The Komsomolsk-na-Amure Aviation Production Organisation (KnAAPO) has been selected to perform final assembly of the 95-seat version of the Sukhoi-led Russian Regional Jet, writes Vladimir Karnozov.
The RRJ-95 is part of a family of twinjets being developed by Sukhoi with Boeing, Ilyushin and Yakovlev. The family includes the baseline 75-seat variant and a 60-seat shrink.
Sukhoi's NAPO production plant in Novosibirsk was expected to assemble all three models, but will now take responsibility only for the RRJ-75 and RRJ-60.
The orginal plan to put the RRJ-75 into the market first, followed by the RRJ-95 and RRJ-60 at six-month intervals, has been revised so the RRJ-75 and RRJ-95 will be launched almost simultaneously.
The involvement of KnAAPO on a larger scale than planned "further reduces the project's risk", says Andrei Ilyin, general director of Sukhoi Civil Aircraft.
The RRJ full-scale launch is planned for the second half of this year, once 50 firm order commitments are received. Moscow-based leasing company FLK signed for 30 aircraft at last year's Moscow air show and several Russian airlines placed "soft orders" for just over 100 RRJs.
Ilyin says development costs are estimated at $670 million, of which $100 million will be provided by overseas risk-sharing partners. He says Thales has been selected as avionics integrator, although Sukhoi officials earlier said Thales and Rockwell Collins will supply the avionics.
Risk-sharing partners recently met at the first conference of RRJ system integrators. These included Curtiss-Wright subsidiary Autronics, B/E Aerospace, Goodrich, Hamilton Sundstrand, Honeywell, IPECO, Liebherr Aerospace, Messier-Dowty, Snecma, Thales and Zodiac subsidiaries Air Cruisers, ECE and Intertechnique. Most major systems have a Western integrator.
Source: Flight International
