The new PD-8 turbofan engine—a key element of the SSJ-New, an all-Russian-component version of the Superjet (SSJ) 100 regional jet—is expected to get its type certificate in September, deputy minister of industry and trade Oleg Bocharov said at a meeting with Russian senators on April 19. 

Russia’s United Engine Corporation (UEC), which develops the 8-ton powerplant, confirmed the certification schedule to Aviation Week. The engine has been undergoing flight trials since the end of December 2022, under the wing of the Ilyushin Il-76 flying laboratory. 

However, the plan to certify the engine in September raises concerns that the certification of the new aircraft itself could be delayed beyond the Russian government’s schedule. Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), which is developing the SSJ-New, initially planned to receive its first PD-8 delivered for the aircraft prototypes’ testing in mid-2023. The deliveries of the first two aircraft were expected to take place by the end of 2023, which leaves just less than three months for the certification flights.

To mitigate potential delays, UAC is preparing to begin flight trials without the PD-8 engine. The first SSJ-New prototype, which is expected to take off by July, will feature all-Russian equipment, but be powered by Russo-French SaM146 engines inherited from the baseline variant. According to the media reports, this airframe—MSN 97001—has already been powered on at the UAC subsidiary in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. 

The PD-8 will first fly on the re-engined baseline Superjet 100 test aircraft with registration number RA-95157. The third prototype—MSN 97003—will feature the complete SSJ-New configuration including the new powerplants and other import-substituted equipment. Under the government plan, UAC should assemble 142 SSJ-New aircraft through 2030 to help Russian airlines to replace Western-made jets.