Gaining pace

After a protracted period of no news about the effort to develop Russia’s new Irkut MS-21 short- to medium-range passenger aircraft, the program now appears to be gathering pace. Irkut, a subsidiary of United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), signed a final agreement in early June with the US engine maker Pratt & Whitney to select the PurePower PW1400G turbofan engine as the sole foreign-made powerplant for the future aircraft. Also in June, Bombardier subsidiary Short Brothers was identified as the supplier of the engine nacelle.

The latest development indicates that the MS-21 program has moved to inking firm contracts with the key suppliers that were selected back in 2009 г. The first deal of a kind was the contract signed in November 2011 with Nizhny Novgorod-based Gidromash that will develop and manufacture landing gear components for the MS-21.

According to industry sources, the agreement with Pratt & Whitney envisages the development of engines for two planned members of the MS-21 family, the 150-seat MS-21-200 and the 180-seat MS-21-300. The only difference between the two aircraft’s powerplants will be in the power settings within the 11-14.5 t (25,000-32,000 pound) range. The largest version, the 212-seat MS-21-400, will require a different, more powerful engine. The first PW1400G prototype will be assembled this year; Irkut expects to first fly it on an MS-21 prototype in 2015, followed by the service entry in 2017.