Sukhoi, the Russian defence aircraft holding company, on Thursday showcased their Superjet developed through its civil aviation arm.
The Superjet 100 developed by Sukhoi Civil Aircraft, a joint venture of Sukhoi and Alenia Aeronautica Company, has been commercially rolled out last year serving airliner Aeroflot and others.
It now commands an order book of 170 plans and the company sees itself signing up in India for new orders including with Aviotech Pvt Ltd, of Hyderabad, Mr Vladimir Prisyazhnyuk, President of Sukhoi Civil Aircraft, said.
Aeroflot and Pearl Aviation, the latter of the US are amongst those who have placed 30 orders each thus far.
Before showcasing their aircraft at the India aviation show, Mr Prisyazhnyuk, speaking through an interpreter said, in the year 2000 the stakeholders of Sukhoi decided to venture into civil aviation aircraft by developing it through a separate venture. Accordingly, with over 65 global alliance partners and technical support from Boeing, this aircraft has been developed.
Assiduously tested
This aircraft is pretty unique in term of its features and overall size. Its development was a reality through collaborations with the likes of French company Powerjet, Honeywell, Hamilton Sundstrand and Thales Avionics. “The flights have been tested over the years and deliveries have begun. We are now looking at the opportunities in India,” he said.
The test pilot Mr Andrey Kurov, who was associated with the testing of the aircraft over the years, explained that it has been tested in most adverse conditions including with over three inches of ice on the wings.
The company is also developing a long range version of the aircraft along with other variants of this regional aircraft.