LONDON – From what is being seen in Russia at the moment, the country’s aviation sector begins preparation for a lifecycle without the Western world in it.
Evidence that substantiates this view is through two stories that have come out of Moscow today, offering the view that Russia is bolstering up its pressure on the West and is not bowing out to sanctions.
The first is through economic damage recovery, and the other is plotting infrastructure from a pro-Russian perspective.
Economic Support Inbound For Russian Carriers…
It has been revealed that the Russian Government will discuss handing out subsidies to airlines and airports due to sanctions resulting in economic damage.
According to Interfax, such compensation will be to accommodate for forced flight cancellations as well as lost revenue stemmed in the airports.
11 airports in Central & Southern Russia are expected to receive some subsidies as well, which will be more than likely for the larger airports.
Such economic support will be vital, in order to ensure that the aviation industry doesn’t collapse on itself, which it has a great chance of doing so currently.
First Six MC-21s To Be Powered by Russian Engines…
Rostec State Corporation has also announced that the first six MC-21 aircraft will be built with Russian PD-14 engines.
Commenting on this was Sergey Chemezov, who explained a little bit about the delivery timetable:
“The first production MS-21s numbering six with domestic PD-14 engines will be handed over to customers in 2024”.
With the share of Russian components being 50%, Rostec is looking to achieve deliveries of import-substituted versions of the Sukhoi Superjet 100 with Russian PD-8 engines.
They will be wanting to do the same for the MC-21.
Rostec believes that by 2025, they will deliver 36 MC-21s per year with it increasing to 72 per year eventually.
Russia Doing The Best With What They Have Got…
It remains clear that Russia is trying to do its best with what they got, and is looking to progress through these sanctions regardless of the outcome in Ukraine.
Looking ahead, it will be interesting to see whether Rostoc will meet the delivery targets of the MC-21 as well as how long the Russian government can keep airlines and airports afloat.
With the Russian economy more or less in tatters at present, this can’t be sustainable for too long, especially if it results in printing more money to accommodate this.
As always, all eyes will be on President Vladimir Putin to see what he aims to do next when it comes to Russian domestic policy and beyond.
