Russian aircraft designers to team up with Boeing

Mikhail Pogosyan, Director General of the Russian civil & military aircraft manufacturer Sukhoi, believes that Russia's plan to build a new passenger jet in association with the Boeing corporation stands a good chance of success. Russian aircraft designers would like to build a 60-to-90-seater jetliner for domestic needs and for export. Some of the country's major aircraft makers are going to contribute to the creation of such a jet.

At a Tuesday news briefing on the RIA Novosti premises, Pogosyan said that Russian plane makers would not be able to retain their positions on the civil aircraft market without making use of the technical and financial capabilities of foreign manufacturers. It is not that Russian aircraft designers lack innovative ideas. The reason is that there was a state monopoly on aircraft operation and sales back in the Soviet era, he explained. Today, however, the state has almost completely withdrawn from the business, and its present-day allocations are too meager to build competitive aircraft, Pogosyan acknowledged.