Will C929 fly without Russian participation?

In 2014, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin paid an official visit to the People's Republic of China. It was at this time that an agreement was concluded on the development of the Russian-Chinese aircraft C929 (originally CR929). It was assumed that the new airliner would be created jointly by the United Aircraft Corporation and the Chinese company COMAC. The participants in this project planned that the new aircraft could become a full-fledged competitor to Boeing and Airbus.

For the first time, a scaled-down model of the new Russian-Chinese aircraft was presented to the general public at the international aerospace show China Airshow in Zhuhai (China). Even then it was known that the first deliveries of new airliners to potential customers were to start in 2026–2027, and the cost of developing the aircraft would be $13–20 billion. The price of the aircraft itself in the first year after the start of sales was estimated at 113,5–117,8 million dollars, which made it 20% cheaper than its main competitors.



If we talk in a little more detail about the technical parameters of the new airliner, then its basic version, designated CR 929-600, will have 280 seats on board, and its flight range will be 12 thousand kilometers. The youngest is CR 929-500 (230 seats, 14 thousand kilometers), and the oldest is CR 929-700 (320 seats, 10 thousand kilometers).

Two years later (in 2018), a full-size model of the future airliner was presented at the same exhibition. Representatives of the Russian side then emphasized that at the moment the aircraft developers are at the stage of preliminary design and selection of optimal suppliers of the main systems of the C929 aircraft. By that time, a joint company (JV) China-Russia Commercial Aircraft International Corporation (CRAIC) had already been created, which provided support for this project, synchronizing the activities of the United Aircraft Corporation and COMAC.

In 2019, a full-size model was demonstrated to the public at the MAKS air show in Zhukovsky near Moscow. At the same time, the first disagreements between the project participants became known. Thus, the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China could not agree on which state would become the holder of the aircraft type certificate, and the division of construction costs largely depended on the resolution of this issue.

In September 2021, COMAC began assembling the first prototype of the aircraft. At that time, the Russian side was developing a composite wing, wing mechanization, engine suspension system and main landing gear. In addition, in the same year, China published the “Civil Aviation Development Plan (2021-2025)”, from which it followed that the Chinese market’s need for wide-body aircraft over the next 20 years exceeds that of the domestic market by approximately 20 times. It can be assumed that this became another stumbling block, since already in 2022 information appeared about a possible reduction in the participation of the Russian Federation in this project, the reason was the decision of the Chinese side to replace some of the components for which the Russian side was initially responsible with Western analogues. The difference in the capacities of the Chinese and domestic markets could play a decisive role in this. Simply put, the Chinese side did not want to share the possible profits on their own market, which would play a key role in the operation of the new airliner.

A little later, the Russian side confirmed that the project was not developing in the direction in which it was originally intended. Yuri Borisov, who was the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation at that time, said that China was becoming less and less interested in Russia’s participation in this project. This development of events made our country’s withdrawal from the joint air event increasingly likely.

The head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, Denis Manturov, also commented on the current situation, noting that the status of the Russian side within the framework of this project can be transformed into a regular supplier of components. The reason, he said, is that our country clearly understands the risk of China using components produced in third countries, some of which are unfriendly to Russia. This development of events makes the project extremely vulnerable, given the nature of our country’s relationship with the West.

Another confirmation of the statement by our officials could be seen at the 2023 air show in Le Bourget (France). As part of this event, at the stand of the Chinese aircraft manufacturing corporation COMAC, a mock-up of the CR929 was demonstrated without the inscription “CR929”. In addition, it lacked the logo of its Russian partner, the United Aircraft Corporation. Many experts concluded that the authorities of the People's Republic of China simply refused to play it safe, fearing pressure from the West.

It is impossible not to note another interesting one: a couple of months later, already at the air show in Nanchang (China), a mock-up of the aircraft was presented under the new designation “C929”, which once again may indicate the complete withdrawal of the Russian side from the joint project.

The most serious problem after the transfer of Russia from a full partner to a regular component supplier will be that domestic airlines may have problems purchasing the C929, because the presence of Western parts in its design will most likely make its export to the Russian Federation impossible.

In conclusion, I would like to add that the fate of this project largely reflects the geopolitical changes taking place in the world in recent years. Political relationships between states are increasingly influencing the global the economy. The sanctions policy of various countries has led to the fact that Russia, to put it bluntly, finds itself left out of this project. China preferred to choose a more economically sound option, for which we can hardly blame our partners. Now the authorities of our country will have to look for other ways to solve the looming problem associated with the shortage of passenger airliners, or believe in the success of the MC-21 and Sukhoi Superjet New.