A Yakovlev MC-21-300 airliner displayed at the MAKS-2021 airshow near Moscow

Aeroflot Orders 90 More MC-21s Before the First One Enters Service

by Connor Kerr | Sep 19, 2026 | Mondo dell'aviazione, Notizia | 0 comments

On Thursday in Moscow, Aeroflot signed for 90 more Yakovlev MC-21-310s. That takes the national carrier’s commitment to 108 aircraft, with deliveries running from 2029 to 2032, plus simulators, crew training and 22 years of support.

The number of MC-21s currently carrying fare-paying passengers anywhere in the world is zero.

That gap between the order book and the apron is the entire story of Russian civil aviation right now.

Informazioni rapide

What was signed: a contract for 90 Yakovlev MC-21-310s, in Moscow on 18 September 2026
Who signed: Aeroflot with three Rostec companies — United Aircraft Corporation, the leasing arm Aviacapital-Service, and engine maker UEC
Total commitment: 108 aircraft, including 18 from a 2023 contract due in 2027 and 2028
Delivery schedule for the new 90: 14 in 2029, 18 in 2030, 24 in 2031 and 34 in 2032
Motori: Russian Aviadvigatel PD-14 turbofans
Capacità: up to 211 passengers
Also included: simulators, crew training, and 22 years of technical support for all 108 aircraft
In airline service today: nessuno

What Was Actually Signed

The contract went through Aeroflot and three companies inside the Rostec state conglomerate: United Aircraft Corporation, which builds the aircraft, the leasing arm Aviacapital-Service, which finances it, and United Engine Corporation, which supplies the powerplants. Everything in the deal is state-owned on both sides. This is an internal transfer dressed as a commercial order.

The aircraft seats up to 211 passengers and is powered by Aviadvigatel PD-14 turbofans. The delivery profile is steep: 14 aircraft in 2029, then 18, then 24, then 34 in 2032.

An Irkut MC-21-300 at Istanbul Ataturk Airport during Teknofest 2019 — An MC-21-300 at Istanbul Ataturk in 2019, in United Aircraft Corporation house colours rather than Aeroflot livery. No photographs of an Aeroflot-liveried MC-21 in service exist, because none is in service. (Photo: Kingbjelica, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

The Aeroplane Changed Under Sanctions

The MC-21 that Putin walked around at the Irkutsk Aviation Plant in July 2026 is not the aircraft that was designed. Sanctions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine forced United Aircraft Corporation to replace the Western engines, the composite wing and a long list of other components with Russian alternatives.

Every substitution cost weight. The post-sanctions aircraft is reported to be about six tonnes heavier than the original, which means it can no longer fly Moscow to Vladivostok nonstop as it was supposed to. In an exchange caught on camera during the Irkutsk visit, Putin told Rostec chief Sergei Chemezov the aircraft needed to fly farther. Chemezov replied that they would work on it, and that a longer-range version was under development.

The cost went the same direction. In June 2026 the Russian government raised the projected price of the first 18 localised aircraft from 58.3 billion roubles to 96.1 billion, an increase of nearly two-thirds. Per aircraft, that is roughly 5.34 billion roubles, against 3.14 to 3.29 billion estimated in 2023.

A critical look at how the MC-21 programme got here, one of the most-watched treatments of the subject.

The People Who Built It Are Sceptical

Kirill Zhirikhin worked on testing the MC-21’s capabilities at Russia’s Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute, TsAGI, from 2007 to 2022. He is not a Western analyst guessing from outside.

“Under Russia’s wartime conditions, this is unimplementable. The announced targets would require some kind of ideal conditions.”

Kirill Zhirikhin — Worked on MC-21 capability testing at Russia’s Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI) from 2007 to 2022, speaking to VPost and The Moscow Times, August 2026

His objection is not about the aeroplane. He credits UAC with real progress on the design. It is about the industrial base behind it, and about people.

“There are very few qualified people. Only the loyalists stayed. Aviation is an industry that needs to keep working continuously. A country cannot drop out of aircraft production for three years and then return and produce 50 or 100 planes a year. It’s physically impossible.”

Kirill Zhirikhin — Former TsAGI engineer, on Russia’s capacity to build aircraft at scale

Zhirikhin’s assessment is that the MC-21 remains at least fifteen years behind its foreign competitors, and that production will be limited: enough aircraft to demonstrate the programme exists and to move through state-controlled channels, not enough to become a mass-produced airliner.

The Fleet It Is Supposed to Replace

More than 400 foreign-owned aircraft, mostly Boeings and Airbuses, stayed in Russia after Western leasing companies were forced to terminate their contracts. Those aircraft still carry the overwhelming majority of Russian passengers, kept flying through cannibalisation, improvised parts channels and domestic maintenance capability that Aeroflot has been authorised to build for Airbus and Boeing engines.

Against that, 108 MC-21s delivered on time by 2032 would be a partial replacement at best. And the same plant in Irkutsk that builds the MC-21 also builds Su-30 fighters, in a country whose industrial capacity and skilled labour have been pulled hard toward defence.

Four aircraft are supposed to be finished by the end of this year and handed to Aeroflot once certification is complete. That is the number that matters, and it is the number to watch in January.

Sources: FlightGlobal; aeroTELEGRAPH; TASS; The Moscow Times and VPost; Air Data News.

Domande frequenti

What did Aeroflot order in September 2026?

Ninety Yakovlev MC-21-310 airliners, in a contract signed in Moscow on 18 September 2026 with three Rostec companies: United Aircraft Corporation, the leasing arm Aviacapital-Service and engine maker UEC. The deal also covers simulators, crew training and 22 years of technical support.

How many MC-21s will Aeroflot have in total?

One hundred and eight. The new contract for 90 aircraft sits on top of 18 ordered under a 2023 contract, which are due for delivery in 2027 and 2028. Deliveries of the new batch are scheduled at 14 in 2029, 18 in 2030, 24 in 2031 and 34 in 2032.

Is the MC-21 in airline service yet?

No. The head of the Irkutsk Aviation Plant told President Putin in July 2026 that four aircraft would be completed by the end of 2026 and handed to Aeroflot once the type had passed all certification requirements. Rostec chief executive Sergei Chemezov has said deliveries would begin in the second half of 2027.

Why is the MC-21 so late?

Sanctions imposed after Russia invaded Ukraine forced United Aircraft Corporation to redesign the aircraft around domestic parts, replacing foreign engines, the composite wing and other components. That re-engineering added weight and years. The current version is reported to be around six tonnes heavier than the original design.

What engines does the MC-21 use?

Aviadvigatel PD-14 turbofans, the Russian replacement for the Pratt & Whitney PW1400G originally offered on the type. The PD-14 is one of the few genuinely new large commercial turbofans developed outside the Western manufacturers in recent decades.

How much does an MC-21 cost?

In June 2026 the Russian government raised the projected cost of the first 18 localised aircraft from 58.3 billion roubles to 96.1 billion, an increase of almost two-thirds. That works out at roughly 5.34 billion roubles per aircraft, up from between 3.14 and 3.29 billion in 2023.

Can the MC-21 replace Russia’s Airbus and Boeing fleet?

Not on this timetable. More than 400 foreign-owned aircraft stayed in Russia after leasing contracts were terminated, and those remain the backbone of the fleet. Even 108 MC-21s delivered on schedule by 2032 would replace a fraction of them, and industry figures publicly doubt the schedule.