As part of the MAKS-2011 international exhibition and air show, IRKUT Corporation, Moscow and ThyssenKrupp System Engineering GmbH, Heilbronn have concluded a contract on the delivery of production lines for pre-assembly of the fuselage and assembly of the rear fuselage sections of the new Russian MS-21 passenger aircraft.

Assembly will be carried out in Ulyanovsk, approximately 800 km southeast of Moscow.

The contract includes further services, including the commissioning of the assembly lines and the training of the operators.

The Russian MS-21 program includes the development and production of a family of medium-range aircraft with 150 - 180 seats for national and international flights.

President of Irkut, Alexey I. Fedorov said that all activities within this project are running as scheduled.

The maiden flight is planned for 2014 and certification of the aircraft base version will be realized in 2016 in accordance with Russian and international standards.

In addition to Ulyanovsk, further production sites are planned in Kazan and Irkutsk where more than 80 aircrafts of this type are expected to leave the workshop every year from 2020.