Russia’s trade and industry ministry has issued a call for tenders for a project to improve the Aviadvigatel PD-14 engine which powers the Yakovlev MC-21-310.
The ministry’s tender – published on an official government portal in the first half of April – states that more than Rb14.2 billion ($170 million) is being allocated to the three-stage project.
This modernisation effort is set to last nearly three years, with the work to be completed in December 2027.
It centres on prolonging the powerplant’s life, increasing its fuel efficiency, and reducing both weight and noise, using data from MC-21-310 testing as a basis.
The project will also aim to optimise production processes by reducing labour and material consumption.
Its initial stage, running to the end of this year, will focus on system refinement and expanding the operational capability.
Weight reduction and fuel efficiency, as well as improvement of acoustics, will be addressed over the course of 2026, while the following year will concentrate on testing and preparation for serial production.
The PD-14, certified by federal air transport regulator Rosaviatsia in 2018, first flew on the MC-21-310 in mid-December 2020.
This engine was intended as a Russian-built alternative to the Pratt & Whitney PW1400G for the -300 variant.
But sanctions imposed over the Ukraine conflict have resulted in the -310 becoming the lead aircraft, and the twinjet – which is yet to enter service – has been undergoing modification to replace foreign-built components with domestic equivalents.
