Aerocomposite-Ulyanovsk JSC has placed another tender for the performance of work on the manufacture and supply of metal parts and assembly units of the prototype wing caisson of the wide-body long-haul aircraft CR929. The corresponding lot is placed on the Official electronic trading platform of Rostec Group.
As stated in the terms of reference, design and technological documentation, as well as technical specifications will be sent to the contractor upon request after the conclusion of an agreement on non-disclosure of confidential information. The list of parts that the contractor must produce includes fittings, brackets and corners. The initial cost of the work is 23 689 412 rubles.
SHFDMS CR929 is being developed by the joint Russian-Chinese enterprise CRAIC, which includes the United Aircraft Corporation from the Russian side, and the Chinese COMAC. As Anatoly Gaidansky, the first Deputy General director of Irkut Corporation, said in November 2020, Aerocomposite is almost 100% loaded in two main projects.
"This is the production of a wing and a center section for the MS-21 aircraft, this is an ongoing operational project, serial production has been launched. The second is the creation of a wing for the Russian–Chinese CR929 aircraft. Prototypes are being made and technological processes are being tested," Anatoly Gaidansky said.
In 2018, the chief designer of the liner from the Russian side, Maxim Litvinov, in an interview with the magazine "Take-Off", said that a production facility for the manufacture of a composite wing of the CR929 aircraft could be built in the Primorsky Territory near Vladivostok. In his opinion, for the manufacture of the wing, it is necessary to use the capacities of Aerocomposite JSC, which is already producing a composite wing for the MS-21 aircraft in Ulyanovsk. However, given that the size of the CR929 wing is significantly larger, and significant volumes of its serial production are planned, the developers consider it appropriate to deploy a new production.
"The wing is very large, it practically does not fit in the cargo cabin of the AN-124, and we most likely will not be able to deliver by plane. The development of a Russian analogue of the Beluga, given the huge costs and limited demand, seems unlikely. Therefore, options are currently being considered: either delivery of individual components for assembly to Shanghai, or construction of a new plant closer to the water and delivery of finished wings by sea," Litvinov said at the time.
