ALBAWABA - Russia’s flagship MC-21 passenger jet, manufactured entirely with materials sourced in Russia, has completed its first test flight.
Russia’s locally-built commercial airliner flew for almost an hour and a half, reaching speeds of 600 kilometers per hour and altitudes of 6,000 meters.
“The first assembly line produced aircraft performed well, and the flight plan was completed in full,” test pilot Roman Taskayev said following the test flight which occurred days after President Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit to the company’s assembly facility in Siberia.
Vadim Badekha, CEO of United Aircraft Corporation which manufactured the plane, said that the company is preparing an initial batch of 18 airliners and that the government has approved more orders following Putin’s visit to the plant on July 24.
First launched in 2009, the airliner was originally slated for mass production in 2016, but sanctions and delays in replacing foreign-made parts kept pushing back the deadline.
State defense conglomerate Rostec aims to complete certification of the MC-21 by late 2026, all built with Russian parts, with commercial flights scheduled to begin months later.
