Aeroflot’s 90 MC‑21‑310 Deal: Russia’s Aircraft Industry, Sanctions and the Push for a Domestic Narrow-Body
AeroMorning – John Smith – September 20, 2026
Contract overview
On 18 September 2026, Aeroflot signed a contract with three Rostec companies — United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), Aviacapital‑Service (AKS) and United Engine Corporation (UEC) — for 90 additional MC‑21s. UAC and Rostec described it as one of the largest contracts in Russian civil aviation for the supply and after‑sales support of domestic airliners.
Delivery schedule: 2029: 14; 2030: 18; 2031: 24; 2032: 34.
These 90 add to the 18 MC‑21s covered by Aeroflot’s 2023 contract, bringing the total to 108 aircraft under commitment. The new agreement includes 22 years of technical support per aircraft, full‑flight and procedural simulators, crew and maintenance training, maintenance software and other after‑sales services.
Rostec industrial structure
– UAC (Yakovlev): manufacturing and MC‑21 programme
– UEC: PD‑14 engines and propulsion support
– AKS: aircraft leasing/financing
– Aeroflot: customer/operator
All are part of Rostec, the state conglomerate active in aviation, engines, defence and electronics.
Sanctions and how they reshaped the MC‑21
The MC‑21 programme predates 2022 and originally relied on international suppliers, with an engine choice between the Russian PD‑14 and Pratt & Whitney’s PW1400G. After February 2022, sanctions and export controls accelerated an import‑substitution drive: Rostec says around 80 Russian systems and assemblies, including the engines, were developed for the aircraft. The fully import‑substituted MC‑21‑310 is powered by two PD‑14s. On 3 August 2026, UAC announced the maiden flight of the first serial MC‑21‑310 produced under this substitution at Yakovlev’s Irkutsk plant. Previously imported composite materials were also replaced with domestically produced alternatives approved by Russian authorities.
MC‑21‑310 vs Boeing 737‑8
The MC‑21‑310 broadly targets the same single‑aisle segment as the Boeing 737‑8. According to UAC, the MC‑21 is slightly longer with a wider cabin; published maximum seating is comparable (211 vs 210). The key published difference is range: Boeing quotes up to 6,480 km for the 737‑8, while UAC quotes up to 3,830 km for the MC‑21‑310 in the stated two‑class configuration. These figures illustrate different published mission envelopes and are not a direct operational comparison.
Aeroflot’s fleet and the MC‑21 orderbook
As of September 2026, Aeroflot’s mainline fleet numbered about 171 aircraft; the wider Aeroflot Group (Aeroflot, Rossiya, Pobeda, Aurora) around 364. The 108 MC‑21s from Aeroflot’s 2023 and 2026 contracts represent the carrier’s current firm commitment to the MC‑21, regardless of eventual allocation within the Group. Other announcements are at different contractual stages: Smartavia (memorandum of intent of 5 September 2024 for 45 MC‑21s via financial leasing by 2035) and Aurora (letter of intent for five MC‑21s and two SJ‑100s).
Conclusion
The September 2026 agreement is more than a 90‑aircraft order: it aligns UAC as manufacturer, UEC as engine supplier, AKS as lessor and Aeroflot as operator within Rostec, while anchoring a major customer commitment to the post‑2022 MC‑21‑310 and its domestically controlled supply chain. With 108 aircraft under commitment and deliveries planned through 2032, the deal links fleet renewal, import substitution and the MC‑21’s scale‑up as a domestic narrow‑body.
