KAZAN. March 22 (Interfax) - Redesigning a wing for the Irkut MC-21 aircraft because U.S.-made parts had been replaced with Russian ones will not be necessary, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov said.
"Necessary measures have been taken for us to import-substitute all [composite] material and produce our own final specimens which have already validated their core characteristics, which allows us to hope - we are already confident - that no structural, wing redesign will be necessary," Borisov told journalists after visiting the Alabuga special economic zone on Friday.
It is no longer a secret for anyone that U.S. suppliers had refused to supply Russia with composite materials for the MC-21's wing, he said. "But that did not dent our desire and ability to finish this project on time."
The MC-21 is due to be completed by 2020 and go into serial production beginning 2021, he said.
"We hope that in 2021 the aircraft will remain competitive. If we manage to do everything on time, then, in accordance with our plans, it will have a happy life," Borisov said.