IRKUTSK, September 28. /TASS/. The Irkutsk Aviation Plant has the capacity to produce 36 MC-21 aircraft per year, Andrey Soinov, Director of the Irkutsk Aviation Plant, a branch of the Yakovlev Public Joint Stock Company of the United Aviation Corporation (UAC) of Rostec, said, adding the investment program implies that it will be further reequipped.

"We plan to continue implementing the investment program, which suggests the acquisition of additional machine tools and equipment for blanking and stamping operations. We will say that current capacities allow for the production of 36 [units], but there are bottlenecks that we need to remove," he told reporters.

The enterprise intends to expand capacity by the time the planned production rate of 36 aircraft per year is reached, Soinov added. "There were delays in funding the program, but all decisions have now been made at the government level. Consequently, the remaining parts of this investment program will be implemented between 2027 and 2029," he noted.

That said, it is not planned to increase MC-21 production beyond 36 aircraft per year in the near term, the plant’s chief stressed, adding that though ramping up capacity is technically feasible, the manufacturer considers ensuring a stable production workload to be critically important.