SSJ100 Aircraft With Russian-Made Engine to Perform First Flight Early 2023 – Developer

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia's United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) plans to launch the maiden flight of a domestically produced passenger plane Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) equipped with a Russian-made PD-8 engine early next year, UAC Director General Yury Slyusar said on Friday.

"The first flight [will be launched in] the first quarter of next year... in 2023 there will be rigorous testing of the Superjet aircraft with the new PD-8 engine," Slyusar told Rossiya 24 broadcaster.

Slyusar noted that the new engine is expected to be supplied by the end of the year for installation and preparation for the first flight.

The SSJ100 jet is designed by Sukhoi Civil Aircraft, a division of the state-led UAC. It is designed to carry 98 passengers over a distance of about 4,400 kilometres (2,734 miles). The aircraft made its first flight in May 2008, and was put into commercial operation in 2011.

The wave of EU sanctions against Russia over its military operation in Ukraine banned sales of aircraft and their parts to Russian companies and obligated European leasing companies to retrieve all leased planes from Russia. According to the aviation analytic firm Cirium, Russia holds 980 passenger jets in service, 515 of which are leased from foreign lessors.

Currently, the UAC is upgrading a new version of the SSJ100 to correspond with the import-substituted SSJ New.