Russia’s sanction-proof jet: MC-21-310 with all-domestic systems completes first test flight
June 26, 2025
Russia’s narrowbody contender, the MC-21, has taken its first flight with entirely Russian components.
The ‘Russification’ of the MC-21 has become essential to the project, as sanctions have left it unable to rely on Western-produced components.
This all-Russian version, known as the MC-21-310, replaces all imported components with Russian-made equivalents, ahead of the aircraft entering serial production in late 2026.
The first flight of the fully-Russian MC-21-310
United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) shared details of the test flight on its Telegram channel. The aircraft, with tail number 73055, is an experimental prototype reserved for testing Russian components.
The MC-21 took off from Gromov Flight Research Institute airfield in Zhukovsky and flew for around four hours.
Onboard was a crew of some of Russia’s most experienced aviators, including Oleg Kononeko, a cosmonaut who holds a world record for the most time spent in space.
Accompanying him was well-known test pilot Andrey Voropayev, as well as flight test engineers Alexander Solovyov, Grigory Kudryashov and Oleg Berezina.
UAC says that, during the four-hour flight, they carried out various tests at different altitudes, specifically mentioning testing radio equipment.
The company estimates 220 to 230 test flights will be needed to certify the fully Russian jet.
What’s Russian about the MC-21?
This new Russified MC-21 (locally known as the MS-21) aims to free UAC from the shackles of using internationally-supplied parts.
The first iteration of the aircraft used Pratt and Whitney PW1000G engines, an APU from Honeywell and various other parts and components from international companies. Russia always wanted to make the MC-21 ‘more Russian,’ but sanctions on the nation following the invasion of Ukraine have forced its hand.
Since then, UAC has gradually been substituting these imported parts for those manufactured in Russia.
The new Russian-made Aviadvigatel PD-14 engines were first certified in 2018 by Rosaviatsia as meeting ICAO standards. They first flew on the MC-21 in December 2020, and will now power the Russified MC-21-310 towards certification.
“The aircraft is equipped with fifth-generation PD-14 aircraft engines,” United Engine Corporation shared on its Telegram channel. “These Russian engines have already been certified and are being mass-produced at UDC-Perm Motors.”
In addition to the engines, UAC shared that the jet was equipped with, “Russian radio-electronic equipment, including computers, switches, navigation systems and radio communication systems.
“The aircraft also received a domestic auxiliary power unit, air conditioning and pressure control systems, lighting equipment and aircraft system consoles,” it added. “Russian components are included in the power supply system, hydraulic systems and chassis.”
