OREANDA-NEWS. The Russian project for the MS-21 medium-haul aircraft has entered the contracting stage. A total of around 100 manufacturers from eight countries are participating in the project. KRET is engaged in the development of a set of avionics for the new airplane.

The prospective MS-21 medium-haul aircraft is intended to replace the workhorse of Russian civil aviation, the Tu-154M. The competition to design a new airliner was announced by the Russian Aviation and Space Agency in 2002. The project entitled "The Mainline Aircraft for the 21st Century" (MS-21) was announced as the winner of the tender a year later.

In addition to the Irkut Corporation, which was announced as the sole contractor responsible for the development and certification of the MS-21 family of aircraft, other leading Russian and foreign companies, including KRET, are working on the project. A total of around 100 manufacturers from eight countries are participating in the program.

The Concern plans to deliver up to 70-80% of the avionics installed on the MS-21.

KRET is engaged in the development of an integrated avionics system based on modular avionics (IKBO IMA). The system performs all of the

The prospective MS-21 medium-haul aircraft is intended to replace the workhorse of Russian civil aviation, the Tu-154M. The competition to design a new airliner was announced by the Russian Aviation and Space Agency in 2002. The project entitled "The Mainline Aircraft for the 21st Century" (MS-21) was announced as the winner of the tender a year later.

In addition to the Irkut Corporation, which was announced as the sole contractor responsible for the development and certification of the MS-21 family of aircraft, other leading Russian and foreign companies, including KRET, are working on the project. A total of around 100 manufacturers from eight countries are participating in the program.

The Concern plans to deliver up to 70-80% of the avionics installed on the MS-21.

KRET is engaged in the development of an integrated avionics system based on modular avionics (IKBO IMA). The system performs all of the following functions: navigation, piloting, alarm, display, etc. Thus, the MC-21 will become the first domestic aircraft to be equipped with IKBO IMA.

According to Concern CEO Nikolay Kolesov, 90% of the mathematical software for the IKBO IMA integrated system equipped on the MS-21 and 47% of its hardware will be made in Russia.

In general, the share of imported components in the MS-21 will be small, which is especially important given current import substitution measures. According to Kommersant, Dmitry Eliseev, Vice President of Economics and Finance at United Aircraft Corporation, said: "If the share of imported components cannot be reduced to less than 40% in the SSJ 100, then the share in the MS-21 will be much lower. To achieve this we are actively cooperating with the Rostec holdings, for example. A Russian-made chassis and other components will also be created for the production of avionics systems with KRET. The sanctions will give us a strong incentive to pursue import substitution."

KRET Creates Avionics for Prospective Airliner

Recall that the MS-21, along with the Sukhoi Superjet 100 airliner, is one of the priorities of the federal target program for the development of civil aviation. About RUB 17 billion have been allocated to the development of the airliner for the current year. The total amount of investment in the project will amount to approximately RUB 164 billion.

The MS-21 medium-haul airliner will be produced in several variants: the single-class layout MS 21-200 will be able to carry 153 passengers, and the MS 21-300 will seat 181 passengers.

A range of innovative solutions had to be quickly developed and implemented in order to achieve this goal. The aerodynamic properties of the aircraft (and, consequently, its performance characteristics) were improved through the use a wingspan that is longer than other planes in its class. Thus, for the first time the wings of a medium-haul aircraft have been made of a polymer composites, which account for more than 30% of the structure of the aircraft.

The MS-21 should deliver a level of comfort that is in no way inferior to its global competitors. This objective was put before the designers at an early stage. And the aircraft manufacturers have also risen to the challenge of meeting this design goal.

One of the important design decisions behind the MS-21 project is the enlarged diameter of the fuselage, which is 4 m 6 cm, larger than other airplanes in the same class, such as the Airbus 320 or Boeing 737. This allows passengers to enjoy much more personal space. The standard width of seats in the MS-21's economy class is also wider than, for example, those in the economy class of the Boeing 787.