The Sukhoi Superjet 100 is a modern fly-by-wire twin-engine regional jet with 8 (VIP) to 108 (all Y) passenger seats. With development initiated in 2000, the airliner was designed and spearheaded by Sukhoi, a division of the Russian civil aerospace company (UAC), in co-operation with several foreign partners. Its maiden flight was conducted on 19 May 2008. On 21 April 2011, the Superjet 100 undertook its first commercial passenger flight, on the Armavia route from Yerevan to Moscow. Designed to compete internationally with its An-158, Embraer and Bombardier counterparts, the Superjet 100 claims substantially lower operating costs, at a lower purchase price of $35 million. The final assembly of the Superjet 100 is done by Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association. Its SaM-146 engines are designed and produced by the French-Russian PowerJet joint venture and the aircraft is marketed internationally by the Italian-Russian SuperJet International joint venture. Development of the Sukhoi Superjet 100 began in 2000. On 19 December 2002, Sukhoi Civil Aircraft and Boeing Commercial Airplanes signed a medium-term Cooperation Agreement to work together on the design. Boeing consultants had already been advising Sukhoi on marketing, design, certification, manufacturing, program management and aftersales support for a year. On 10 October 2003, the technical board of the project selected the suppliers of major subsystems. The project officially passed its third stage of development on 12 March 2004, meaning that Sukhoi could now start selling the Superjet 100 to customers. On 13 November 2004, the Superjet 100 passed the fourth stage of development, implying that the Superjet 100 was now ready for commencing of prototype production. In August 2005, a contract between the Russian government and Sukhoi was signed. Under the agreement, the Superjet 100 project would receive 7.9 billion rubles of research and development financing under the Federal Program titled Development of Civil Aviation in Russia in 2005–2009. In the Russian domestic market, the Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ) is intended to replace the aging Tupolev Tu-134 and Yakovlev Yak-42 aircraft. Internationally, the new Superjet 100 will compete against the Embraer E-Jets and the Bombardier CRJ programs. The SSJ aims for lower operating costs than its competitors for the price of $23–25 million. According to Sukhoi, ongoing certification tests confirmed that the aircraft's direct operating costs are 6–8% lower than those of its key competitor, the Embraer 190/195. In terms of total fuel burn per sector, the SSJ is on a par with the Antonov An-148 but can accommodate 22 more passengers. The aircraft's design meets the specific requirements of airlines in Russia, the CIS, the USA and the EU, and conforms to the Aviation Rules AP-25, FAR-25, JAR-25 requirements and to the ground noise level requirements under ICAO Chapter 4 and FAR 36 Section 4 standards entering into force during 2006. From the beginning, the SSJ has been designed to meet all Western aviation standards. The Superjet uses PowerJet SaM146 turbofan engines developed by PowerJet that provide 60 to 78 kilonewtons (13,000 to 18,000 lbf) of thrust. The noise and emissions levels satisfy the existing ICAO requirements. The Superjet 100 has been described as the most important and successful civil aircraft program of the Russian aerospace industry. It enjoys considerable support from the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, which regards it as a top priority project. Excluding the SaM146 engine, development of the Superjet 100 cost about $1.4 billion, with 25% of this amount funded from the federal budget. The Superjet 100 is the first new civil non-amphibious jet aircraft developed in post-Soviet Russia. Over 30 foreign partnership companies are involved in the project. Development, manufacturing and marketing of the aircraft's SaM146 jet engine is being done by the PowerJet company, a joint-venture between the French Snecma and Russia's NPO Saturn. SuperJet International, a joint venture between Alenia Aermacchi and Sukhoi is responsible for marketing in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Japan and Oceania. The assembly line for all versions of the Superjet is located in the facilities of Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association (KnAAPO) in the Russian Far East, while Novosibirsk Aircraft Production Association (NAPO) focuses on component production. The two companies have been heavily investing in upgrading of their facilities and were expected to produce 70 airframes by 2012.

• published: 24 Jul 2015
• views: 85