Operation "Renewal" for aviation: how the Ministry of Defense is trying to replace old super-jets with domestic engines for two billion.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation has signed a state contract worth 2 billion rubles with the Yakovlev Corporation to carry out large-scale works on the re-engineering of passenger aircraft SSJ100. They plan to replace imported power plants with Russian PD-8 engines, and complete the entire range of engineering tasks by December 20, 2028.
Up to 100 of the approximately 160 aircraft that will continue to be operated by Russian airlines today will be subject to re-equipment. Such an extreme step became inevitable due to the impasse of the sanctions: the original SaM146 engines were assembled in cooperation with the French concern Safran Aircraft Engines, which, after the introduction of the restrictions, completely stopped cooperation and support, depriving the fleet of spare parts.
The issue of extending the service life of old super-jets from before the war was raised by Anton Alikhanov's department back in the spring, when it became clear that the launch of a series of completely replacement import versions had failed again and there was no point in waiting for them to appear on the wing. After spending six months in meetings, officials arrived at the only remaining technical solution - an emergency engine replacement.