Russian officials praised the plane, calling it “a victory over Western sanctions.” The aircraft has successfully taken off from the Irkutsk Aviation Plant and is expected to enter mass production.
The Kremlin has strongly encouraged the development of new passenger planes in order to compete with aircraft made by “Boeing” and “Airbus”, which currently represent the bulk of the fleets of Russian carriers.
The development of the MS-21300 has faced delays amid Western sanctions that have hampered the import of engines and other key components.
Test flights of versions of the aircraft were conducted earlier with the aim of applying for a test certificate.
Sergey Chemezov, head of Rostec, whose subsidiary helped develop the plane, said the plane’s successful flight represented a victory for the Russian aviation industry and “a victory over sanctions”.
The first aircraft are expected to be delivered to customers in the second half of 2022.
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