North America, 25% in Europe, 10% in Latin America, and 7% in Russia and China.
The overall market for the SuperJet-100 is estimated at about 5,500 airliners, worth $100 billion, through 2023.
So far, Sukhoi Civil Aircraft has secured over 60 orders for its regional aircraft. Aeroflot, Russia's leading air carrier, is one of the largest clients, with contracts for the delivery of at least 45 planes.
At the Paris Air Show in June, Sukhoi signed a $283-million contract to supply 10 Superjet-100 aircraft to Italian carrier ItAli Airlines.
The Russian plane producer said in July it would build the first nine SuperJet-100 regional aircraft in 2008.