Air TransportSJ-100 Commercial Aircraft Flies to Zhukovsky for Certification
United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) has transferred prototype 97003 of the SJ-100 regional jet from its factory in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, in Russia’s Far East, to the Gromov Flight Research Institute in Zhukovsky, near Moscow, in recent days.
There, the 100-seat aircraft will undergo preparations for flight certification testing.
The aircraft is the first fully “Russified” version to fly, relying exclusively on domestic suppliers, including the PD-8 engine, which replaces the SaM-146 turbofan.
According to the state-owned company, this was the longest flight ever completed by a PD-8 engine, covering around 6,000 km over a 9-hour journey, with technical stopovers along the route.
The SJ-100 program is now led by Yakovlev, which has taken over UAC’s commercial aircraft operations. The original variant, the SSJ-100, was developed by Sukhoi and involved Western partners aiming to market the jet globally.
However, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine triggered international sanctions that made production with Western content unviable.
“The flight followed a standard profile, similar to the base aircraft, and all onboard systems operated flawlessly. We successfully landed at two major airports during the mission, which shows a high level of readiness for this machine,” said pilot Dmitry Demenev.
The fully domestically built Superjet made its maiden flight on April 23. It now features Russian-supplied cruise and auxiliary power units, avionics, landing gear, integrated control systems, power supply systems, air conditioning, and fire protection systems.
UAC also stated that the SJ-100’s fuselage has been updated to simplify aircraft production and maintenance.
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