Russia sees potential to cooperate with China, Brazil to construct aircraft

MOSCOW. Oct 27 (Interfax) - Russia in recent years has made a major breakthrough in aircraft manufacturing, developing systems and expertise that could be exported to foreign markets, including China and Brazil, Industry and Trade Minister Anton Alikhanov said.

"Our country is the only one now producing equivalents to the systems that global monopolies supply to all aircraft manufacturers worldwide. The same applies to our engines, which we are bringing up to a performance level comparable to those from Pratt & Whitney and GE. I am not suggesting we could displace them as suppliers to Boeing or Airbus. However, why not collaborate with China's COMAC or Brazil's Embraer?" Alikhanov said during a plenary session of the 4th International Russian Engineer Congress.

Alikhanov also mentioned cooperation with the United Arab Emirates in the areas of aviation and shipbuilding.

"We are also attracting foreign investors to our projects, such as Aurus. As a result, an aviation and shipbuilding division is currently being developed under this umbrella brand, with the involvement of investors from the UAE," Alikhanov said.

Vadim Badekha, CEO of United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) , part of Rostec state corporation, previously said that Chinese aircraft manufacturers going forward could take an interest in the systems developed for the SJ-100 and MC-21 aircraft as part of the import-substitution initiative. Badekha noted that all aircraft currently manufactured in China comprise 90% Western equipment, describing the approach as problematic.