Mass Production of Russian MC-21 Airiner Gains Momentum- 18 Aircraft Currently on Assembly Line

Mass production of the Russian MC-21-310 narrow-body airliner has gathered steam with some 18 aircraft currently under various stages of production.

This was disclosed by Rostec, the parent of United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) giving an update on the MC-21 and Yak-130 projects during the visit of President Putin to the Irkutsk Aviation Plant where the MC-21 is being produced together with the Yak-130 combat trainer.

The 18 aircraft being produced is part of a 2023 contract condition between Aeroflot airline and Aviacapital-Service, for the lease of six  MS-21-310 aircraft and with . Besides the airline "Russia" will lease 12 MC-21-310 and 34 SJ-100 passenger jets from Aviacapital-Service.

The aircraft are expected to be flown to the customer by the end of 2027, according to earlier timelines released by Rostec.

The prototypes of the MC-21-310 has completed the full cycle of certification tests and flights before committing to mass-production

The MC-21-310 under production are completely import-substituted including an all-new engine, avionics, landing gear and other key systems and thus free of any sanctioned components. The customer airline such as Aeroflot intends to operate the aircraft on domestic routes but has plans to operate them on international routes in the future.