DALLAS — According to a representative from the Kazan Aerospace Plant (KAPO), the first Tupolev Tu-214 aircraft will be delivered in 2024.

The Russian government has entrusted KAPO, located approximately 700 km east of Moscow, to assemble 70 Tu-214 aircraft in order to replace the A320 and 737 models, which have become inaccessible due to Western sanctions.

The Tu-214 is a twin-engine narrow-body aircraft derived from the Tu-204, with a passenger capacity of 210 and a range of 6,500 km. The Tu-204 was developed in the final years of the Soviet Union and made its first flight in 1990. Although the first Tu-214 took to the skies in 1996, both models had a very limited production run of approximately 100 units.

To expedite the production of the Tu-214, Russia plans to manufacture ten aircraft per year starting in 2025, increasing to 20 per year by 2027. However, the Russian aircraft also contains foreign components, which need to be replaced.

Tu-214 Parts Amid Russian Sanctions

The state-owned Rostec technology group has recently announced the commencement of production for sensors that will be used in the Tu-214's navigation system. According to air-journal.fr, these sensors will determine the aircraft's direction and position during flight and have already been used in other aircraft models such as the Beriev Be-200 and Ilyushin Il-96, according to Rostec.

Despite Western sanctions, Russian airlines have managed to import essential parts for Airbus and Boeing aircraft, such as Northrop Grumman devices, cabin pressure valves, cockpit equipment, temperature sensors, toilet bowls, screws, nuts, and even a Honeywell-branded aircraft engine starter. The import of these parts has allowed Russian-registered planes to continue flying, bypassing the restrictions imposed by the sanctions.

Additionally, Russian airlines have been able to maintain their fleets with the help of international shipments and the use of hundreds of foreign jets that were stranded in Russia after the war began.

There's no word on who will take delivery of the Tu-214, but Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) signed a letter of intent with the government of Russia’s Yakutia region on June 15, 2023, as its first commercial customer for narrowbody airliner.

Featured image: Tu-214. Tupolev says the Tu-214 passenger aircraft and ПС-90A engines are certified by IAC AR and fully comply with international requirements for environmental noise and hazardous emissions to the atmosphere. Photo: UAC