Russia to Swap Western Avionics in MC-21 Airliner with Locally-made Ones

Russia has planned to replace MC-21 twin-jet airliner's avionics manufactured by America's Honeywell and Rockwell Collins, and France's Thales with indigenous airborne avionics before 2023.

A draft tender was issued to look for potential Russian manufacturers. The deadline for the development, tests, and certification of the avionics is targeted to be completed by the end of 2023, Russian media reported on Friday.

The document states that the deadline may be shifted, taking into consideration "the date of avionics development under the basic certificate" and "Russia-made components readiness and conformity with technical specifications."

Planemaker Irkut has confirmed plans to equip the MC-21 with Russian avionics, adding that "competition procedures" were still underway.

The MC-21-300 jetliner can seat up to 211 passengers. It conducted its first flight on 28 May 2017. Certification is expected to be completed in 2020, while batch production is set to start in 2021.

Russia's flagship air carrier Aeroflot is expected to become the first operator of the new aircraft, while Malaysia could become the first international customer.