India signs deal with Russia to build passenger jets

In a move that could reshape India's role in global aviation, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, the state-owned aerospace giant, signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday with Russia's United Aircraft Corporation to produce a Russian-designed passenger jet for domestic use. This MoU marks India's first foray into full-scale civilian aircraft manufacturing in decades.

The agreement, inked in Moscow, grants Hindustan Aeronautics the rights to assemble the Sukhoi Superjet 100, or SJ-100, a twin-engine regional jet suited for short-haul routes. The move is seen as a pivotal step toward self-reliance in civil aviation, potentially injecting competition into a market long monopolized by American and European manufacturers like Boeing and Airbus. The SJ-100, which has already seen more than 200 units produced and operated by over a dozen airlines worldwide, is poised to bolster India's UDAN regional connectivity scheme, which subsidises flights to underserved areas.

A statement by HAL said, "the manufacturing of the SJ-100 aircraft marks the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the Indian aviation industry. It’s a step towards fulfilling the dream of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ in the civil aviation sector. Manufacturing will also strengthen the private sector and create direct and indirect jobs in the aviation industry"

The deal revives echoes of India's last major civilian aircraft project: HAL’s production of AVRO HS-748, which started in 1961 and ended in 1988. Since then, India has relied almost entirely on imports for its commercial fleet, with Boeing and Airbus controlling over 90 percent of the global market for narrow-body jets like the SJ-100's competitors, the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 families. The partnership aligns with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Make in India" initiative, focusing on domestic manufacturing capabilities and creating jobs in a sector projected to demand over 200 regional jets in the next decade, plus hundreds more for routes across the Indian Ocean. The deal comes even as Russia's aerospace sector has faced Western sanctions since the 2022 war in Ukraine.