Russia is in a manufacturing crisis as Vladimir Putin grapples with inflation.
The country is reportedly struggling to assemble aircraft after Western sanctions as companies struggle to obtain the necessary parts.
Anton Gerashchenko, former advisor to Ukraine’s internal affairs minister, claims that the current production volumes of the MC-21, a mid-sized airliner; Superjet New, Il-114, the latest being assembled in late 2021; and the Tu-214 are zero pieces.
Russian aviation expert Andrey Patrakov, the founder of AIM Group international aerospace experts network, told Sputnik, a Russian news agency and broadcaster, in November: « Russia has an acute problem of producing components for aircraft.”
He added: « I recommend making early bookings because there simply can’t be enough seats for everyone due to the fact that there are simply fewer aeroplanes.
“And, unfortunately, import substitution plans are still just plans because, for three years, the production of aeroplanes in Russia has stopped. We have almost zero indicators, there are a few airplanes that were made, mostly from the old stock, even before 2022 components. »
Reuters reported in December 2023 that Russia had handed out more than $12 billion (£9.4bn) in state subsidies and loans to keep its aviation sector afloat since sanctions cut off key parts and services supplies.
In March of this year, Russian news agency Interfax reported that the MC-21 is not expected to go into serial production until 2025 or 2026.
Ukrainian news website Ukrainska Pravda, citing The Moscow Times, which in turn referenced the Russian news agency Izvestia, reported on December 5 that officials had cut the production plan for engines for SSJ-100, MS-21 and Tu-214 aircraft by one and a half times.
Instead of 192 power units, manufacturers will receive only 128 units over the next two years.
The Russian central bank is set to hike its interest rate to 23% on December 20 as inflation was between 8% and 8.5%, according to the government, by the end of the year. Some analysts have suggested it may be higher.
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