The SuperJet-100 project is a family of medium-range passenger aircraft developed by Sukhoi in cooperation with major American and European aviation corporations, including Boeing, Snecma, Thales, Messier Dowty, Liebherr Aerospace, and Honeywell.
Alenia Aeronautica, which is part of Finmeccanica, participates in world-class programs like Eurofighter Typhoon and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. It also designs and builds advanced aerostructures for airliners, including the Airbus 380 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
The overall market for the SuperJet-100 is estimated at about 5,500 aircraft, or $100 billion, through 2023.
In a recent Le Bourget deal, Sukhoi signed a $283-million contract to supply 10 Superjet-100 aircraft to Italian carrier ItAli Airlines.
The tests of the new plane SuperJet 100 are proceeding according to schedule, Vladimir Kartopoltsev, director of the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI), said at a meeting with First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov.
Ivanov visited the institute, located in the city of Zhukovsky outside Moscow, on the eve of the MAKS-2007 air show.
MAKS-2007 is an aviation exhibition held every two years in the town of Zhukovsky, which hosts a military airbase. The event is expected to attract over 540 Russian companies and at least 200 foreign firms from over 30 countries this year.
Sukhoi said in July it would build the first nine SuperJet-100 regional aircraft in 2008.
Sukhoi plans to produce at least 700 Russian regional jets, and intends to sell 35% of them in North America, 25% in Europe, 10% in Latin America, and 7% in Russia and China.
