Russia to start commercial supplies of Baikal aircraft before 2024

KAZAN, Feb 4 (PRIME) -- Russia plans to start first commercial supplies of the Baikal light multipurpose aircraft until the end of 2023, Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov told reporters on Friday.

“Speaking of the certification procedure, we plan to receive the airworthiness certificate until the end of next year, and first commercial supplies should happen until the end of next year. We are actively working on that, especially after the first flight that has happened recently,” he said.

Kazakhstan and the other CIS countries are interested in acquiring the Baikal aircraft, he said.

“As of today, the portfolio of the so-called soft orders stands at around 40, but we expect it to reach at least 400 in the next two and a half or three years,” Manturov said.

The LMS-901 Baikal plane was designed by Baikal-Engineering to replace the old An-2 aircraft. Mass production of the Baikal planes should start in 2024.

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