Wingspan: airlines will receive more than 50 new Russian aircraft
Airlines will receive more than 50 new Russian aircraft in 2026-2027. The Tu-214 has passed certification, and the IL-114 has completed a test cycle and is preparing to enter mass production, Izvestia learned. The Sukhoi Superjet 100 has successfully passed on-board equipment testing and will be delivered to customers in 2026 after certification. At the same time, the Irkutsk Aircraft Factory is building more than 20 MC-21 aircraft, of which 18 machines have been contracted. 2026 should be a landmark year for civil aviation, as it will mark the beginning of the transition to domestic technology, experts say.
How many planes are planned to be built in 2026
The certification programs for domestic aircraft have reached the finish line. The import-substituted Tu-214 was the first to pass it and received approval for major design changes. It has replaced 17 systems, including weather radars and air collision avoidance systems. This was stated by the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade Anton Alikhanov during a visit to the Kazan Aircraft Factory on December 27.
According to him, the modernization of the enterprise will make it possible to achieve a production potential of 20 Tu-214 aircraft per year within three years.
— Earlier in the year, they made one plane there. Eight units will be released in 2026, and 12 in 2027. Contracts with the first buyers may be concluded in the next three months," Anton Alikhanov noted.
The regional Il-114-300 is almost ready for production. The aircraft completed 99% of the test flights planned as part of the main certification program, Rostec State Corporation told Izvestia. According to the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC, part of Rostec), there are only a few flights left to test the climatic features of operation associated with icing and thunderstorms. The aircraft has already tested navigation modes in mountainous areas and equipment operation during landings at transit airfields.
"Work is currently underway to obtain an addendum to the type certificate for the IL-114-300," the press service of the state corporation said. — The main part of the documents has already been handed over to the aviation authorities.
Dmitry Yadrov, head of the Federal Air Transport Agency, told reporters in Kazan that the IL-114-300 will be certified in the first quarter of 2026. It will replace the aging Yak-40 and An-24, whose service life has been extended many times.
Production of the IL-114-300 aircraft
According to Rostec, the first three machines will be ready for delivery to the customer next year. They are currently being assembled at the Lukhovitsky Aviation Plant.
A qualitative breakthrough has also been made in the certification of import-substituted Sukhoi Superjet 100 with domestic PD-8 engines. As noted in the state corporation, only in December they tested inertial systems at high latitudes, preliminary testing of automatic approach and autopilot was carried out. In addition, the automatic landing system was checked.
Anton Alikhanov told reporters that the PD-8 engine, designed to replace the Russian-French SaM-146, should receive a certificate in the first quarter of 2026.
The Yakovlev production center (part of the UAC) in Komsomolsk-on-Amur is already modernizing production facilities for the mass production of the import-substituted SSJ-100. There are 24 cars in varying degrees of readiness. To date, 42 such aircraft have been contracted, Rostec said.
At the same time, two experimental ones with Russian systems and aggregates are undergoing certification tests. The aerodynamic characteristics, controllability, stability and flight parameters of the aircraft in various flight modes are being checked, the state corporation noted. On-board avionics, hydraulics, electrical equipment, communications and navigation are being tested. At the same time, certification documentation is being prepared and equipment tests are being conducted at ground stands.
The Irkutsk Aviation Plant (IAZ) is increasing production capacity for the future mass production of aircraft. There are 20 aircraft in varying degrees of readiness. The transfer of the first 18 contracted MS-21s will be completed immediately after the completion of certification tests and approval of their results by the Federal Air Transport Agency.
According to Rostec, the restoration program for nine Tu-204-214 family aircraft, one An-148 and two Il-96-400T, which started in 2022, is also nearing completion. It remains to commission two Tu-204 aircraft, which will be transferred to Red Wings and another operator in 2026-2027, the state corporation said.
How modern are domestic aircraft
— Tu-214 is a modification of the Tu-204, which was certified back in December 1994 and was operated by some airlines. We have now received a certificate not for the entire aircraft, but for changes to its standard design," Andrey Patrakov, founder of the RunAvia flight safety service, told Izvestia.
An important change is the composition of the new avionics avionics equipment, which includes the TCAS midair collision avoidance system. This is indeed a technological breakthrough, the expert noted.
However, the engines of the Tu-214 remained the same. These are the PS-90A, which is one generation older than the PD-14 of the MS-21. They have worse characteristics, but they are already mass-produced and tested in real-world operation, unlike PD-14, says Andrey Patrakov.
— Despite the fact that the Tu-214 appeared in the 1990s, it remains quite modern. For example, the design basis of the Boeing 737 was created in the late 1960s, and the Airbus A320 in the 1980s. Over the following years, they underwent a series of upgrades, as well as the Tu-214," Roman Gusarov, editor—in-chief of the <url> portal, aviation expert, told Izvestia. — New equipment has been installed on the domestic aircraft, which made it possible to make a technological breakthrough.
According to him, the Tu-214 has good potential for the coming decades, and the funds invested in the modernization of the Kazan Aircraft Factory are justified.
"However, there are doubts about the timing of aircraft commissioning," he said. — Most likely, they will lay down eight Tu-214 aircraft next year, but taking into account the 1.5-year production cycle of the aircraft, three units will be delivered in 2026, and the others in 2027.
According to Roman Gusarov, the situation is simpler with the SSJ-100, since production is already operational and with successful certification, about ten aircraft will appear next year, followed by an increase in the production rate to 20 units per year.
—The IL-114-300 is also highly anticipated in civil aviation, especially in the Far East and the Far North, where 40-year-old An—24s operate on inter-regional lines," said Oleg Panteleev, Executive Director of the Aviport agency. — The advantage of Il-114-300 — Turboprop engines have better fuel efficiency than their turbojet counterparts. Well, a slightly lower cruising speed is not critical at short distances.
However, there are also questions about this aircraft. Turboprop engines on the Ila are located lower to the ground than on the An-24, which may make it difficult to operate the new aircraft at airfields built on permafrost, where mud often forms, Andrei Patrakov told Izvestia.
According to Oleg Panteleev, the success of the IL-114-300 depends on how well it can be adapted to landings on unpaved airfields, which abound in remote regions.
As Dmitry Yadrov noted in October at a meeting of the Federation Council's Economic policy committee, according to the agency's pessimistic forecast, more than 339 aircraft and 200 helicopters are expected to leave airline fleets by 2030.
Of the departing aircraft, 230 are domestic vehicles, including those aged 40-50 years or more, and another 109 are foreign vehicles, Yadrov specified. Therefore, the arrival of new equipment in the parks next year will be very welcome.
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