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Russia’s “Staggering” Move – Battered By Sanctions, Moscow Turns To Iran For Help On Aircraft Repair & Maintenance

Several Russian airlines operating the Sukhoi Superjet 100s (SSJ 100) warn that they may soon have to ground the planes due to Western sanctions that have stopped the supply and repair of engines of these aircraft, according to a report by Russian media outlet RBC.

General Director of IrAero, an airline based in Irkutsk, Russia, Igor Kobzev warned the regional authorities in his letter on April 5 that due to US and EU sanctions, air carriers operating the domestic Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft may not continue to fly them for long for lack of repair and maintenance of their SaM146 engines.

The management of three more Russian airlines flying Superjet voiced similar concerns to RBC, with one of them saying that if the technical support of the engines does not improve, his airline could be forced to stop operations by the fall of 2022.

At present, the Sukhoi Superjet 100 is the only indigenous Russian commercial aircraft in production. The Superjet is the result of a collaboration between designers from “more than 20 world leaders in the aircraft industry,” according to the website of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), part of Rostec, a state-owned defense conglomerate.




Joe_Biden_and_Vladimir_Putin_in_Geneva,
File Image: Biden and Putin

Sanctions Impact Engine Repair and Maintenance

The SaM146 turbofan engine that powers the Superjet is produced by PowerJet, a joint venture company between Russian engine manufacturer UEC Saturn and French aerospace engine producer Safran. It appears to be the only engine option currently for the SSJ-100s.

In the joint venture, UEC Saturn is responsible for the manufacturing process of the engine’s fan and low-pressure turbine as well as the general assembly and its installation on the SSJ100. While, the French company is responsible for the production of the engine’s high-pressure compressor, the combustion chamber, and the high-pressure turbine.

Russian media reported on March 30 that PowerJet notified its partners based in Russia about the termination of its engine maintenance and repair services following the international sanctions against Russia over the invasion of Ukraine.




A SaM146 turbofan (Wikimedia Commons)

Suspension of the contracts prohibits the shipping of any products to Russian companies, even engines that are being repaired in Russia, and therefore, the UEC Saturn has also been refusing to accept Superjet engines for repairs.

IrAero, which has seven such aircraft in its fleet, is already short of four engines. The Irkutsk airline cannot even receive the paid spare parts that are in the UEC-Saturn warehouse, since they belong to PowerJet, Lapin pointed out in his letter.

In addition, at least two more Russian airlines cannot pick up engines after repairs in France, their managers told RBC.

“This situation has developed because of the sanctions, no one wants to make decisions that run counter to them,” a source close to the UAC told RBC.

The source close to UAC further said that Superjet will most probably stop flying not because of issues with technical support of engines but “due to the lack of such mundane things as wheels and brakes, various sensors and valves” and stressed the urgency for localizing the production and repair of components which if not done by the end of 2022, half of the Superjet fleet may have to be “chained to the ground”.

While officially, Rostec, the parent company of UAC has refuted the news report by RBC.

“We are surprised by IrAero’s statements. As far as we know, the airline has no problems with its flight fleet. All Superjet companies are now in service, the engines on the planes are available, there are no objective reasons to raise a fuss,” the Rostec press service said after the publication of the RBC material.




Sukhoi Superjet 100

Reliance On Foreign Aircraft 

As of mid-2021, there were only 155 SSJ-100s in operation, according to UAC CEO Yury Slyusar. The demand was largely driven by government pressure on Russian airlines to buy them, according to industry analysts.

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