- Category
- Latest news
Russia Delays Domestic Aircraft Program to 2035 as Production Targets Slashed
- Authors
![Photo of Katherina Popilnichenko]( "Photo of Katherina Popilnichenko")
-c439b7bd9030ecf9d5a4287dc361ba31.jpg "Photo of Katherina Popilnichenko")
The Russian government has significantly reduced and delayed its large-scale program for domestic aircraft production.
The Kremlin originally intended for this initiative to provide hundreds of Russian-made planes to replace Western aircraft, but the timeline for this revival of the aviation industry has moved to 2035, according to Interfax on April 14.
We bring you stories from the ground. Your support keeps our team in the field.
The updated plan for the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) now aims to produce approximately 570 aircraft for Russian airlines by 2035. Oleg Bogomolov, the Director for Civil Aviation Program Management at UAC, shared this information during a meeting of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy.
According to Bogomolov, the initial phase will include 70 aircraft: 18 MS-21s, 42 Superjets, 11 Tu-214s, and three Il-114-300s. The second phase involves about 500 aircraft.
This group includes 90 MS-21s for Aeroflot, 100 modernized Tu-214s for S7, 20 Il-114-300s for the Far Eastern airline Aurora, and roughly 100 import-substituted Superjets.
The original development program for civil aviation, which was established in 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, called for the production of over 1,000 domestic planes by 2030. Of those, 609 were expected to come from UAC.
Under that initial schedule, airlines were supposed to have already received 42 Superjets, 18 MS-21s, 10 Il-114-300s, 20 Tu-214s, and three Il-96-300s by the start of this year.
The 2022 program aimed for an annual production rate of 200 civil aircraft by 2028, a level of output that was not achieved even during the peak of the Soviet aviation era.
The civil aviation fleet grew by only 13 new aircraft between 2022 and 2025. This included 12 Superjets and one Tu-214. The single Tu-214 is not used for commercial passenger flights.
By February 2026, Western sanctions and severe parts shortages had reportedly grounded over a third of Russia’s long-haul passenger fleet.
Out of 93 foreign-made wide-body aircraft, fewer than 60 remained operational, while the rest sat idle or underwent prolonged maintenance.
Major carriers like Aeroflot struggled with significant portions of their fleets being grounded for over a year, forcing them to rely on wet lease agreements to maintain service.
-4a56a6b482ec132402c16ef6fcabf9a2.png)
-72b63a4e0c8c475ad81fe3eed3f63729.jpeg "Photo of Cyril Barabaltchouk")