In 2023, the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) will launch certification life tests for the Superjet aircraft. The tests will be particularly conducted for the model of the aircraft, the import components of which have been replaced with domestic analogues to the maximum. It goes about the model known as Superjet New. Currently, the level of Russian components in this aircraft model makes up nearly 50 percent, RBC reports.
The Russian authorities initiated the development of the Superjet New aircraft model several years ago amid sanctions. The implementation of the Superjet New program will cost less than 120 billion rubles ($1.707 billion).
The United Aircraft Corporation has been producing Superjet since 2007. As much as 97 percent of foreign components can be replaced with Russian ones for Superjet New. First and foremost, it goes about the replacement of the French-Russian SaM146 engine with the Russian PD-8 aircraft engine. The completion of its certification is scheduled for 2023. The production of Superjet New is to start in 2024.
Any new aircraft, including the Superjet New, needs to undergo a number of tests to be admitted to commercial operation. Life tests serve as an important element of testing to see how the aircraft can withstand stress loads that occur during each flight.
The UAC has built more than 200 serial Superjet 100. Russian carriers operate 132 aircraft, as the data from the Federal Air Transport Agency as of October 20 state. In 2021, the UAC is to manufacture 23 aircraft of this type and 18 aircraft in 2022.