China Drops Russia from Joint Passenger Aircraft Project

The Chinese aircraft manufacturing corporation COMAC displayed a model of its proposed C929 airliner at the Farnborough International Air Show, which opened on July 22.

Development of the 280-seat, long-range wide-body aircraft began around 10 years ago as a joint venture between Russia and China. The agreement was signed between Russia’s United Aircraft Company (UAC) and COMAC during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 2014 visit to China. It was seen as an attempt to both reduce Moscow’s reliance on Western aircraft and to position the companies as global competitors to Boeing and Airbus.

Although there has been no official confirmation that Russia has been discarded, media outlets noticed no mention of Russia in the project brochures and the “R” in the original model designation C [China] R [Russia] 929 had been removed. The BBC cited an anonymous representative of the Chinese company who confirmed COMAC was now working on the project alone.

The partnership was beset with problems almost from the beginning. There was disagreement with how income from sales of the aircraft would be split, with China refusing to let Russia obtain any revenue from the sale of the aircraft in China. Following the introduction of Western sanctions after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, COMAC replaced nearly all Russian components with German and US substitutes and began working with Rolls-Royce and General Electric in engine development.

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Nevertheless, Russia continued to put a brave face on the aircraft program. While former Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov admitted in 2022 that Russian participation in the project had decreased, the then head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Denis Manturov, said that Russia might withdraw as a partner but would continue to supply components.

As previously reported, Russia’s attempts to replace its Western aviation with 1,000 domestically manufactured aircraft by 2030 looks less and less likely to happen. Its commercial airlines are desperate for the C929 with its 12,000-kilometer range, or a similar airliner.

The only aircraft Russia has that comes anywhere near that capability is the Ilyushin Il-96 which came into service in 1992, and for which Russia struggles to maintain along with most of its current commercial aircraft fleet.

The C(R) 929 was Russia’s first attempt to develop a wide-body aircraft since the Soviet era, and that now seems to be over despite all the claims of a “no limits” partnership between Moscow and Beijing.