New Russian airliner will use domestic engines, given sanctions – official

(Reuters) – One of Russia’s flagship airliner projects, the Irkut MS-21, will use domestic engines given that sanctions mean U.S. models are no longer available, the RIA news agency cited a senior official as saying on Thursday.

The medium-range plane, also known as the MC-21, can carry more than 200 passengers and is due to enter service this year. First designed with engines from Pratt and Whitney, a unit of Raytheon Technologies, in December 2020 the plane flew for the first time with Russian-built turbofans. RIA cited deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov as saying the plane would now only use PD-14 engines produced by the United Engine Corporation (UEC), which he said would need to expand its facilities to boost output.

The plane is built by Irkut Corporation, part of United Aircraft Corporation, which like the UEC is majority owned by Rostec, Russia’s state aerospace and defence conglomerate.