Russia And China To Build Aircraft To Compete In Boeing Airbus Market

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Russia

And China To Build Aircraft To Compete In Boeing Airbus Market

September 22, 2015 - Russia’s state controlled United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) President Yury Slyusar said Russia and China are expected to sign an agreement that will allow the two countries to build a long-range, widebody commercial jetliner that will be able to compete on the world market alongside Boeing and Airbus.

The agreement between UAC and China's state controlled Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. (COMAC) is expected to be signed by the end of the year. The agreement will set the parameters on each country's role in the research and development, manufacturing, distribution, and profit share of the aircraft.

Earlier this year Slyusar said the two countries would invest $13 billion in research and development and that China would manufacture the fuselage main frame and Russia would manufacture the wings and tail.

This joint venture between these two countries has been in talks since May 2014. Slyusar said, “So far, the project has proceeded well, and we plan to determine the technical requirements, specifications and outsourcing methods in March."

Slyusar has stated that this aircraft is not an upgrade to the Russian made Ilyushin Il-96 which is a four-engine long haul wide-body airliner. Slyusar stated this project will design a completely new aircraft from scratch.

Back in 2009, Russia discontinued manufacturing the passenger version Ilyushin Il-96 (300) because it could not be manufactured on a large scale at a competitive price of a competitive aircraft of Boeing or Airbus. However, the Ilyushin Il-96T, which is a cargo aircraft, remains in production.

Slyusar has also stated this new aircraft will not complete with China's C919 which is scheduled to take its maiden flight in 2016. China is also hoping to break into Airbus' and Boeing's market share by introducing the C919, a 158-174 seat narrow-body twin-engine jet airliner. China is hoping to begin deliveries of this aircraft in 2018. The C919 will replace China's Shanghai Y-10 which never went to market.

Slyusar said, "The new jetliner is totally different from the C919 in terms of passenger volume and flight range. The two aircrafts are aimed at different markets, so they will not compete with each other." Slyusar further stated this new aircraft will be able to carry 210 to 350 passengers, depending on the seating arrangements.

The "C919" is the short form of trunk liner code for "COMAC919". COMAC is the acronym of the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China. The letter "C" is the first letter of both "COMAC" and "China".

The aircraft is a short-medium range with its all-economy class layout entails 168 seats, and the hybrid class layout 156 seats. The basic version is designed to cover a range of 4,075 km, while the enhanced version can stretch to 5,555 km. Its economic life is designed to be 90,000 flying hours/30 calendar years.