India interested in Russian Superjet

[TimeTraveller]

The Russian plane arrived to the Indian capital from Moscow on Dec. 12
specially for the presentation in order to allow the local officials and
entrepreneurs see it with their own eyes and assess the prospects of the
project.

«It’s the first time that we arrived in India on a new version of Sukhoi
Superjet 100 and had the opportunity to demonstrate it to our Indian
colleagues. Before that, it participated in a number of air shows in
India – in Bangalore and Hyderabad, – the head of the United Aircraft
Corporation Mikhail Pogosyan told RIR. According to him, the
presentation of the Superjet will foment Indian colleagues’ interest to
participate in the project of producing this aircraft in India.

To date, more than 30 Sukhoi Superjets 100 have been produced, and some
of them purchased by the airlines of Mexico and the Southeast Asian
countries. In the future the flight geography of Russian aircraft has
good prospects for expansion.

«We are considering multifaceted cooperation with India: the provision
of services, aviation equipment supplies as well as collaboration with
the Indian industry,» – Pogosyan noted. He also added that the UAC is
ready to continue its cooperation with the Indian public and private
companies, including the establishment of joint ventures.

Future cooperation between Russia and India has already a solid ground
to it, especially in the military aircraft industry. The program of
licensed production of the Su-30 MKI was successfully realised in the
recent past. Currently, the aircraft designers of the two countries are
working on a project to create a fifth generation fighter. Now it is
time for civil aviation.

«Civil aviation technology programs are a good opportunity to reach a
whole new level,» – said Pogosyan.

The head of the KLA conducted a little tour of the Superjet for high
Indian guests, demonstrating to them personally the competitive
advantages of Russian civil aircraft. The aircraft is equipped with
advanced avionics and electronics, as well as compact, which was duly
appreciated.

«Great plane! – Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry of India Amitabh
Kant expressed his admiration by the Superjet. Then he photographed it
and promised to post the photo on his Twitter account in order to
promote the Russian aerotechnics.

According to the local experts, Superjet entering the Indian market will
not only strengthen the Russian-Indian cooperation in general, but will
also become a springboard for the promotion of Russian aerotechnics in
Asia, the world’s most promising region in terms of air traffic growth.

Another promising project of Russia – India cooperation in the field of
civil aviation is the short- to medium-haul passenger aircraft MS21.

«In 2015, we must ensure the assembly of the first aircraft for flight
tests. As of now the documentation is almost complete, and the
production of the main airframe components, the elements of fuselage and
wing is underway. Our co-operative is working on their systems which we
should receive in the beginning of next year in Irkutsk, in order to
begin the process of aircraft assembly,» – the head of the KLA said.


Source : India interested in Russian Superjet | idrw.org