Russian Industry and Trade Ministry expects 8 Tu-214 planes to be manufactured in 2026, 12 in 2027
KAZAN. Dec 29 (Interfax) - The Russian Industry and Trade Ministry expects that eight Tupolev Tu-214 planes will be manufactured in 2026, 12 in 2027, and 20 a year starting from 2028, Industry and Trade Minister Anton Alikhanov said.
"Twenty planes annually is the result we can reach by the end of 2027. It means that we can fully secure this figure starting from 2028. Our potential output next year will be eight planes, 12 in 2027, and afterwards we will reach the figure of 20 planes a year. It has also become possible thanks to the extensive program to update fixed assets, build new facilities, as well as the work to ensure the operational efficiency of the enterprise itself," Alikhanov told reporters during a visit to Gorbunov Kazan Aircraft Plant on Saturday.
When commenting on potential buyers of Tu-214 planes, Alikhanov said that "there is a number of agreements."
"We are now looking at the first quarter of next year. We hope that this agreement will happen and will be turned into a real contract," he said.
As reported earlier in the day, the Tu-214 passenger aircraft equipped with advanced Russian-made onboard radio and electronic systems and components had received the Federal Air Transport Agency's certificate of approval of its main modification of the standard design, paving the way for the serial production of these planes to be supplied to domestic air carriers. The Tu-214 flying laboratory performed its maiden flight following modifications as part of import substitution. Development flights were conducted later, and in February 2025, the aircraft started the program of additional certification tests, which was completed as of today.
According to Alikhanov, 17 systems onboard the Tu-214 were replaced as part of the modernization, "for instance, its weather radar and airborne collision warning and avoidance system: it was manufactured on the global scale only by one company - Honeywell."
"Today, thanks to the import-substitution efforts and the development of domestic systems, we also produce these systems in St. Petersburg. That is why, we have gone global with this sophisticated equipment, avionics," he said.
The Tupolev Tu-214 is a medium-haul airliner. It carries up to 210 passengers. It has been manufactured by Gorbunov Kazan Aircraft Production Association, a branch of Tupolev, in limited numbers since 1996. Russia decided to start serial production of the Tu-214, replacing some foreign components with Russian ones, after the introduction of the Western sanctions, which restricted the supply of Boeing and Airbus planes. According to the comprehensive program to develop the aircraft industry, the production of four such aircraft was scheduled for 2025, seven are expected to be produced in 2026, and 115 by 2030. It was reported that the program would be updated.
