Aeroflot firmed an order for 90 Russian-made MC-21-310 aircraft on September 12, 2026. The announcement was made during a press conference at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport (SVO), with Russian President Vladimir Putin making an appearance via video link.
This order doesn’t come as a surprise, since the Russian airline had long indicated it would be the main customer for the MC-21.
In 2022, Aeroflot signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) for 210 aircraft with Rostec, the government-owned aerospace and defense holding company which manufactures the MC-21 through its United Aircraft Corporation subsidiary. Later, in 2025, this figure was reported to have been trimmed to 198.
However, until September 2026, the number of firm orders stood at 18 aircraft. With the latest announcement, the latter figure has climbed up to 108.
The contract includes also a service agreement, which covers flight simulators, crew training and maintenance, with a duration of 22 years between Aeroflot and Rostec.
Deliveries of the aircraft included in this order are expected to start in 2029, with an initial batch of 14 units, and run through to 2032. According to the information that has been made public, an additional 18 aircraft would be delivered in 2030, 24 in 2031 and the remaining 34 in 2032. The exact delivery time frame for the remaining MC-21 aircraft Aeroflot has on order is not yet known in detail.
In fact, although the MC-21 first flew in 2017, the aircraft is not yet certified and the program has suffered significant delays. The version that Aeroflot is going to take is the MC-21-310, in which the original engine option, Pratt & Whitney’s PW1400G, and a large number of components have been replaced with Russian-made alternatives.