SSJ-100 fleet could be halved by 2030

By 2030, the SSJ-100 fleet may be reduced by five times, to 28 “old” aircraft out of more than 150, if the manufacturer fails to master the repair of the hot part of foreign engines. About it writes Kommersant, citing a letter from the aircraft manufacturer Irkut Corporation (part of Rostec) to carriers, which was at the disposal of the newspaper.

The company gave such forecasts taking into account the “shortage of replacement engines and the inability to repair its” hot part “,” the document says. At the same time, in the case of mastering the repair of engines, it will be possible to save 106 liners, Irkut said.

At the same time, in the summer of 2022, the Ministry of Transport predicted the continued operation of all 170 short-haul aircraft (including SSJ, Yak-42 and Embraer). Irkut explained that the updated data reflects “efforts aimed at maintaining the stable operation of the SSJ-100 fleet.” The company told Kommersant that, according to preliminary data from air carriers, “there is interest in remotorizing the SSJ-100 fleet.”

In the letter, the manufacturer asked air carriers to report on how many SSJ-100s they think should be replaced by a foreign engine with a domestic PD-8, which is currently being developed for SSJ-NEW. Remotorization, in addition to engines, provides for the replacement of engine nacelles, the revision of pylons and the wing box, the onboard cable network and auxiliary power plant systems. The company pointed to a “significant amount of costs”, in connection with this, the corporation plans to attract state support measures. Its size is not indicated.

The cost of a set of two engines is usually estimated at 50-60% of the price of a new aircraft. According to Kommersant, the purchase of new PD-8s for 120 SaM-146 aircraft with an expired resource will cost 160-220 billion rubles. Interlocutors of the newspaper in airlines expect that in reality the price will be 1.5-2 times higher.

At the same time, a source close to Rostec said that the manufacturer has solutions that will increase the use of the SSJ fleet with SaM-146 engines “for a sufficiently long period.” According to the interlocutor, by this time new Russian aircraft will appear, and “the topic of remotorization will cease to be relevant.”

The Superjet uses SaM146 engines, a joint project of the French concern Safran and the Russian NPO Saturn (part of the United Engine Corporation (UEC) of Rostec). At the end of December 2022, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov in an interview with Vedomosti informedthat the replacement of SaM146 on the current generation of SSJ100 with Russian PD-8 is not yet provided.

Repair of the SaM146 hot end is only possible in France. Rostec previously noted that they were taking steps to master various types of repairs to these engines. In April at the Ministry of Industry and Trade reportedthat a certificate for the PD-8 engine for the SSJ 100 is expected in September this year.