United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) CEO Yuri Slyusar recently spoke with the “Russia-24” television channel about the potential of UAC starting SSJ 100 production at the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) factory in India.
“We still believe that under the import license at the HAL factory, which produces combat aircraft for the Indian Air Force, where they manufacture Su-30 aircraft – over 270 aircraft have been made there; it’s indeed a significant base, trained personnel, equipment, and refined processes. We could start producing SSJ aircraft for the Indian market there in a fairly short period of time,” he said.
Slyusar added that negotiations are currently underway with Indian colleagues. “It seems to me that negotiations are even more in the interest of the Indian side than ours because we have our Russian Superjet and will continue its production. For India, this represents a significant technological leap forward,” he noted.
In February, Slyusar indicated for the first time that discussions had taken place between UAC and India regarding the localization of SSJ 100 production and collaboration on the Il-114 and MC-21 programmes.
Earlier on the same day, the chairman of UAC announced that the first flight of the upgraded version of the SSJ 100 aircraft constructed locally will take place in September. One test aircraft will participate in the tests conducted with the domestic PD-8 engines.
Boeing and Airbus do not produce aircraft as small as the SSJ-100. The Brazilian company Embraer, with E190, is the most formidable competitor in this market segment, but it is more dependent on Western countries for critical parts like the engine.
India has already begun discussions with Embraer, which is based in Brazil, and has shown a prototype of a Regional Transport Aircraft (RTA) that was designed by the National Aeronautics Limited (NAL). Smaller airports typically have shorter runways, making it difficult for narrow-body aircraft manufacturers like Airbus and Boeing to take off and land.
There are Indian airlines with regional aircraft, including IndiGo and SpiceJet, with ATR 72-600s and De Havilland Dash-8 Q400 turboprops, respectively. Hindustan Aeronautics is also producing a Dornier 228 regional aircraft with 19 seats for Alliance Air. Embraer and Sukhoi will presumably build a regional workhorse in response to the inadequacy of current capabilities.
