Russia’s latest aviation milestone: the MC-21 loses a quarter of its range
Russia’s aircraft industry has managed to surprise even those who thought they were past the point of being surprised. The United Aircraft Corporation quietly confirmed that its long gestating MS-21-300 will not fly anywhere near the distance promised for years. The old figure of 5100 kilometres has been replaced by a far less dramatic 3830 kilometres, a cut of roughly 25 percent. In most aviation circles this would be called a problem. In Russia it is framed as a practical clarification.
Rostech then provided an explanation with admirable ease. Earlier brochures, we are told, used the numbers from a future concept. Now we are dealing with the real machine. Reality does tend to weigh a little more, especially when substituting imported components adds six tonnes to the aircraft. Six tonnes. Many manufacturers would describe that as a setback. Propagandists prefer to call it a patriotic leap forward.
Rostec insists that it hardly matters, since domestic routes are short and three thousand kilometres cover about eighty percent of demand. Why fly any further. Moscow to Irkutsk, forget it. Moscow to Antalya, still doable. With a favourable tailwind it might even reach Hurghada. Europe is off the table anyway.
There is another detail. The MC-21 has not flown even once in the configuration slated for certification. Ministers promised a flight several years ago. Then in spring. Then summer. Then August. Then October. Silence followed every deadline. The aircraft remains firmly on the ground as if enrolled in a federal gravity enhancement programme.
Experts, who remain difficult to silence even in Russia, point out that the shorter range means the MC-21 does not suit a significant part of the country’s actual route network. They also note that internal documents concerning deliveries planned for 2026 already state the obvious. The technical parameters do not meet the plan. Which parameters exactly. Take a guess.
The entire saga could slot neatly into a Russian documentary series titled Dream Aircraft That Never Was. The MC-21 promised a future, yet it is on course to land, if it ever gets airborne, in a reality that resembles a museum of improvised compromises.
No doubt the next press release will explain that the reduced range was always an intentional design decision. Russian aviation does evolve after all. It simply prefers to evolve downward, where there is plenty of room.
