HAL To Build Narrow-Body Planes With Boeing Rival United Aircraft Corp

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. will build a twin-engine, narrow-body passenger aircraft in partnership with Russia's United Aircraft Corp., a rival of Western planemakers Boeing and Airbus.

The two companies on Monday signed an MoU for the joint production of Superjet-100 in the presence of senior executives in Moscow. More than 200 of these aircraft have been produced and are being operated by more than 16 commercial airline operators, HAL said in a statement.

"SJ-100 will be the game changer for short-haul connectivity under the UDAN Scheme in India. Under this arrangement, HAL will have the rights to manufacture SJ-100 aircraft for domestic customers," it said.

United Aircraft Corp is owned by the Russian government and manufactures both defence and civil aircraft. Companies within the group hold rights to well-known brands as "Sukhoi," "MiG," and "IL".

The SJ-100 project will be the first instance wherein a complete passenger aircraft will be produced in India, HAL said. The last such project was the PSU company's production of the UK-developed Hawker Siddeley HS 748, which started in 1961 and ended in 1988.

The Superjet 100 aircraft are equipped with two SaM146 turbofan engines specially designed for this type of aircraft. The plane can carry 103 passengers, according to UAC website.

The company has patented a new widebody aircraft designed to compete directly with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, as per media reports. Russia’s aviation sector have faced extensive Western sanctions that cut its access to aircraft, parts, and financing, since the Ukraine War.

The HAL-UAC deal comes in the backdrop of the duopoly in the global commercial aircraft space that is struggling to keep up with demand.

US planemaker Boeing Co. and European major Airbus SE are suffering "unprecedented" delays in certifying and delivering aircraft, stifling airlines’ growth and plans to decarbonise, as per a Bloomberg News report.

The companies have struggled to get their planes out the door since the pandemic crippled their supply chain.

Deutsche Lufthansa AG and British Airways parent IAG SA are awaiting Boeing’s 777X, which is currently six years late to the market, the report said. The widebody aircraft is now expected to launch in early 2027 instead of next year.

The delays are exacerbated by a US government shutdown that has stopped aircraft inspections by the Federal Aviation Administration.