Russia And USA Start Joint Aircraft Project

The results of a feasibility study for a joint Russian-US aircraft project will be announced in the middle of 2002. This is a project for the design of a plane for regional flights with a capacity of 100 passengers. This project was initiated by the Russian aircraft bureaus Sukhoi Civil Aircraft and Ilyushin together with the US Boeing. According to General Director of Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Andrey Ilyin, the demand for this new aircraft in the world is estimated at 700 planes through 2020. The approximate cost of the project is $500 million. According to Boeing Vice President Sergey Kravchenko, who is also the head of the Boeing's office in Moscow, this will be the first joint project between Russian and US aircraft companies where Russian companies will take on a full-fledged part. In addition, Kravchenko mentioned that Boeing's investments in Russian industries amounted to more than $1 billion over the past ten years and it is going to continue investments, the Izvestia newspaper reported.