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Russia’s Next Fighter Jet Could Be Designed With a Banking Chatbot
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Russia is turning to artificial intelligence developed by its largest bank to help design future aircraft, potentially including fighter jets, as Western sanctions continue to restrict access to engineering software previously used by the country’s aerospace industry.
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According to Defence Blog on October 21, Russia’s state-owned United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), which manufactures Su-57 and Su-35 fighter jets, has begun testing Sberbank’s GigaChat AI system to assist engineers in developing new aircraft.
The initiative could eventually bring technology developed by a banking institution into the design process for Russia’s next generation of military aircraft, although UAC has not confirmed that its current AI-assisted project involves a fighter jet.
In May 2026, UAC chief executive Vadim Badekha revealed that the company had launched a pilot program with Sberbank to explore generative aircraft design using GigaChat. The initial testing focuses on early-stage aircraft development, with plans to expand the technology’s role into structural strength assessments and aerodynamic calculations.
UAC says artificial intelligence could allow engineers to examine more design alternatives, process larger volumes of technical data, and reduce the time and expense required to develop new aircraft or modify existing models.
On October 13, UAC general designer Sergey Korotkov also supported introducing AI into aircraft development, provided the technology delivers practical engineering benefits.
The company’s growing interest in artificial intelligence comes after Western software developers, including Dassault Systèmes, Siemens, and Autodesk, withdrew from Russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
These companies previously supplied engineering and design tools used throughout Russia’s aerospace industry, forcing domestic manufacturers to accelerate the transition toward Russian-made alternatives.
According to Defence Blog, UAC claims to have replaced nine major aircraft lifecycle management software modules and equipped approximately 4,000 engineering workstations with domestic programs.
The corporation also reported that digital engineering technologies have reduced certain aircraft system calculations, including hydraulic networks and cabin thermal balance, from months to days. However, Russia’s efforts to replace Western aviation technologies have not eliminated problems affecting its aircraft development programs.
Russia’s push to adopt AI comes amid persistent difficulties replacing Western aviation technology. In July 2026, Russia’s Ministry of Industry and Trade sought to recover $3.2 million from a domestic manufacturer that had failed to develop replacements for US-made military aircraft displays, with the project running nearly six and a half years behind schedule.
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