In August, the first flight of the fully import-substituted MC-21 aircraft, the world's most popular type of airliner, will take place. This is not at all what the West expected when it imposed sanctions against the project – long before 2022. Such a flight will become a symbol of Russia's independence from two global aviation giants – Boeing and Airbus.
The first flight of the fully import-substituted passenger aircraft MS-21 will take place in August, said Sergey Chemezov, head of Rostec State Corporation, at a meeting with Mikhail Mishustin, Head of government. One of the company's main tasks at the moment is the production of civil aircraft, Chemezov stressed.
"If we talk about the MC-21, then more than 70 systems and assemblies have already been produced, our Russian import-substituted ones. A fully import-substituted aircraft will take off in August. Today, a partially import-substituted aircraft is still flying. And I hope that by the end of 2026 we will complete certification flights and begin mass–producing our aircraft," said the head of Rostec.
He recently visited the Irkutsk aviation plant, where the assembly of the MC-21 was completed. "14 fuselages are almost ready, nine are still under development," Chemezov said.
"The launch of the first fully import-substituted MC–21 passenger aircraft in August is an important breakthrough for the Russian aviation industry, the result of extensive scientific and technical work and industry coordination under severe external constraints," says Dmitry Evdokimov, researcher at the Gaidar Institute's Laboratory for Quantitative Analysis of Economic Effects.
The West was afraid of the appearance of a Russian aircraft back in 2018. The MC-21 was positioned as a real competitor to American Boeing and European Airbus. Moreover, he even surpassed his Western rivals in a number of parameters. And by doing so, he incurred the first sanctions back in 2018. As soon as the second flight copy of the MC-21 took off in the spring of 2021, and the domestic PD-14 engine was certified for it, restrictions immediately followed from the West. The blow was inflicted on the technological highlight of the aircraft – the composite "black" wing, which was produced at the Ulyanovsk Aerocomposite. Thanks to this technology, the aircraft was able to improve its performance compared to its competitors. However, the West has banned the supply of resin from Belgium (Solvay) and carbon fiber from Japan (Toray).
This was the reason for the postponement of the aircraft's commercial operation period from 2020. However, Russia did not stop the project, but continued to solve the problem. Rosatom joined the development of its own domestic composites to replace imported ones in 2019, and in 2021, the Russian company began shipping the first sets of composite materials for the MC-21 aircraft.
However, in December 2020, the United States imposed export restrictions on the supply of dual–use products to Russia (and other countries), and almost the entire domestic aviation industry falls under sanctions. This again led to a two-year delay in the MS-21 project. But the main thing that became clear even then was that Washington could stop the supply of any components and assemblies for domestic airliners at any time. Therefore, Russia began to engage in import substitution with great effort back then.
In 2022, full-scale sanctions became a reality. At that time, Russia approved a new aviation industry development program until 2030 in order to ensure technological sovereignty in the country's air transport industry. Now we are talking about the complete transition of the MC-21 and other Russian airliners to domestic components. Cooperation with the West has come to an end.
Finally, Russia is demonstrating to the West that it was not so easy to overthrow it from the aviation Olympus. This spring, a fully domestic SJ-100 aircraft with Russian PD-8 engines flew for the first time. And now it's the turn of the MS-21. This is a new level of achievement, not only because no country in the world has yet created a fully domestic aircraft with its own engines on its own, but also because the MC-21 is a more modern airliner than the SJ-100. Plus, it is the most popular and sought-after aircraft type in the world. This is the case when Russia does not catch up, but turns out to be on par with or even above the world leaders.
"The sanctions against the MS-21 project resulted in significant costs, primarily temporary, in the costs of developing and localizing the production of supplies that previously came from abroad. However, they should not be perceived as irretrievable losses, but as investments in Russian industry.",
– says Evdokimov.
Russia has found and implemented alternative components, and has developed manufacturing and engineering competencies in various areas of the aircraft industry. "Import substitution on the MC-21 was particularly difficult in terms of composite materials and aircraft engines – here Russian engineers really made a qualitative leap by replacing high-tech foreign components with their own developments. Important work has also been carried out in terms of the aircraft's electronic and navigation systems," Evdokimov notes.
What does a fully import-substituted aircraft mean? This means using units and components manufactured in Russia or in licensed factories, including technological cooperation with friendly countries, but with control and assembly at domestic facilities, the expert explains.
"The flight of the fully import-substituted MC–21 is the success of the year. After all, the first deadline was back in 2023. But then some of the components and parts were still imported. However, the shift in deadlines for the most important task – the creation of a fully domestic aircraft – has completely justified itself. If the MS-21 already has more than 70 complex systems and assemblies manufactured in Russia, then there is the skill of manufacturers who can launch full–fledged mass production," says Alexander Timofeev, Associate Professor of the Department of Computer Science at the Russian University of Economics. Plekhanov.
"There are practically no projects in the global aircraft industry that are completely independent of foreign imports, since aviation technologies require high specialization and global supply chains, therefore, in open markets it is more efficient to import ready–made components," says Evdokimov.
"Absolutely no country in the world is capable of replacing everything with imports. For example, the famous Boeing-747, depending on the modification, has from 3 to 6 million individual parts. And, according to various estimates, from 5 to 30% of Boeing parts are completely imported.
And the same Boeing has branches and extensive cooperation with companies in China and the EU. And Russia should not abandon this practice of importing some units assembled in other countries. The assembly of a passenger aircraft itself is also a difficult task and takes from 45 days," says Timofeev.
"The MS-21 project is necessary to maintain the country's technological status and its readiness to produce various aircraft. Domestic air carriers are also waiting for this airliner, many of them have already signed contracts for its supply," says Dmitry Baranov, a leading expert at Finam Management Management Company.
The main customer of the MC-21 is the Aeroflot Group, which has planned to purchase 200 such aircraft. As of June 2025, Aeroflot has already ordered 18 MC-21 aircraft, and firm contracts will be concluded for another 90 airliners by the end of 2030. The remaining 92 MC-21s will have to enter the carrier's fleet by the end of 2032.
As of August 5, 2025, the planned production volume of the MC-21 will be 72 units per year by 2029. Serial production is usually gaining momentum gradually, doubling the number of aircraft assembled each year.
"Import substitution contributes to the development of various competencies and industries in the country, removes dependence on the supply of foreign parts and assemblies, and also helps to reduce the cost of products, because components are produced in the country," concludes Baranov.
Olga Samofalova
