Russia Starts Production Of Tupolevev Tu-214 Aircraft
United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) has launched the production of 20 Tupolev Tu-214 single-aisle aircraft, and plans to produce 10 per year while Russia may soon be deprived of Airbus and Boeing aircraft following the invasion of Ukraine.
UAC Managing Director Yuri Slyusar confirmed on April 6, 2022 at Tass that the production of the Tu-214, the local equivalent (210 passengers in one class) of the Western A321 and 737-900ER aircraft, will resume and new spare parts will no longer be available, European and US sanctions. The production of twenty devices has already started, with a spokesman saying that it was Tu-214 that were already «planned for the years to come». Last month, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov had already announced that the site of Kazan Aircraft Production Association (KAPO) should produce ten Tu-214 per year.
The leader of Rostec (which controls all the Russian aeronautics) Sergei Shemezov also mentioned a possible relaunch of the Tupolev Tu-204 program and its derivative Tu-214. “In the context of severe restrictions on the operation of foreign-built civilian aircraft, large-scale tasks are being faced by the domestic aviation industry. In addition, they must be resolved within a very tight timeframe. This is mainly about expanding the production of existing aircraft,” he said.
Launched at the beginning of 1989, the single-aisle was produced in 89 copies and put into service among others at the late Transaero. The Tu-214 took off for the first time in 1996, with the only differences from the Tu-204 being a higher MTOW, the size of its doors and the site of their assembly, at KOPA in Kazan for the first and at Aviastar in Ulyanovsk for the second.
The production rate of the new Tu-214 should reach ten units per year initially, and UAC also intends to accelerate but that of the Ilyushin Il-96 quadrireactor. Russia is also studying the possibility of creating an additional manufacturing centre in Kazan to avoid a shortage of spare parts, particularly for these two aircraft.
While EASA had «decertified» the Sukhoi SSJ100 Superjet, the Russian Deputy Prime Minister also mentioned the Irkut MC-21 project (certified in Russia last December, expected at Rossiya in September): it is “complicated because it was originally intended to depend on international cooperation”. But the work will continue and even accelerate, he added: There is no break in the work of companies and there will be no break. Everyone continues to work», especially on the second powertrain, the 100% Russian Aviadvigatel PD-14.
What do international restrictions on Russia's aviation industry look like in data? Short thread.
— Jack Margolin (@Jack_Mrgln) April 7, 2022
This is a sample of Russian-registered aircraft flights during 24-hour period on April 6th from @icarus_flights.
Not a huge number of flights, lots of Russian-made craft. pic.twitter.com/zQixM1OtlF
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