(Reuters) -Russia has flown a second prototype of its MC-21 medium-haul passenger jet built with domestic components, the industry ministry said on Tuesday, as sanctions on foreign components stall production and high interest rates crimp investment.
Battling these obstacles, the Russian aircraft industry proved able to deliver by August just one of 15 jets planned for this year.
The MC-21 took off from the Irkutsk aviation plant operated by Yakovlev, a part of United Aircraft Corp, within state conglomerate Rostec, according to images the industry ministry posted on the Telegram messaging app on Tuesday.
The flight tested newly Russian-made onboard systems and PD-14 turbofan engines, the ministry added, as opposed to earlier prototypes that combined Russian and foreign components.
The MC-21, carrying about 175 passengers in a two-class layout, is key to plans to replace jets from Western planemakers Airbus and Boeing that Russian airlines struggle to service under the sanctions following Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The version of the MC-21 with imported parts was lighter than the first, which had limited range and fuel burn, making airlines cautious, a Russian aviation source told Reuters in August.
Delivery dates have slipped repeatedly since Rostec, which oversees production of the Superjet-100, Tupolev Tu-214, Ilyushin passenger planes and the new Yakovlev MC-21, told Reuters that Russia would produce its own passenger planes.
First deliveries of the MC-21 are expected at the end of 2026, with Rostec planning to ramp up output to 36 a year by 2030.
(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
