Economics

23:14, 24.09.2007 | Russia

Russia will seek a boost for President Vladimir Putin’s bid to revive its once mighty aviation industry this week, by rolling out its first modern commercial airliner for the global market - the Superjet.


Built by the former Soviet Union’s largest warplane maker Sukhoi, whose Su-27 fighter family was designed for combat with Boeing’s F-15 Eagle, the civil Superjet is a 78 to 98 seat regional airliner developed in co-operation with its old Cold War foe.
The new civil plane will be unveiled at a Sukhoi military factory at Komsomolsk-on-Amur in Russia’s Far East on September 26. Its September maiden flight has been delayed for a month or two.
While Boeing’s involvement in development is seen by analysts as a symbolic one, with the U.S. group keen to tap into Russian titanium supplies for its next generation of jetliners, French and Italian firms have invested heavily in the project.
Sukhoi’s new civil battle also pitches it against Chinese and Japanese firms racing to invest in regional jet transport -- a market which offers a chance to flex industrial muscle without the colossal sums needed to challenge Airbus or Boeing.
"This is a very important programme for Russia because it means the rebirth of its aerospace industry," said Marc Ventre, executive vice-president of aerospace propulsion at French conglomerate Safran .
"The Russians are very good in military aircraft but in commercial aircraft they are far behind, and this should put the their industry back on track," told Ventre.


- Reuters