Russia appears to be approaching the first customer delivery of the Ilyushin Il-114-300, although there is no evidence so far that a production aircraft has actually been handed over to an airline.
Confusion emerged after Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov discussed the program on August 12. Speaking during an event at the National Center Russia, Manturov said the country was beginning the first deliveries of the regional turboprop.
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“For the Il-114-300 aircraft, we are beginning the first deliveries,” Manturov said, before mentioning serial production of the Tu-214 and the final testing and certification stages of the MC-21 and SJ-100.
The wording is significant. Manturov did not say that an Il-114-300 had already been delivered or identify an aircraft that had been transferred to a customer.
Some subsequent reports, however, described the statement more definitively, saying that deliveries had already started. In some cases, this evolved into claims that the first production aircraft had been delivered. Available information does not substantiate the latter claim.
Arctic Airlines
The first three production Il-114-300s are destined for the 2nd Arkhangelsk United Aviation Squadron, also known as Arctic Airlines, under a lease agreement signed with state-owned lessor GTLK in June.
GTLK's own announcement said the first aircraft was expected to be transferred to the carrier by the end of 2026. The company has not announced that this handover has taken place. The distinction also fits the timeline of the Il-114-300 program.
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Russian authorities had been targeting August 2026 for the beginning of deliveries for more than a year. In July 2025, Industry and Trade Minister Anton Alikhanov said serial aircraft were scheduled to begin reaching operators in August 2026.
The program cleared a major prerequisite on June 5, 2026, when Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviatsiya, issued the type certificate for the Il-114-300. United Aircraft Corporation said at the time that certification allowed serial production to begin.
On the same day, GTLK signed the lease agreement covering three aircraft for the Arkhangelsk operator. Three production Il-114-300s were already in different stages of completion at the Lukhovitsy manufacturing facility.
Russian officials subsequently indicated that all three aircraft intended for the carrier could be completed in 2026. The first delivery had been expected as early as August, followed by the remaining aircraft later in the year.
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Manturov's August 12 statement therefore coincides with the previously announced period in which the delivery process was supposed to begin. It does not, by itself, establish that the first handover has occurred.
Modernized version of the Soviet-era turboprop
There are also practical distinctions between an aircraft being completed, entering acceptance procedures and being formally transferred to its lessor or operator. A manufacturer can describe deliveries as beginning when aircraft enter the final acceptance and handover process, even though the customer has yet to take possession.
For the Il-114-300, no announcement from UAC, GTLK or the Arkhangelsk operator has so far identified a production aircraft as delivered. GTLK's published information continues to describe the first transfer as scheduled for 2026.
The Il-114-300 is a heavily modernized version of the Soviet-designed Il-114 regional turboprop. The new version uses Russian-built Klimov TV7-117ST-01 engines and is designed to carry up to 68 passengers, primarily on regional routes and to airports with limited infrastructure.
Its introduction has suffered repeated delays, including an interruption of the flight-test and certification campaign following the 2021 crash of an Il-112V prototype, which used an engine derived from the same TV7-117 family.
After certification in June and the completion of the first production aircraft, the program is now closer than at any previous point to entering commercial service. But until a manufacturer, lessor or operator confirms the transfer of a specific aircraft, the available evidence supports saying that Russia is beginning the Il-114-300 delivery process — not that the first aircraft has already been delivered.
