

Photo: www.blog.flightstory.net

A Russian new generation Superjet-100 aircraft successfully made its first long-distance flight on Wednesday, Russian news agencies said.

Two Superjet-100 aircrafts, 001 and 003, left Novosibirsk early in the morning and covered the 3,000 kilometers’ distance to Gromov's aircraft testing institute in Zhukovsky, near Moscow.

The Sukhoi Superjet-100 regional jet family is often described as the "hope" of Russian aviation. The 75 to 95-seat aircraft was the first to be designed and produced in Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The Superjet-100 is intended to compete against the Antonov An-148, Embraer E-Jets and the Bombardier CSeries programs, and is said to have 10-15 percent lower operation costs and be more comfortable than its competitors.

Investment into the project of Superjet-100 development is estimated at $1.4 billion.