Russia Offers Sukhoi SJ-100 to India with Local Manufacturing Passenger Jets in India

                         

Russia has offered its Superjet SJ-100 to India to manufacture it and boost the number of passenger aircrafts available for regional travel in India. India and Russia have committed to a new aircraft production partnership, with India’s state-backed Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) signing a memorandum of understanding with Russia’s PJSC United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) to produce civil commuter SJ-100 aircraft, the companies have announced. The Superjet SJ-100 is a twin-engine, narrow-body Russian regional passenger aircraft already in commercial service, with more than 200 units operating across 16 airlines worldwide. Under the new arrangement, HAL will have the rights to manufacture the aircraft in India for Indian customers.

The agreement, signed in Moscow on Tuesday (October 28), marks a significant step in India’s ongoing efforts to manufacture a passenger aircraft for the first time. HAL is an India state-run company that also builds Russian fighter jets, helicopters, jet engines, avionics, and various spares under licence. HAL said, “The model is expected to play a key role in boosting regional air connectivity under the Centre’s UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) scheme,”, citing a long-term Indian government regional development initiative to make air travel affordable and accessible for the common citizen. “This collaboration marks a historic step towards ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ (Self-reliant India) in civil aviation,” an HAL official said, calling it a strategic milestone that will strengthen India’s aerospace ecosystem, create skilled jobs, and spur growth across the private supply chain.

HAL noted that “mutual trust” between the two companies has enabled the latest Indo-Russian civil aviation partnership. According to HAL, manufacturing the SJ-100 in India will support Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative to boost domestic production capabilities. India needs over 200 commercial airliners within the next decade to cater for regional demand, and an additional 350 aircraft to serve international destinations in the Indian Ocean region. The MOU that was signed by Prabhat Ranjan from HAL and Oleg Bogomolov of PJSC-UAC in the presence of HAL CMD DK Sunil, and UAC DG Vadim Badekh, holds no value unless a concreate agreement is signed between the two companies.

                            

This will be the first complete passenger aircraft built in India since the Avro HS-748, which HAL produced under licence between 1961 and 1988. The return to civil airliner manufacturing underscores India’s ambition to expand beyond defence aviation into commercial transport, a market long dominated by Western manufacturers such as Airbus and Boeing.  Although this tie-up has reportedly been under discussion since at least 2023, the timing of the announcement, just days after the Trump administration imposed new tariffs on India for not cutting its Russian oil imports, has been widely reported in the Indian media as a political gesture. 

Industry analysts say the SJ-100 programme could position India as a regional hub for small and medium-range jet production, meeting both domestic demand and export opportunities across South and Southeast Asia. Over the next decade, India’s civil aviation market is expected to require more than 200 aircraft in this category for regional routes, with a further 350 potentially needed for short-haul flights to nearby international tourist destinations across the Indian Ocean region. Originally developed by Yakovlev, part of UAC, the Sukhoi Superjet 100 is a new-generation short-haul regional aircraft designed to carry up to 103 passengers over a range of 3,500 kilometres. Its advanced aerodynamics, digital fly-by-wire controls, and modern side-stick cockpit, the aircraft offers performance and comfort comparable to larger mainline jets. The SJ-100 is powered by Aviadvigatel PD-8 engines, replacing the earlier Franco-Russian SaM146 powerplants used on the original Superjet. It is equipped with CAT IIIA autoland capability, advanced navigation systems (P-RNAV, LNAV, VNAV), and a weather radar capable of detecting turbulence. The aircraft can operate in extreme climates, from –55°C to +45°C, making it well-suited to India’s varied geography and environmental conditions. It also features low operating costs and an easily reconfigurable cabin, appealing to budget and regional carriers alike.

For Russia, the partnership with HAL comes at a crucial moment. The SJ-100 is central to Moscow’s effort to revive its civil aviation industry following Western sanctions that cut off access to imported aircraft and parts after 2022. Formerly known as the SSJ-New, the aircraft has undergone a full transformation to replace all Western components with Russian equivalents—a process officials describe as “total import substitution”. It now incorporates more than 40 domestically produced subsystems, including avionics, landing gear, auxiliary power units, and environmental control systems.

                    

Flight testing of the all-Russian version began earlier this year, with certification expected by December 2025 and deliveries to start in early 2026. Russia’s Aeroflot Group has already ordered 34 aircraft and will be the first operator. In total, UAC has collected around 250 preliminary orders from Russian airlines and leasing companies, with plans to deliver 142 aircraft by 2030. The partnership allows Russia to tap into India’s manufacturing capacity and engineering expertise, helping it meet delivery schedules and expand the aircraft’s market beyond sanctioned regions. For India, producing the SJ-100 locally aligns closely with its Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiatives. It also creates a long-term bridge between defence and civil aerospace, leveraging HAL’s experience in military jet assembly—including the Tejas LCA and Su-30MKI—and its civil Dornier 228 operations. The last airliner type to be domestically produced by India was the Avro (later Hawker Siddeley) HS-748. A total of 89 of this British-designed aircraft were produced under license in India, starting in 1961. The majority of these aircraft entered service with the Indian Air Force, although government-owned domestic carrier Indian Airlines also took 17 of them.

                       

Industry observers note that, if successful, the SJ-100 could serve as a launch platform for a broader indigenous civil aviation ecosystem, fostering private suppliers, avionics firms, and maintenance hubs—areas where India holds significant growth potential. While the SJ-100 sits in a different capacity class to Boeing and Airbus narrowbodies, it competes directly with regional jets such as the Embraer E175 and Airbus A320. Its appeal lies in cost efficiency, operational flexibility, and suitability for smaller airports. Analysts suggest that if HAL can localise production and secure orders from Indian carriers, the SJ-100 could provide airlines with an affordable alternative to Western jets, whose acquisition and maintenance costs have risen sharply.

                           

The aircraft’s modest 1,900-metre runway requirement also makes it well suited to India’s expanding network of regional airports. India’s civil aviation sector is projected to require approximately 2,200 new commercial aircraft over the next 10 years (2025–2035) to support fleet expansion and replacement amid surging passenger demand. In the last two years, Indigo and Air India, two of India’s largest passenger carriers, have ordered more than 1,100 aircraft (Indigo: 560, Air India: 570) in deals worth more than US$100 billion.

At the outset, it must be noted that there is not much data on the safety record of SJ-100. The aircraft entered service only in 2011, and the jet has mostly flown within Russia. Since Russia invaded Crimea in 2014, and sanctions were imposed on Russia, it has stopped sharing information with the West. In this short time, the aircraft has been involved in 95 recorded incidents, according to the Aviation Safety Network (ASN), five of which resulted in complete hull losses. Three of these incidents led to fatalities, with the SJ-100 claiming 89 lives. Five hull losses in this short time is a significant number. In three of the five hull loss cases, human error was blamed. The five hull losses over 14 years, with nearly 0.5-0.8 million flying hours, are significant; however, human error was responsible in three cases. The remaining two incidents, still under investigation, are more serious.

However, given that the aircraft is in its early days, this number is not an outlier in the history of civil aviation. According to Simple Flying, the Moscow Sheremetyevo incident highlighted potential design flaws in the SJ100. The rapid fire spread following the hard landing suggests that improvements in the aircraft’s fire containment systems may be necessary. However, none of the other hull-loss incidents revealed any significant design flaws. Furthermore, Russia has redesigned many parts that were earlier imported from Western countries. The ‘Russified’ SJ-100R had its first flight in 2023. It remains to be seen what the safety record of this Russified SJ-100R will be. However, given the SJ-100’s track record over the last 14 years, it can be safely said that the SJ-100 is safe, having undergone the same rigorous testing and certification as all commercial aircraft.

                            

The aircraft has indeed received minimal international orders in the last 14 years. However, this might not be because of any inherent design flaws or technical issues in the aircraft, but rather a result of the unprecedented sanctions on Russia in the wake of the Ukraine War. The aircraft entered service in 2011, and sanctions against Russia were imposed in 2014. Russia’s full-fledged invasion of Ukraine in 2022 triggered further sanctions. On March 15, 2022, the EU formally designated UAC under its Ukraine sanctions regime, citing its control over 100% of Russia’s military aircraft production—jets actively deployed in the conflict. The UAC is also under U.S. and British sanctions and is described by the U.S. Treasury as a key enterprise in Russia’s military-industrial complex. It is quite possible that had it not been for the Ukraine War, the SJ-100 might have won many other international orders. So, in short HAL is indeed taking a big gamble even though the aircraft is safe. Lets, hope this gamble pays off. Here is comparison between Sukhoi SJ-100 with Boeing 737-800, Airbus A320, and Embraer E195.

Parameter	Sukhoi SJ-100	Boeing 737-800	Airbus A320	Embraer E195
Type	Regional jet	Narrowbody airliner	Narrowbody airliner	Regional/narrowbody airliner
Seating Capacity (Typical 2-class)	75–98 passengers	162 passengers	150 passengers	108–120 passengers
Overall Length	29.94 m (98 ft 3 in)	39.5 m (129 ft 6 in)	37.57 m (123 ft 3 in)	38.65 m (126 ft 10 in)
Wingspan	27.8 m (91 ft 2 in)	35.8 m (117 ft 5 in)	35.8 m (117 ft 6 in)	28.72 m (94 ft 3 in)
Height	10.28 m (33 ft 9 in)	12.5 m (41 ft)	11.76 m (38 ft 7 in)	10.55 m (34 ft 7 in)
Engines	2 × PowerJet SaM146 (or PD-8)	2 × CFM56-7B	2 × IAE V2500 or CFM56-5B	2 × GE CF34-10E turbofans
Thrust per Engine	17,500 lbf (78 kN)	27,300 lbf (121 kN)	25,000–27,000 lbf (111–120 kN)	20,000 lbf (89 kN)
Max Takeoff Weight (MTOW)	49,700 kg (109,570 lb)	79,000 kg (174,165 lb)	78,000 kg (171,961 lb)	52,290 kg (115,280 lb)
Fuel Capacity	~16,500 L (4,360 USG)	~26,000 L (6,870 USG)	~24,200 L (6,400 USG)	~16,150 L (4,270 USG)
Range (with typical pax)	3,000 km (1,620 nm)	5,665 km (3,060 nm)	6,100 km (3,300 nm)	4,260 km (2,300 nm)
Max Cruise Speed	Mach 0.82 (870 km/h / 541 mph)	Mach 0.82 (876 km/h / 544 mph)	Mach 0.82 (871 km/h / 541 mph)	Mach 0.82 (871 km/h / 541 mph)
First Flight	2008	1997	1987	2004
Entry into Service	2011	1998	1988	2006
List Price (approx., 2023)	$35–40 million	$100–110 million	$100–110 million	$50–55 million