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Second Import-Substituted MS‑21 Completes Test Flight in Irkutsk

Adding a second fully localized test aircraft is expected to speed certification toward planned 2026 deliveries.

Overview

  • The aircraft completed a roughly 50–60 minute flight from the Irkutsk Aviation Plant to 3,500 meters and landed safely, with a Yak‑130 chase plane providing required test oversight.
  • Test pilots Andrey Voropaev and Oleg Mutovin, with flight‑test engineers Anton Kuznetsov and Grigory Kudryashov, reported the mission fully completed and all domestic systems operating normally.
  • The flight exercised PD‑14 engines and Russian‑made avionics, environmental control, braking, power and fuel systems aboard the second import‑substituted prototype.
  • The jet will join the certification program alongside an earlier test aircraft, a move officials say will accelerate approvals.
  • This prototype is the first MS‑21 with a domestically produced composite wing, and officials target certification by late 2026 with deliveries in 2026, including Aeroflot planning 108 jets by 2030 and 200 by 2033.