MOSCOW. Nov 1 (Interfax-AVN) - The Kazan-based Gorbunov Aircraft Production Association (KAPO) will be the Russian flagship manufacturer of the TU-334 short-range airliner.
"The decision to this effect may be adopted in the near future," a source in the aircraft industry told Interfax-Military News Agency on Monday.
He noted that in compliance with the governmental decree, adopted in October 1999, the TU-334 was to have been launched into mass production by the MIG aircraft corporation. Thus, the decree of 1992, which had ordered the TU-334 to be launched into production at the Taganrog aircraft plant, had become invalid.
"Thus, it is the third time the TU-334 flagship manufacturer has been changed," the source said.
"The first TU-334 may be manufactured at the Kazan plant approximately in 2007," he said.
"The Kyiv-based Aviant plant remains the flagship manufacturer of the TU-334 of the Ukrainian side," he said.
According to him, the Russian side has yet to define its cooperation with regards to the aircraft. "The Ulyanovsk Aviastar-SP Enterprise is likely to participate in the TU-334 mass production," the source said.
Yury Koptev, head of the Russian Industry and Energy Ministry's Defense Industry Department, said last week that all problems, pertaining to certifying the TU-334, would have been solved by the turn of the year. "The first aircraft will be delivered in 2005," Koptev said.
The TU-334 short-range airliner is to replace obsolete TU-134 Crusty and TU-154B Careless aircraft. Depending on the modification the TU-334 will be capable of transporting up to 126 passengers at a range of up to 3,150 km.
The TU-334 program is realized by Russian and Ukrainian aircraft manufacturers within the framework of the agreement, signed in 1999. The agreement envisions establishing the final aircraft assembly at the MIG corporation's plant and the Kyiv-based Aviant plant.
According to the Russian State Aviation Service, Russian air carriers will require 170-180 TU-334 aircraft until 2012. According to preliminary estimates. The CIS demand for aircraft of this type will total about 800 until 2010.