MOSCOW, Jan 20: Russia and India have preliminary agreements on the purchase and localisation of Russian-made passenger aircraft SJ-100 and negotiations are ongoing, Russian Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Gennady Abramenkov told Sputnik on Tuesday.
“There is a preliminary agreement with partners on the possibility of purchase, with the subsequent localised production of this type of aircraft on Indian territory. At the moment, negotiations are underway,” Sputnik quoted Abramenkov as saying while commenting on India’s interest in acquiring SJ-100s.
In late October, United Aircraft Corporation (UAC, part of the Rostec state corporation) and Indian state-owned corporation Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) signed a memorandum on the production of the SJ-100 aircraft. UAC head Vadim Badeha said later that India noted the high efficiency of the SJ-100 aircraft.
The SJ-100 is a short-haul narrow-body aircraft being developed under a programme to replace imported systems and components. The airliner will become another model in the family of the currently operated Superjet-type aircraft.
The SJ aircraft made its first flight with the Russian PD-8 engine in the city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur on March 17, 2025. The serial deliveries are scheduled for this year.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has signed an MoU with a Russian public joint stock company United Aircraft Corporation for the production of SJ-100 civil commuter aircraft in India.
In a social media post, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in October 2025 hailed the landmark step for the civil aviation sector of the country.
The Minister said the SJ-100 will be a game-changer for short-haul connectivity under the UDAN Scheme and marks a major stride towards achieving ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in civil aviation. He added that SJ-100 will be the first complete passenger aircraft to be made in the country.
The Minister added that the manufacturing of the aircraft will strengthen the private sector and create direct and indirect jobs in the aviation industry.
(UNI)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
