Russian aircraft plant will stop producing An-140 due to sabotage by Ukraine
The Russian aviation plant Aviakor has temporarily suspended its program for the production of An-140 regional passenger aircraft.
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According to Alexey Gusev, the general director of the Samara-based company, this occurred due to shortages in supplies from Ukraine, RIA Novosti reports.
“Taking into account the fact that we have 34 supplier plants and the main design bureau are located in Ukraine, it is not possible to carry out import substitution of components in such a short time,” Interfax quotes Gusev.
The head of Aviakor added that the company is currently assembling the An-140 from components available in the plant’s warehouses. According to him, several aircraft will be produced by the end of 2015; Gusev did not specify how much exactly.
In mid-July, Gusev stated that Aviakor had stopped making advance payments to its suppliers in Ukraine, since this, in his words, “is unsafe for us.” The head of the plant noted that Ukrainian enterprises continue to operate, despite the “incomprehensible situation with the new authorities,” but the An-140 production project is on the verge of failure due to Kiev’s policy of self-isolation and the curtailment of scientific and technical cooperation.
Aviakor is one of the largest aircraft manufacturing enterprises in Russia. It is engaged in the construction and maintenance of Tu-154M and An-140 passenger aircraft. The plant is controlled by the Aviaresurs Holding company, which belongs to the Russian Machines corporation.
The Kommersant newspaper wrote in February 2015 that the Samara enterprise had been practically idle for the last ten years due to a lack of orders. On July 30, the governor of the Samara region, Nikolai Merkushkin, said that the project to modernize the Il-114, which was planned to be launched at Aviakor, was postponed to 2016.
As PolitNavigator reported, the Ukrainian concern Ukroboronprom reported that it had eliminated all industrial cooperation, exchange of experience, and technology with Russia.
Russian aircraft plant to stop producing An-140 due to Ukrainian sabotage