The SuperJet 100 project is a family of medium-range passenger aircraft developed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau in cooperation with major American and European aviation corporations, including Boeing, Snecma, Thales, Messier Dowty, Liebherr Aerospace, and Honeywell.
The company said in a press release that the loan will be used to purchase equipment and modernize production capacity, and also to start serial production and sales of the aircraft.
Sukhoi plans to produce at least 700 RRJs, and intends to sell 35% of them to North America, 25% to Europe, 10% to Latin America, and 7% to Russia and China.
So far, Sukhoi has secured over 70 orders for its regional aircraft and expects to increase the number to 100 by the end of the year. Aeroflot, Russia's leading air carrier, is one of its largest clients, with contracts for the delivery of at least 45 planes.
The company held in September the first public presentation of the SuperJet 100 and said it was planning to start the first deliveries of the aircraft to customers in early 2008.
The catalogue price of a 95-seat basic version is $28 million, but the company is currently working on both smaller and larger capacity models of the SuperJet 100 series.
