Russia ready to join in designing Chinese wide-body plane as executor of orders - First Deputy PM Manturov
BEIJING. May 16 (Interfax) - Russia is ready to join in a project to create a Chinese wide-body long-range plane (previously known as the Russian-Chinese aircraft, or CR929) "based on an executors' contract," First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov said.
"We have revised the format [of involvement in the project], corresponding changes in interstate documents should be made in terms of changing approaches. In other words, by analogy with a helicopter, there is a customer and an executor. Those competencies that are required from the Russian side, we are willing to join with these competencies in this project based on a contract of executors," Manturov told reporters in Beijing, where Russian-Chinese talks took place on Thursday.
"There are different components there, including a power plant is also being considered," Manturov said when asked as to whether the Russian side would supply an engine for this aircraft.
The creation of a Russian-Chinese passenger plane was discussed back in the 2000s, and in 2014 Russia and China signed a cooperation agreement. PJSC United Aircraft Corporation (UAC, part of Rostec) and Chinese aircraft holding COMAC were involved in the development of the aircraft. In 2017, the China-Russia Commercial Aircraft International Corporation (CRAIC) was established in Shanghai and became an operator of the project.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the CR929's first test flight was expected to be organized in 2023, and commercial deliveries were scheduled to begin beyond 2025. In July 2020, the UAC management announced a move of deliveries to 2028-2029. At that time, the project was going through the Gate-3 stage, which involves collecting and scrutinizing proposals from suppliers of systems and units to determine the final configuration of the aircraft.
In August 2022, UAC CEO Yury Slyusar said that work on the CR929 was continuing, but the project would be updated to take into account the effects of the pandemic and the imposition of sanctions on Russia due to the Ukraine situation. Manturov, who headed the Industry and Trade Ministry at the time, noted that Russia might change the status of its participation in the project, becoming a supplier of units and components instead of a partner.
The joint venture set up for the project with China will remain, but it will not be involved directly in the development of the plane. "We are leaving the joint venture to work as a kind of office inside China, which would help our enterprises, which will work with the Chinese 'finalists' as suppliers. Starting from organization to overcoming cultural and language barriers," Slyusar also said.
A Russian-Chinese heavy civilian helicopter is also under development, Manturov said.
"The stage is advanced in terms of all schedules and stages. Everything is being observed, everything is proceeding according to schedule. The contract was signed only a year and a half ago. Before that there were approaches, planning, and sketches. Currently, the stage of contract execution is already underway," Manturov said.
The intergovernmental agreement on the development of a heavy helicopter was concluded in 2016, and the contract was signed in 2021. As reported, its maximum takeoff weight should be 38.2 tonnes, its flight range is 630 kilometers, and its speed is 300 kilometers per hour. Serial production of the helicopter, according to the agreements, will be set up in China, with Avicopter named as the Chinese partner.
Russia will supply some of the required units under the project, former CEO of Russian Helicopters Andrei Boginsky, who is currently heading PJSC Yakovlev , said at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2021. "It will be a transmission, a steering propeller and an anti-icing system, plus pumping up the resource for this helicopter," he listed, adding that the project is "quite large, for around 13 years."
The supply of Chinese-made planes to Russia has not been discussed, Manturov said.
"What kind of airplanes? Such a question has not been discussed. We have not received any proposals in this regard either," he said on Thursday.
China produces the ARJ21 regional class airplane in serial production. It is designed to carry from 70 to 115 passengers and can fly up to 3,700 kilometers. The airliner has been in commercial operation since 2017.
In May last year, another COMAC product entered the Chinese market, namely, the C919 narrow-body medium-haul airliner. It can fly up to 5,630 kilometers and carry up to 168 passengers.
The sanctions imposed by Western countries following the start of the military operation in Ukraine include a ban on the supply of civilian aircraft and spare parts to Russia, as well as their maintenance and insurance. Rostec announced the market entry of Russian-made aircraft, namely, the MS-21, import-substituted Superjet 100, and the Tu-214, but the timeframe for their creation was pushed back to 2025-2026.
