In about three years, according to current plans, Russia and China
will each begin delivering a national narrowbody airliner, the Irkut
MS-21 and Comac C919, respectively. And 6-8 years later, they may have a
jointly developed widebody ready for service.
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These plans are maturing as Comac continues to struggle with the C919. Challenged in obtaining FAA endorsement of the C919's intended Chinese certification, the manufacturer is raising the possibility of alternative approval from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
A feasibility study for the widebody will be finished within a few months, after which the program will be ready for launch, Mikhail Pogosyan, president of Irkut owner United Aircraft Corp. (UAC), tells Aviation Week.
The target for entry into service is 2023-25. “The long-range widebody aircraft segment is quite interesting for us,” Pogosyan says. “But we should study the market very closely and define clearly the level of technology we need . . . to enter a very competitive market with a product that provides qualitatively new solutions.”
The widebody studies have focused on an aircraft rather like the Airbus A330, say industry executives in China. Comac thinks airlines will need a replacement for that Airbus type next decade. That implies competition with the 787, a seemingly daunting challenge, but the Russo-Chinese aircraft will have access to technology, especially for propulsion, more than a decade newer than that available to the Boeing type when the 787 was launched in 2004.
Pogosyan does not mention a specific Chinese partner for the widebody, but it must be Comac, with which the Russian state company signed an agreement in 2012 to study joint development of a widebody aircraft.
The program, targeting domestic and export markets, calls for Chinese involvement from design to after-sales support. The Russian government's Aircraft 2020 program can support technological development, says Pogosyan. UAC estimates airlines globally will need 8,000 airliners in the 20 years to 2033, including 1,000 in China.
Read more: Russia, China Plan Joint Widebody Effort
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These plans are maturing as Comac continues to struggle with the C919. Challenged in obtaining FAA endorsement of the C919's intended Chinese certification, the manufacturer is raising the possibility of alternative approval from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
A feasibility study for the widebody will be finished within a few months, after which the program will be ready for launch, Mikhail Pogosyan, president of Irkut owner United Aircraft Corp. (UAC), tells Aviation Week.
The target for entry into service is 2023-25. “The long-range widebody aircraft segment is quite interesting for us,” Pogosyan says. “But we should study the market very closely and define clearly the level of technology we need . . . to enter a very competitive market with a product that provides qualitatively new solutions.”
The widebody studies have focused on an aircraft rather like the Airbus A330, say industry executives in China. Comac thinks airlines will need a replacement for that Airbus type next decade. That implies competition with the 787, a seemingly daunting challenge, but the Russo-Chinese aircraft will have access to technology, especially for propulsion, more than a decade newer than that available to the Boeing type when the 787 was launched in 2004.
Pogosyan does not mention a specific Chinese partner for the widebody, but it must be Comac, with which the Russian state company signed an agreement in 2012 to study joint development of a widebody aircraft.
The program, targeting domestic and export markets, calls for Chinese involvement from design to after-sales support. The Russian government's Aircraft 2020 program can support technological development, says Pogosyan. UAC estimates airlines globally will need 8,000 airliners in the 20 years to 2033, including 1,000 in China.
Read more: Russia, China Plan Joint Widebody Effort
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