Russia has tapped into its “rainy day fund” to help keep beleaguered domestic airlines flying during a time of international sanctions impacting both routes and spare parts. It has also signaled an intention to rapidly expand its domestic aircraft manufacturing industry.
Russia Has Bailed Out Domestic Airlines Since Ukraine War Began
We’ve reported extensively on how the Russian aviation industry has been hit hard by the War in Ukraine and the Western sanctions:
- King Vlad Annexes A Fleet of Stolen Jets Into The Arms Of Mother Russia
- Russian Airlines Decide To Just Keep Leased Aircraft…
- The Problems For Russian Airlines Are Just Beginning
- How Aeroflot Just Purchased Eight Airbus A330-300 Jets
- Iran Provides Lifeline To Aeroflot Russian Airlines
While spare parts have continued to flow in through neutral and friendly nations, Russian carriers have struggled for nearly two years. Since March 2022, both Airbus and Boeing have cut off both maintenance and spare parts for all Russian carriers.
First reported by Reuters, Russian has doled out more than 12 billion USD in subsidies and loans to keep its aviation industry afloat since the war began.
Toward A New Future Of Russian Aircraft
Last week during his four-hour press conference, Putin hinted the future of Russian aviation is the domestic production of aircraft. He laid out an ambitious plan to churn out 1,000 aircraft before 2030.
“Our fleet of aircraft is very overloaded … with foreign-made planes. We plan to produce more than 1,000 aircraft by 2030, our own planes. Work is needed.”
There are estimated to be about 1,000 aircraft in total operating in Russia right now, with 405 aircraft made in Russia. Those include not only more modern Sukhoi Superjets (133 in total) but older Ilyushin, Tupolev, and Yakovlev aircraft that may be technically airworthy but are not used commercially anymore.
During the Soviet era Russia produced its own aircraft and in some respects flourished…it is not far-fetched to think that Russia will restart domestic produionx, even if uses trade secrets from Boeing or Airbus to essentially clone their aircraft under a Russian company.
But with an election for Putin approaching in three months, even with the outcome already certain, the state aid will keep at bay any unseemly news of a carrier going under.
The issue of what to do with current western aircraft, now without adequate maintenance records, will be a central issue once the war is over if Russian carriers like Aeroflot intend to restart service to the West.
CONCLUSION
Russia has offered state aid to its carriers and also plans a robust new investment in domestic aircraft production. While the sanctions have certainly hurt Russian aviation, Russia is hoping to lay the foundation for great self-sufficiency in the years ahead.
This is true. Russia is revamping its production capability so it can be self sufficient. Sanctions had the unintended consequence of making Russia stronger economically with good gdp growth and better domestic production. Sanctions don’t hurt a country when it has the most natural resources in the world and already made hypersonic missiles years ahead of any other country. Even without these things look at what sanction did to Iran. They now make not only their own cars but their own car engines. They make missiles. They make turbine engines. The make drones. Sanctions hurt the oligarchs who took their money out of Russia and hurt the European economy who have to pay Russia more money for natural gas.
Non thinking think tanks thought Russians would be upset Western brands left Russia. Most Russians now say the food is better without all that crap western fast food.
Matthew is thinking of China who cloned Boeing and actually builds its new passenger airliner in an old McDonald Douglas factory in China with Western engineers. Russia actually had 100 years of experience building planes, has 5th generation fighters, and has produced commercial jets for 50 years. Russia isn’t cloning anything. They are actually redesigning their new commercial jetliner to be produced with 100% Russia made parts which should be completed in 2 years. Wide body planes is where they haven’t done much because they stopped producing their wide body 10 years ago.
*McDonnell Douglas.
I was thinking of McDonald’s leaving Russia which most Russians are happy with, although, McDonald’s is delicious and higher quality than most fast food restaurants in my opinion.
Volodya. Post under your own name
“It has also signaled an intention to rapidly expand its domestic aircraft manufacturing industry.”
Yes, because Russia quickly developing new airplanes should end well.
LOL! If they have the same quality of their cars (Lada) I can see that going really well.
Russia’s commercial aviation safety record improved a lot but the sanctions and the invasion put all that at risk. Building 1,000+ planes to re-fleet Russian aviation is beyond laughable.
Nice one.
Putin is likely to be dead within 25 years. The New guy may think it’s not worth it over Ukraine. However, Putin has ruined Russia’s credibility so investors won’t pour in immediately.
The next men in line behind Putin — and it’s all men — seem likely to continue in Putin’s stride on playing to Russian nationalist sentiment and wanting to “get back” some Russian/Soviet Empire lands to play to that audience while providing for lucrative black markets for their own favorites and themselves. Unfortunately, the species is about as wise as it is foolish in finding comfort in choosing “strong and wrong” persons to govern over “weak and right/decent” persons to govern. Around the world, traditional democracy is on the retreat while mobocracy tendencies are rising with a pick of “strongmen” giving a modern version of classic tyranny/dictatorship: popular rulers, popularly empowered to dominate and trash the traditional checks and balances that are necessary to protect dissenting and opposition opinions and minorities.
Their economy is about the size of Italy’s. They will not be getting any stronger economically or in any other way under Putin. They might have two flyable fifth generation fighters that fly about as well as their much vaunted and highly overrated new tank (the Armata) fights.
They’re running out of arms and convicts and I suspect a lot more of their airliners will be landing in fields if not falling out the sky.
For the world’s and the Russian people’s sake I hope Putin dies soon.
Haha, and those two 5th gens got blown up by dinosaurs (Source: Top Gun Maverick *spoilers*)
Russia has the most natural resources in the world, including uranium, iron, natural gas, oil, and rare earth metals. They make 3000 tanks a year under standard production. Countries like the U.S. are stronger economically on paper because of 35 trillion in national debt and intellectual property from movies to software and expenses in constructing massive skyscrapers and stadiums. In the actual economy that doesn’t value funny money, Russia is a lot stronger economically.
I think you ignore Russia has deployed hypersonic missiles that can’t be shot down. No other country is out of testing with their version.
Other than Western countries, nearly every other country in the world supports Russia and asks for Russia’s help. Russia is supported by 80% of the countries in the world and like 80% of the global population.
Putin is actually a very meek and mild person. He’s actually holding Russia back. The previous President Medvedev would have used nukes already and anyone who would replace Putin likely would be an ultra hardliner instead of someone like Putin who is calculating and deliberate to a fault.
Thanks for your insight. I doubt anyone here is biting. Including me. They can’t even make advances other than a mile or two against an army that is greatly outnumbered. But, of course, according to you they have the weapons. yeah, right. They have nothing but bluster. Big talkers. We may have a deficit here, but we get stuff done. Because America and the EU are the most innovative and advanced places on earth. We create. China copies. Russia pretends. Period. Without Nuclear weapons (and oil that is getting less and less precious) they would be the laughing stock of the world.
Russia’s so corrupt that they can’t get even basic defense domestic production right. No surprise they have to count on Iranian manufacturing capability. That alone makes “the conventional might of Russia” a joke. If Russia were an Israel, it would be more understandable that it needs to rely upon military imports.
It’s Russia’s (pseudo) hyper-nationalism (for domestic consumption) and massive corruption that makes Russia into the mess it is and incapable of getting its house in order while playing abroad like a mad bull in a china shop.
We’ll, Russia is gettting help from Iran and that makes them somehow not coping?
Considering the other side is supported by the rest of the world and have 20% of their land taken still 2 years later, then Russia is doing pretty well.
So NATO is alliance of the whole world against one badly managed country ( according to your source of info ) and after 2 years they achieved what precisely? 🙂
Please supply facts , not what will happen in near and or far future.
Pooty-Poot, is that you again?
Man, you have the best satire ever. Putin is meek? Sure, just like Hitler was and with similar moral constraints and ambitions. I spit out my coffee reading your stuff.
Is that you Israel?
Russia’s import substitution and domestic takeover of foreign brand operations have enriched Putin’s domestic cronies as Russia finds more and more ways to not care as much about the sanctions. And Russia’s extractive natural resource industries are finding very lucrative markets as countries like China, India, Turkey and Saudi Arabia are playing nicely with Russia alongside the likes of Iran and Israel — all of these being countries doing relatively big workarounds for Russian financial activities. Give it to Russia to be in bed with a much of political scoundrels and being able to find them in no shortage.
The gray market imports and black market export businesses seem to have found a resurgence in Russia and with a weird coterie of middlemen and black marketeers across Eastern Europe, Asia and elsewhere and money is being made from sanctions being in place and circumvented.
Now tell me one nation in history that has built a world class economy, wealth across regions, and a stable society through black market dealings and working with corrupt nations? One that had lasting and real generational growth?
None. Period. It won’t last. In the end you get what you pay for.
The more modern era in a game of empire and or living with the game of empire going around has had rulers try to build an economy and get wealth across regions for themselves and their own/favorites through black market dealings and working with corrupt nations and corrupting nations.
China and India have had extensive growth in recent decades. [Before European colonization of Asia hit them and embedded the corruption of the colonizers on top of their own, at least India seemed to be richer on a per capita basis than Europe. But they have a long ways to go to get back their relative position. And China has a Germany+ inside of it.]
The British, Dutch, Emirati, French, Italian, Saudi, Singaporean, Swedish and Swiss economies seemed to have had quite the yield for themselves and their peeps from various sorts of questionable dealings during much of the 20th century. Most of those are considered better governed and better places for people to live and do business than a lot of other places.