The Russian state-owned aerospace company, United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), has announced the sale of its share of the Sukhoi Superjet 100 program to Markab Capital, a United Arab Emirates-based capital firm.
Bye-bye to the Sukhoi program
This week, the Italian company Superjet International announced that United Aircraft Corporation is divesting from the Sukhoi Superjet 100 program, selling its stake to Markab Capital.
As announced in a statement, Markab Capital acquired 49% of the Russian company’s shares. As a result, UAC will effectively exit the Superjet Program, ending its participation in the project, which was established first in 2007. This also seems to end the Russian project to assemble a new Superjet SS-100, also known as the SSJ-NEW.
In the beginning, Superjet International was an Italian-based company with two shareholders, Sukhoi (51% stake) and Leonardo, the Italian aerospace company (49%). In 2016, Leonardo reduced its participation in the project.
The impact of Russia’s invasion on the Sukhoi program
Due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the European Union imposed several sanctions on the Russian regime. In Italy, the Guardia di Finanza froze the assets of Superjet International relating to the 90% stake held by United Aircraft Corporation at the time, which had a value of around $159.2 million.
After the sale from United Aircraft Corporation, the ownership of the Sukhoi Superjet 100 program will look like this: Markab Capital will hold 49% of the shares; the Italian law firm Studio Guidotti International will hold a 41% stake, and Leonardo will have a 10% stake.
What’s next for the program?
The new shareholders are looking to inject capital into the program, relaunching the Superjet 100 and focusing on markets in the UAE and India. Markab Capital will invest around US$202.4 million to “make it possible to support the development of new aircraft configurations, the construction of the new SJI branch in the United Arab Emirates, as well as the continuous development of the aircraft to address market competition.”
Camillo Perfido, CEO of Superjet International, said in a statement,
“This agreement has great value for our company, as the interruption of industrial and commercial relations with UAC will allow the company to no longer be burdened by the limitations resulting from the sanctioning regulations set by the European Union. SuperJet International will once again demonstrate the excellent technical skills of its employees, who have managed to face a difficult period with integrity and a sense of responsibility.”
Superjet International forecasts to have at least 240 aircraft sales, at a minimum, in different versions: passenger, business jet, and cargo. Markab Capital will also establish a new program branch in the UAE. To be established in the Al Ain International Airport, this new branch will be a production plant of the Superjet 100 in its basic green version.
With this project, the United Arab Emirates is looking to improve its national aeronautical industry, considering that this Middle Eastern country does not yet have a sufficiently mature industrial complex covering the various aeronautic disciplines.
Meanwhile, the Venice headquarters will manage the program’s direction, retaining responsibility for marketing and sales activities, installation of aircraft options, pilot and crew training, final flight tests, deliveries, and customer support.
How many Sukhois are out there?
According to data from ch-aviation, the Sukhoi Superjet program had 327 aircraft ever built. The program had several variants, including the long-range and business versions.
The SSJ-100B was the most successful of the family. A total of 103 aircraft were delivered in this program, mostly in Russia. As of March 2023, there are 83 SSJ-100B active planes, including 55 with Rossiya and ten with Azimuth. The only Sukhoi operator in the Americas was Interjet, an airline that had, at its peak, 22 SSJ-100s before ceasing operations in December 2020.
United Aircraft Corporation delivered six Sukhoi Superjet business variants. The Royal Thai Air Force has three, while the Kazakh Air Force, Rusjet, and Severstal Aircompany have one each. Finally, there were delivered 56 Sukhoi Superjet Long Range, of which 43 are currently active. Yamal Airlines has 11 active planes, followed by Red Wings Airlines with ten and Azimuth with eight.
What do you think about Russia selling its Sukhoi Superjet 100 program? Let us know in the comments below.
Source: ch-aviation.