Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov said on Wednesday that, if necessary, the state-owned United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) group could increase production of the Ilyushin Il-96 and Tupolev Tu-214 jets. The information was published by the TASS news agency, which is controlled by the Kremlin.
Borisov’s statement comes at a time when Russia is facing economic sanctions from the West over the invasion of Ukraine. One of the main consequences of the blockade is that aircraft and components from Western manufacturers are inaccessible to companies in the country.
“Currently, they are produced as a small series for special customers,” said the Russian Deputy Prime Minister. “We are finalizing the analysis of the demand and top priority measures with colleagues from the transport segment at present. Reasoning from the picture we will have, we will probably engage the reserve for extra production of such planes as well.”
Borisov further emphasized that UAC will anticipate the launch of the new locally produced commercial jets, the Irkut MC-21 and the new version of the Sukhoi SSJ100 with Russian turbofan engines.
Low production
Designed back in the days of the former Soviet Union, the Il-96 and Tu-214 (originally Tu-204) are jetliners that have had few orders in Russia and Moscow-aligned countries.
After debuting them in service in the 1990s, Aeroflot, Russia’s largest airline, retired the Tu-214 in 2005 and the Il-96 in 2014.
