MC-21

MC-21
Maiden flight of MC-21on May 28, 2017
Role	Narrow-body twin-engine jet airliner
National origin	Russian Federation
Manufacturer	United Aircraft Corporation (UAC)
Designer	Irkut Corporation and Yakovlev Design Bureau
First flight	28 May 2017
Introduction	2019 with Aeroflot (planned)
Status	Flight testing
Number built	2 flying MC-21-300 prototypes (4 under assembly)
Program cost	164 billion rubles (US$4.6 billion)
Unit cost	MC-21-200: US$ 72 million MC-21-300: US$ 91 million

The Irkut MC-21 (Russian: Иркут МС-21) is a Russian single-aisle twinjet airliner, developed by the Yakovlev Design Bureau and produced by Irkut, both United Aircraft Corporation subsidiaries. The initial design started in 2006 and detailed design was ongoing in 2011, after delaying introduction from 2012 to 2020, the first MC-21-300 rolled-out on June 8, 2016 and first flew on May 28, 2017. It has a carbon fiber reinforced polymer wing and is powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1000G or Aviadvigatel PD-14 turbofans. With a capacity of 132-163 passengers in two class, up to 165-211 and up to 6,000–6,400 km (3,200–3,500 nmi) range, the standard MC-21-300 will be followed by a shortened MC-21-200. It has 205 orders as of July 2017.

In Russian: МС‑21 "Магистральный Самолёт 21 века" – "Magistralny Samolyot 21 veka" translates as "mainline aircraft of the 21st century". It was called MS-21 in English before June 2013, but its official name is MC-21. The MS-21 is marketed in the West as the MC-21, despite the aircraft's original Russian model name being МС-21, which transliterates as MS-21.

In 2013, Russian deputy premier Dmitry Rogozin indicated that it will be designated Yak-242 once it enters serial production, the name of a 1990s proposal of an aircraft of similar size. In 2014, Oleg Demchenko, the president of Irkut at the time, also preferred the Yak-242 name, claiming it would better reflect the design bureau behind the aircraft, however he have also said that any of these renaming decisions would be after the aircraft first flight and certification work.

In 2006, United Aircraft design goal was to seat 130-170 passengers over 5,000–6,350 km (2,700–3,430 nmi) to replace aging Tu-154, 20%-25% more efficiently than the Airbus and Boeing A320 and B737NG competitors with 15% lower weight, 20% lower operating costs and 15% lower fuel consumption, it was due to enter service in 2012 for an initial target price of US$35 million, $20 million below the similar 737-700. The program was launched in 2007, planning a 2016 introduction. Those goals were reiterated in 2008, except for the general efficiency gain lowered to 10–15%.