Yakovlev MC-21

The Yakovlev MC-21 (Russian: Яковлев МС-21) is a single-aisle airliner, under development in Russia by the Yakovlev Corporation (formerly known as Irkut Corporation), a branch of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), itself a 92%-owned subsidiary of Russia's state-owned aviation giant Rostec. The variant MC-21-310 of the airliner powered by the Russian-made Aviadvigatel PD-14 engine made its maiden flight on 15 December 2020 from Irkutsk.

The program to build the MC-21 was launched in 2007. Irkut rolled out the first MC-21-300 with Pratt & Whitney engines on 8 June 2016 and first flew the aircraft on 28 May 2017. The twinjet has a carbon fibre reinforced polymer wing and was to be powered by Aviadvigatel PD-14 turbofans or Pratt & Whitney PW1000G engines. By July 2018, the company had received 175 firm orders.

In early 2022, international sanctions against Russia were imposed due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Irkut Corporation was placed on the sanctions lists of the United States, Canada, Switzerland and Ukraine, while United Aircraft Corporation was placed on the sanctions lists of the United States, European Union, Japan, Switzerland, France, Belgium and Ukraine, and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) suspended all work on type certification of the MC-21. To circumvent the sanctions, Irkut decided to use only Russian avionics and engines.

By early 2024, it had become clear that the design work and additional testing necessary to use Russian-made equipment would delay the launch date to 2025–2026, and that the aircraft would not meet its original weight, range and operating altitude specifications; additionally, industry analysts questioned the feasibility of the revised delivery timeline because the Russian-designed PD-14 engines were unproven and it was unclear if other parts suppliers could meet production targets.

In 2025, the first mass-produced Aviadvigatel PD-14 engines were delivered, ready for fitment into serial-produced MC-21 aircraft, with all components domestically sourced. Rostec head Sergei Chemezov told the press in January 2025 that serial production was expected to begin soon. Aeroflot was to receive the first 18 aircraft. Completion of the test-flight program was expected by the end of 2026.