Import-Substituted Russian 'Superjet' Completes its First Flight

Russia’s state-owned Rostec has announced that the prototype of the 'SJ-100' short-haul aircraft, equipped exclusively with domestically sourced components, has completed its inaugural flight.

The flight lasted 54 minutes, taking place at altitudes of up to 3,000 meters and reaching speeds of up to 343 km/h. In line with the flight mission, the crew conducted tests on the aircraft's stability and controllability in the air, assessed the performance of the automatic pressure control system in the cockpit, and even executed maneuvers like a simulated 'landing on a cloud' and a landing approach followed by a go-around.

“The first flight of the Superjet, created under the program of import substitution of systems and components, is the success of many thousands of teams of enterprises in the aircraft manufacturing and radio-electronic industries that are part of the control loop of the Rostec State Corporation. Russian developers and manufacturers managed to implement and put on the aircraft their own design solutions and technologies, including avionics, landing gear, auxiliary power unit, integrated control system, as well as power supply, air conditioning, fire protection and many others,” said Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov.

Around 40 systems and components were replaced in the import-independent Superjet in total.

To expedite the testing program, the initial aircraft prototype employs Franco-Russian SaM146 engines, while the second prototype is set to initiate its flight test regimen using domestic PD-8 engines. These PD-8 engines are currently undergoing a series of bench tests and flight evaluations as part of the Il-76LL flying laboratory.