MINSK. Jan 16 (Interfax) - A prototype of the first Osvey plane is expected to be manufactured jointly with Russia in Belarus in 2026, Belarusian State Military and Industrial Committee Chairman Dmitry Pantus said.
"The launch of a project to create an Osvey plane in cooperation with Russian partners was one of the landmark events in 2024. As of today, this project has been officially launched at the state level. And we are planning to receive a prototype as early as 2026," Pantus said in an interview with the Belarus 1 television channel.
"This project will seriously help us advance in aircraft building and essentially establish a school in this area in the Republic of Belarus for the first time," he said.
The Ural Civil Aviation Plant JSC has been named as a head contractor for Osvey's research and development from the Russian side, while the 558th Aircraft Repair Plant has been identified as a co-contractor from Belarus, where its production will be established along with the Russian enterprise. The developers are tasked with ensuring competitiveness compared to its foreign counterparts, such as the Cessna-408 SkyCourier, L-410NG, Indonesian Aerospace N-219, and DHC-6 300 Twin Otter.