United Aircraft has carried out the maiden flight of the fully-substituted Yakovlev SJ-100, whose equipment includes Aviadvigatel PD-8 powerplants.
The aircraft is the third prototype to participate in the SJ-100 programme but the first to combine the domesticated airframe and the Russian-built engines.
United Aircraft is aiming to complete SJ-100 certification tests by the end of this year, in order to begin deliveries in 2026.
It says the 23 April flight from Komsomolsk-on-Amur lasted for about 40min.
“Stable operation of all domestic systems was confirmed,” the company adds. The aircraft climbed to a maximum altitude of 3,000m (9,850ft) and travelled at speeds up to 270kt.
Its landing-gear was retracted and extended during the sortie.
Three crew members – two pilots and a flight-test engineer – were on board the twinjet.
United Aircraft says they tested operation of the hydraulics, air conditioning, control systems, and avionics including navigation equipment.
“This flight is…a victory for dozens of enterprises, thousands of engineers and workers across the country,” it states. “A victory for the entire domestic aircraft industry over tight deadlines, technical difficulties and difficult circumstances.”
The SJ-100 is a successor to the Superjet 100, and has been developed to feature a greater proportion of domestically-produced components.
An initial SJ-100 airframe was flown in August 2023, but still fitted with the Superjet’s PowerJet SaM146 engines.
United Aircraft started flight-testing the PD-8 engine using a modified Superjet 100 in March this year.
The latest prototype – MSN97003, numbered 97023 – is the closest to the serial-production aircraft.
United Aircraft chief Vadim Badekha says its first flight is a “historic event”.
“I am confident that this will be an important step towards strengthening the technological independence of our country and will make a significant contribution to the development of domestic aircraft manufacturing,” he adds.
State technology firm Rostec adds that the import-substitution programme for the type has “entered the home stretch”, with about 40 systems on the original Superjet 100 being replaced.
First deputy director general Vladimir Artyakov says the third prototype, which will be used to test the interaction of its PD-8 engines with domestic on-board systems, will “speed up” the certification effort.
