End of the Baikal? Russia sues maker of troubled An-2 replacement

A lawsuit filed against the Russian aerospace company developing the LMS-901 Baikal, coupled with contemporary reports of restarting Antonov An-2 production, suggests Russia’s new 9-12 passenger aircraft is being canceled.

Russian ministry files lawsuit against Baikal’s UZGA

The Russian news outlet, Interfax, has reported that the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade has filed two lawsuits against JSC Ural Civil Aviation Plant (UZGA) with the Moscow Arbitration Court on the 3rd of September.

UZGA is the company developing the LMS-901 Baikal light multi-purpose aircraft and the Ladoga turboprop regional aircraft. The former is intended to replace the ancient Antonov An-2 biplane, which first entered service in 1947, and the latter is intended to replace regional Yak-40, An-24, and An-26 aircraft.

According to the court’s case database, the claims amount to 4.32 billion rubles ($50 million) in one suit and 517.89 million rubles ($6 million) in the other. No other details have been disclosed, and the company and the Russian ministry have not commented.

The ministry has previously claimed that the company missed deadlines for stages 3.2, 4, and 6 of the design and development work.

Dramatic design errors in the LMS-901 Baikal

UZGA has developed the Baikal since 2019, repeatedly postponing its launch date. In 2025, the situation escalated with reports emerging that the Russian ministry was considering freezing the project or transferring it to another company due to “dramatic design errors.”

However, the ministry then awarded the company another contract to continue developing the aircraft.

The lawsuit has triggered speculation that the Baikal aircraft may be about to be canceled and production of a modernized variant of the Antonov An-2 may be about to begin.

LMS-901 "Baikal" aircraft has completed its first flight equipped with the Russian VK-800 engine. The VK-800 (870 hp) is paired with an AV-901 propeller, providing a thrust of 15 kN. This aircraft is intended to replace the An-2, which has been in service for about 75 years. pic.twitter.com/GOSnztbR6o

— H. Memarian (@HEMemarian) December 24, 2025

The aircraft was initially designed around the GE Aerospace H80 (or similar Western turboprop). But the 2022 sanctions have cut these off, and the aircraft has been forced to undergo a major redesign to integrate the OKD-Klimov VK-800 family.

VK-800 programme dates back more than 20 years, and it first achieved limited ground runs around 2018; the type was repeatedly delayed. Reports have noted a mutual mismatch, as the engine was not fully optimized for the Baikal airframe.

The first flight of a Baikal with the domestic VK-800 only occurred in December 2025. The second aircraft with the VK-800SM + AV-901 propeller flew in February 2026.

Russia announced it will restart Antonov An-2 production

AGN reported in April that the Siberian Research Institute of Aviation has proposed pulling some 700 An-2s out of storage “to fill a catastrophic gap in the country’s small aviation sector.”

Meanwhile, on the 1st of September, Kommersant reported that the Russian ministry said it was ready to supply upgraded An-2s with the old engine starting in 2027, with examples with the new VK-800 engine possible in 2028.

The Deputy Prime Minister said, “You know, I can’t say that I think this is an ideal solution, because it’s a bit of a shame that we flew the An-2 for 60–80 years and are courageously returning to it again.”

He said that if “our remarkable aircraft designers” can offer anything better than the An-2, then Russia will stick with the An-2 for now. Production of the An-2 ended in 2001 after over 17,000 aircraft had been built.

Last month, Russia’s United Engine Corporation approved the 1,450 horsepower VK-1600S turboprop engine design. The engine is intended for small passenger aircraft like the An-2 and An-3.