Russian Aviaton » Tuesday March 27, 2018 13:40 MSK

The Russian government has allocated money to significantly upgrade the Superjet 100 passenger plane. The new version will use mostly Russian components, including a new jet engine, Kommersant reports.

"President Putin has approved the new jet, and agreed to fund it to the tune of 85 billion rubles (about $1.5 billion)", Kommersant writes.

The new version of Superjet 100 will see the number of seats reduced from 98 to 75. A new engine is also under discussion. Extant Superjets are equipped with Russian-French SaM-146 engines, which can be replaced with Russian PD-10s. Some other parts of the plane will also be updated with Russian-made components, including changes in the wings and fuselage.

The jet seeks to replace the obsolete Soviet-made Tupolev Tu-134 fleet. The potential buyers are the Special Flight Detachment Rossiya, S7 Airlines and the Russian Ministry of Defense. Potentially, more than 3000 new Superjet 100 can be produced if demand meets expectations, according to Kommersant.