The flagship of the USSR civil aviation of the 60s-70s of the 20th century – the narrow-body airliner Il-62M could carry up to 180 passengers in one flight over a distance of 11,000 km. With the withdrawal of this aircraft from commercial operation, the era of long-range narrow-body passenger airliners in Russia ended. All over the world, including in Russia, transportation over distances of 8 thousand kilometers and more were taken over by foreign wide-body aircraft: B747, B777, B787, A330, A350, and A380.
Russia, due to its size, vitally needs aircraft that can fly from the European part to the Far East, Kamchatka, and Chukotka without stopovers. Currently, this niche is occupied by B777, B767, A330. B747 in the fleet of the airline “Rossiya” performs transportation of tourists to resorts in Egypt. But, even before the Ukraine war in 2022, the airline had already announced that in the next three years, these planes would be completely removed from their fleet.
To fill this gap, Russia has plans to start working on the introduction of the MC-21-400 aircraft project, but it will depend on demand after the MC-21-310 aircraft begins operation with airlines. The wing for the MS-21-400 is somewhat larger than that of the basic version of the aircraft, and the airliner itself will be significantly heavier than the MS-21-300, so additional design and testing of the wing of the new plane will be required.
The United Aircraft Corporation has been contemplating the development of future modifications to the MC-21 airliner through 2035 as part of the “Aircraft 2020” program. The primary objective of potential enhancements to the MC-21 is to enhance the aircraft’s aerodynamics and optimize specific fuel consumption.
Ravil Khakimov, the then General Director of the Irkut Corporation, said in June 2021 that the design documentation for the MC-21-200 and MC-21-400 had been developed. Khakimov said “Once the MC-21-300 version starts flying with airlines, depending on demand, we will most likely begin work on the MC-21-400 project, a medium-haul aircraft capable of carrying up to 260 passengers. Depending on demand, we will also decide on the launch of the MC-21-200.”
He noted that this would not happen before 2024-2025. Promising things for the future is a standard practice.
The new narrow-body, single-aisle MC-21-400, which will necessitate engines with 18-ton propulsion, the PD-18, underwent preliminary studies. Additionally, it is feasible to develop additional aircraft variants, such as the MC-21-500, MC-21-600, and MC-21-700, which are equipped with 20-25 and 30-ton thrust engines, respectively. Practically, a whole family of turbofan engines with a thrust of 8 to 35 tons can power these aircraft.
A “universal” MC-21X aircraft is also under contemplation, with a potential maximum range of 9,000-10,000 kilometers. This version would be more continental; however, it has the potential to be employed on oceanic routes, even in the presence of headwinds.
The cost estimate for the MC-21X project was approximately half the cost of developing two aircraft: a new narrow-body MC-21-400 and a wide-body long-range aircraft. The MC-21X will have a takeoff weight of approximately 155 tons, while the MS-21-400 will exceed a takeoff weight of 105 tons.
UAC published a forecast of the global civil aircraft market through 2038 prior to the commencement of the MAKS-2019 air show.
As per the document, most deliveries to Russian airlines will be in the narrow-body aircraft subsegment, which has a seating capacity of 166-200. It translates to approximately 630 aircraft. The research also suggests that the Russian market will be in demand for an aircraft of the MS-21-400 scale, which has a two-class configuration and a range of up to 10,000 km. This aircraft has the potential to become the new flagship of domestic civil aviation.
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