Belarus and Russia intend to design and construct the initial two twin-engine, 19-seat aircraft by 2026, with plans to increase production to dozens within the following four years, according to a statement made on January 28 by Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Petr Parkhomchyk.
The bare minimum number of aircraft that could be manufactured by 2030 is between 85 and 100, he told Belarus 1 TV.
As part of the Innoprom-2023 exhibition held in Yekaterinburg at the start of July 2023, an interdepartmental programme concerning aircraft manufacturing was signed by representatives of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade and the State Military-Industrial Committee (Goskomvoenprom) of Belarus. Subsequently, the press service of the State Committee for Military Industry reported that fundamental agreements regarding the joint development and coordination of mass production of a twin-engine 19-seater aircraft in the Republic of Belarus had been reached. Denis Manturov, head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia and deputy prime minister of Belarus, declared that the certification process for the Russian-Belarusian aircraft would be finalised in 2027, with commercial operations commencing in 2028. He elaborated that the Belarusian 558th Aviation Repair Plant and the Ural Civil Aviation Plant will be responsible for the development of the aircraft.
Belarus also intends to organise the manufacturing of a light 12-seater aircraft on its territory within the terms of a bilateral agreement with Russia. During the same event, Roman Golovchenko stated that an agreement had been struck, and the country intends to produce the light 12-seater LMS-401 aircraft and acquire all competencies.
LMS-401 is a larger version of the Russian LMS-901 “Baikal” with 7-9 seats. The LMS-901 “Baikal” is scheduled to be certified in 2024 and supplied to clients beginning in 2025. The Belarussian LMS-401 will emerge later.
At the same event, it was announced that work was underway in Russia to begin manufacturing the nine-seat light multipurpose aircraft LMS-901 “Baikal,” which would replace the Soviet multipurpose aircraft An-2. Certification of the aircraft with a Russian engine is scheduled for 2024, with deliveries to customers beginning in 2025.
