Everything You See In This Video ...

... is made in Russia. All three of them finished the certification for Arctic extreme cold conditions. All three have done very well. 

From Indians Themselves.

What anyone with a single commercial aviation groove in the brain was getting in the last 10 years--this is from Indians themselves and explanation of why this is a BFD, if you know what this acronym stands for. 

But then again, Russian-Indian cooperation in military sphere remains exemplary, albeit not without classic Indian quirks. Correct, this is a strategic move which works extremely well for both sides. And yes, many times yes, you cannot sanction fully Russian made planes, period. 

There are ONLY two nations in the world which can out of  own resources and know-how build commercial aircraft domestically ground-up: United States and Russia. In terms of regional turboprops and regional jets it is Russia only. A shocker for some, I know. You cannot explain this reality to some MBA from Harvard--no tool kit. And even United States increasingly begins to depend on many parts being built not in the US. But, of course, do not forget American mighty jet engines industry. That, for now, remains home and is not going anywhere. So, enjoy the video. Short and to the point, no BS. 

Chinese Are Practical People.

And when they see this flying yesterday from Irkutsk to Moscow non-stop for final certs:

Or this, also flying beautifully (ahem...):

Both being fully Russian aircraft which are powered by state-of-the-art PD-8, PD-14 and use Russian avionics, composites et al, Chinese know that PD-35 is coming and is not far away. You all remember how joint Russian-Chinese wide body aircraft CR-929 became C-929, because Russians didn't like how Chinese side viewed profits share. Now Chinese know that Russia fully recovered her commercial aircraft mojo and can do it all completely on her own. And suddenly, Russians are also practical and very delicate people who know that after all, it is Russia which is not only second (after the US) nation in the world capable totally out of own resources build state-of-the-art aircraft, but also the nation which tied all West's resources which otherwise would have been thrown against China. Comrade Xi is very sincere when stating today: 

ПЕКИН, 9 мая – РИА Новости. Россия и Китай должны быть настоящими друзьями, закаленными, как сталь, заявил председатель КНР Си Цзиньпин. "Необходимо поддерживать дружбу из поколения в поколение и быть настоящими друзьями, закаленными, как сталь", - приводит МИД КНР слова китайского лидера, сказанные во время встречи с журналистами после переговоров с президентом России Владимиром Путиным.

Translation: BEIJING, May 9 – RIA Novosti. Russia and China must be true friends, tempered like steel, said Chinese President Xi Jinping. "We must maintain friendship from generation to generation and be true friends, tempered like steel," the Chinese Foreign Ministry quotes the Chinese leader as saying during a meeting with journalists after talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

And lo and behold:

Москва. 8 мая. ИНТЕРФАКС - Россия и Китай намерены продолжить сотрудничество по созданию дальнемагистрального широкофюзеляжного самолета, оно не прекращалось, заявил "Интерфаксу" первый вице-премьер РФ Денис Мантуров. Отвечая на вопрос о том, может ли РФ вернуться к кооперации с КНР по созданию широкофюзеляжного самолета, он сказал: "Может, мы его (сотрудничество - ИФ) и не прекращали".  ... В августе 2022 года руководство ОАК сообщило, что работа над CR929 продолжается, но с учетом последствий пандемии и введения против РФ санкций из-за конфликта на Украине формат участия в проекте придется "актуализировать". Мантуров тогда уточнял, что РФ будет участвовать в статусе поставщика агрегатов и компонентов для самолета, в мае прошлого года он подтверждал готовность России участвовать в проекте "на основе договора исполнителей". Вместе с тем, в феврале этого года совместное предприятие ООО "Инженерный центр программы СиАр929", учрежденное CRAIC в 2019 году под проект разработки дальнемагистрального пассажирского самолета CR929, подало заявление о ликвидации юрлица. Сейчас компания проходит соответствующие процедуры.

Translation: Moscow. May 8. INTERFAX - Russia and China intend to continue cooperation on the creation of a long-range wide-body aircraft; it has not stopped, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov told Interfax. Answering a question about whether Russia could return to cooperation with China on the creation of a wide-body aircraft, he said: "Maybe we have not stopped it (cooperation - IF)." ... In August 2022, the UAC management reported that work on the CR929 was continuing, but given the consequences of the pandemic and the introduction of sanctions against Russia due to the conflict in Ukraine, the format of participation in the project would have to be "updated." Manturov then clarified that Russia would participate as a supplier of units and components for the aircraft; in May last year, he confirmed Russia's readiness to participate in the project "based on a contractor agreement." At the same time, in February of this year, the joint venture Engineering Center for the CR929 Program LLC, established by CRAIC in 2019 for the project to develop the CR929 long-range passenger aircraft, filed an application for liquidation of the legal entity. The company is currently undergoing the relevant procedures.

Go figure, right? Well, there is nothing to figure here, actually. China knows that sanctions are coming and no amount of maneuvering can save both Comac-919 powered by US-French LEAP engines and, let alone, perspective "Chinese" C-929 which was planned as the aircraft (after letter "R" disappeared) which could be remotorized on the variety of the American and Rolls-Royce engines. And no, world-class competitive high bypass ratio Chinese engines are not coming any time soon. And here is this trick--any commercial aircraft Russia produces can be exported anywhere, because they are all Russian-manufactured. The only thing the US can do is to try blackmail potential buyers, but that's for other time to discuss--Boeing and Airbus have all reasons to sweat about MC-21. China, however, is pinned down now to its, however large, internal market and IS under the Sword of Damocles of not quite adequate POTUS who may, in the last ditch attempts to stop Chinese economic juggernaut, simply sanction jet engines and that will be it for Chinese attempt not only at competition abroad, but even domestically. So, enter PD-14 and PD-35 and Russian made subsystems from avionics to APU, to composites. Make your own conclusions. As I stated--Russians are very delicate people, apart from being very practical, like Chinese.

SJ-100.

Here is why Russia is a superpower. Two days ago, fully russified SJ-100 flew. No, not the separate SSJ with Western avionics used as the platform for PD-8, nor regular SSJ with SAM-146 engines used for tests of fully Russian avionics. Nope--this is the one which IS fully Russian SJ-100.

Here is test pilot Verkhov talks (in Russian) about this aircraft and shows its fully Russian cabin with wide LCDs unlike those in original SSJs.  

This cabin is the same cabin as in MC-21, and PD-8 is essentially scaled down PD-14. Where you may ask, did Russians get those microchips? From washing machines, of course. 

Very Significant.

Thanks to our very own BAROTIKI for pointing this news out. This is very significant because it is one of those cases when the plans are not shifted "to the right"--a euphemism for a delay--but "to the left", meaning meeting deadlines earlier.

Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) has advanced deliveries of MC-21 and SJ-100 aircraft to Aeroflot airlines from 2025 to 2024 having completed the process of replacing western components with domestically-made ones. Sergei Chemezov, CEO of Rostec Corp., the holding of company of UAC has been quoted as saying today on the UAC’s Telegram channel. “More than 10 aircraft - MC-21 and SJ-100 - are already being built for Aeroflot, some aircraft are at a high degree of readiness. The timing of bringing new models of domestic aircraft to the market has shifted ‘to the left’ by a year. If we initially aimed for 2025, now large-scale deliveries should start in 2024.” Financial lease agreements for 18 MC-21-310 aircraft and 34 SJ-100 aircraft were signed between the leasing company Aviacapital-Service of the Rostec State Corporation and Aeroflot. These agreements were inked during the Eastern Economic Forum. Chemezov highlighted the significance of these agreements and the Russian government support that has made the prices of these domestically-produced aircraft considerably lower than comparable Boeing and Airbus models.

And here is the MAIN issue which I point out non-stop. These aircraft are fully Russian-built from engines, to systems, to avionics, to what have you. Unlike it is the case with Chinese COMAC 919 which is in reality not Chinese at all but 90% Europe and US built aircraft. COMAC 919 exports can always be immediately stopped by the US or EU in case China decides to promote this plane on Asian and African markets. This, however, cannot be done to MS-21 and SJ-100. All of these aircraft are well over 90% domestic built (at 10% of import parts the aircraft export can be blocked), and that opens vast Asian and African markets, especially with B737 reaching its modernization limits some time two decades ago. 

In related news, BTW, do you know that more than 20 serial SU-57s have been already produced and that starting from 2025 around 30 of them will be produced annually? So, count yourself how plans on initially planned 72 SU-57s by the year 2030 now look like. More like around 200 give and take. You see, this is what Russia's real economy and Pentagon's ignorance are. And yes, be them MC-21, SJ-100, SU-57 or SU-35 they still cost less than anything produced in the West and that doesn't show well in Wall Street "statistics" and fake GDP numbers, but it sure as hell gives massive competitive advantages, not to speak of a highest quality of a product.