Russia’s MC-21 airliner will not enter serial production until at least 2026, confirmed the head of Russian aerospace and defense conglomerate Rostec, Sergei Chemezov, on. January 24, 2025.
This is not the first time that industrial production and the subsequent entry into service of the mid-sized aircraft type has been pushed further into the future. The MC-21, which performed its maiden test flight in 2017, has been accumulating repeated delays in its development program. It had originally been expected to be completed by 2019.
What’s more, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent sanctions imposed by Western countries forced Rostec to replace many parts and components with domestically produced replacements. It also left the new Russian-made PD-14 as the only engine option for the MC-21, which has added to the production constraints.
This circumstance has, in turn, led to an extension of the flight test program, which is still ongoing as of January 2025. According to Russian news agency Tass, Chemezov stated that there are still many flights of the MC-21 certification program left to be completed throughout 2025.
In parallel to these developments, the Russian government has also greenlighted the development of a shortened version of the MC-21, which will be called the MC-21-210 and will be able to carry between 160 and 170 passengers.
