There were many problems with the new Russian regional airliner program right from the beginning. One of them – at least according to some – was the fact that the aircraft itself was not really that Russian. United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) sought to change that, but the task proved more difficult under strict international sanctions.
The story of what later became known as SSJ 100, Sukhoi SuperJet, Superjet 100, and by many other names began in the early 2000s. Cooperation between Russia and the West was at an all-time high; therefore, everything the post-Soviet economy could not do was expected to be readily procured elsewhere. Avionics, hydraulics, APU, engine, and other advanced components for the new, state-of-the-art product of the re-emerging Russian aviation industry were manufactured by leading European and American firms. Even the marketing was to be handled by Boeing.
However, SSJ 100’s path to reality was bumpy, as was the geopolitical landscape in the coming decades. One of the keywords in the Russian economy after the 2014 Crimean crisis was “importozameschenie” – import substitution, a massive program intended to replace products that were either cut off by Western sanctions or prohibited by the Russian government in response to them.
Although the development of the SSJ 100 was not touched by the sanctions, its prestige was. The fact that more than half of Superjet’s systems were built by the “potential enemy” became a joke in the Russian infosphere, a sentiment fueled by conspiracy theories about the causes of the aircraft’s problems.
The first plans to substitute foreign-made SSJ 100 parts were introduced in 2015. The aim was to increase the amount of Russian-made elements from 45% to at least 50-60% by replacing 22 components and systems. Several conflicting deadlines for this change were identified, placing the first deliveries of the new, predominantly Russian-made Superjets between 2018 and 2022.
International sanctions
However, in 2022, Putin invaded Russia’s neighbour, Ukraine and faced with a barrage of international sanctions, forced Russia to halt the development of Superjet 100.
In March 2022, soon after the invasion of Ukraine, France’s Airbus and America’s Boeing shut down their operations in Russia. The sale of aircraft and spare parts, as well as technical support and maintenance, was officially terminated in accordance with EU and US sanctions. About 70% of the passenger aircraft operating in Russia were affected.
In August 2023, Reuters reported that at least US$1.2 billion worth of parts had been shipped to Russian airlines via Turkey, the UAE, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and China.
As usual, Russia requires assistance from India to circumvent international sanctions on high-tech imports. In a statement closely coinciding with the signing of a landmark contract for the license production of the Sukhoi SJ-100 superjet civilian airliner in India, and the sale of six Il-114-300 airliners. In July 2025 Indian Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh confirmed that talks for Su-57E procurements were ongoing.
In January 2026, Vladimir Putin dismissed the CEO of the Tupolev Design Bureau after Tupolev failed to deliver any bombers under contract due to international sanctions. In 2024, Rostec was also preparing to ramp up production of a fully domestic version of the Tupolev TU-214 passenger aircraft at the Gorbunov Kazan Aviation Plant in Tatarstan, but failed to source any foreign components.
India is the saviour for Russia
India is set to enter a new phase in civil aviation manufacturing as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, which has a 45-year record of poor quality control, prepares to build a commercial passenger aircraft.
Built by HAL, fighter jets such as Tejas and Su-30 MKI crashed one after another. HAL has now signed an agreement with Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation to manufacture the Sukhoi Superjet-100 in India.
Sukhoi changed the manufacturing deadline to 2024 and, together with the change of ownership, proposed the new name SSJ100R, with “R” denoting Russian. However, denoting R does not change the aircraft’s status. Sukhoi still needs key Western components for its commercial airliner.
The proportion of Western components was maintained at 55%, raising questions about the basis for the controversy, as nearly half of the aircraft were still not domestically produced. However, the program continued, with government subsidies totalling 18.5 billion roubles (over $250 million), most of which was allocated to research and development.
Another push also came in 2018, this time from Iran. As Donald Trump announced an additional round of sanctions against the Middle Eastern country, any product containing more than 10% U.S.-made parts was required to obtain clearance from the State Department before being sold there. Iran was one of the main potential buyers of the SSJ 100, but over one tenth of the plane’s parts – including APU, electric systems, wheels, brakes and much more – was of American origin.
After initial unsuccessful attempts to obtain clearance, the strategy was changed. According to Russian media reports, Iran became “greatly interested” in acquiring the aeroplane’s new modification, which features an increased number of Russian-made parts. It was renamed to SSJ 100 New. Presumably, the new English word in the name was not counted as a foreign component.
As of mid-2020, the project remains in the development phase, but its updates have become a steady stream of news in Russian aviation. Contracts to produce landing gear, passenger seats, electronics, as well as hydraulic, conditioning, emergency, and other systems were signed with several Russian companies, in addition to plans to develop new all-Russian composite alloys, which failed.
Under the agreement with Iran and India, the focus of the change is on American-made elements; for propaganda purposes, the manufacturer is changing everything that can be substituted. The full extent of “russification” was not disclosed, but it is clear that the initial aim of increasing domestically made components was not surpassed.
And while the COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a massive blow to the aviation industry worldwide, it may have injected even more life into the project. In May 2020, Vladimir Putin issued a direct order to push back the end date of the development from 2024 to 2023. According to the Russian president, the new regional aircraft is well-suited to the post-COVID world of almost non-existent international and re-emergent domestic travel.
Importantly, potential buyers need not agree with this statement. The domestic market is the main niche for the plane, and the reorganised Aeroflot has already pledged to acquire 150 SSJ 100s for its low-cost subsidiaries, if not for economic reasons, then for patriotic reasons. The invasion of Ukraine forced Aeroflot to ground most of its domestic flights.
Iran has rescued the Russian military multiple times in the Ukraine war. India may be unable to rescue the Superjet 100 if it’s caught supplying American and European components to Russia, which will face severe international sanctions.
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