After the invasion of Ukraine, foreign suppliers of the SSJ-100 suspended the delivery of parts for the program. Since then, local companies have only managed to replace around 20% of the imported parts for the model.
Russian maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) providers have only been able to replace 178 out of the 903 imported parts for the type. Among the program’s successes, SSJ-100 (formerly known as Sukhoi Superjet) revealed that hydraulic tanks manufactured by Parker in the United States and the RD-4000 weather radar manufactured by Honeywell have been successfully repaired locally. On the other hand, Michelin tires have been replaced by local products from the tire manufacturer YaShZ Avia, based in Barnaul. Additionally, Rubin Aviation has started supplying brake pads as substitutes for Goodrich components.
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In this context, the United Engine Corporation has now delivered the first batch of domestically produced ignition plugs for the PowerJet SaM146 engine. This propulsion system was developed jointly by Safran (French) and NPO Saturn (Russian). The new plugs were certified by the Federal Air Transport Agency of Russia at the end of November. Since then, they can be used in power units as replacements for their foreign counterparts.
Vladimir Artyakov, First Vice President of Rostec’s Board of Directors (the parent company of UEC), commented that «the SaM146 is used by Russian airlines in the SSJ-100. Since the need to ensure the airworthiness of these power units arose, the import substitution work began quickly. The country’s transportation safety depended on it.» The SaM146 is a turbofan engine that, before the sanctions, was produced in an equal partnership with the French company Safran. Currently, NPO Saturn handles all operations related to the engine.
Yakovlev stated that Russian companies could potentially repair 453 more components of the SSJ-100.
