Sukhoi to make 70 Sukhoi SuperJet-100 planes by 2012

FRANCE: Russia's Sukhoi aircraft maker plans to make 70 Sukhoi SuperJet-100 planes by 2012, the corporation's Director-General Mikhail Pogosyan said.

"We want to make 70 Sukhoi SuperJet-100 planes a year by 2012 and control 20 percent of the market in this segment," Pogosyan said yesterday during the air show in Le Bourget.

"Two SuperJet-100 planes are undergoing testing and a third one will join them in July.

"Thirteen planes are currently being made for airlines in Russia and Armenia. The first four of them will be ready for delivery at the end of the year," the official said.

The medium-haul passenger plane Sukhoi SuperJet-100 will be the only new passenger plane at the air show to be shown in action during demonstration flights.

The SuperJet, the first new Russian passenger plane over the past twenty years, is being created through broad international cooperation that involves more than 30 major international aerospace companies, system and component suppliers.

Sukhoi expects to sell 800 aircraft until the year 2024, while the global demand for the aircraft of this class totals 5,400. So far the company had secured 73 solid orders for the aircraft.