The Progress Rocket and Space Center has rejected the project of the first Russian light-engine aircraft "Rysachok" approved by Putin.
According to RBC, this model, announced in 2007, was designed to replace the AN-2 Cornhusker.
"Trotter" received support from the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Transport. However, in 2015, the Trotter project was frozen on the recommendation of the Federal Space Agency. During this time, three flight prototypes were built.
As a result, said Dmitry Baranov, CEO of Progress, they decided not to defrost the project, and the company will focus on the production of the Soyuz-5 launch vehicle. "At some point it became clear that we do not have the space to accommodate this kind of equipment," he explained.
In 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin sat in the pilot's seat of the "Trotter" and supported the project to create a new aircraft. "We have to do it. To have their own," he summed up, speaking about the development of small and regional aviation in the country.
The Trotter, which has two M601 °F engines from the Czech company Walter, made its first flight in December 2010.
Production of the aircraft was planned in three versions: agricultural, sanitary and educational. The approximate cost of the aircraft was initially one and a half million dollars.