BEIJING (Sputnik) – The wide-body jumbo jet is expected to make its first test flight in 2021 and be put into commercial production in 2025.
“An important step for us is the passage of the so-called second gates when we ‘freeze’ the airplane’s appearance and the structure of cooperation. This may happen in March 2016,” Yury Slusar said.
“We hope to conclude an intergovernmental agreement on the wide-body aircraft, in which the two governments will secure the format of the works and the distribution of results, by the end of this year,” Slusar said.
UAC is working on developing the aircraft, at an estimated cost of $13 billion, alongside the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac). The sides signed a memorandum of understanding to launch the project in April 2012.