Russia: Mid-haul plane to be certified

MOSCOW, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- Russia expects to get European certificate for the Sukhoi Superjet-100 medium-haul plane, the country's Industry and Energy minister said Monday.

Minister Viktor Khristenko said tests needed for European Aviation Safety Agency certification have been completed, including 1,606 flights and 2,500 hours in the air, RIA Novosti said.

"All the documents have already been sent to the (Interstate Aviation Committee) air registration board," Khristenko said. "And in mid-2011, we plan to get the EASA certificate allowing Superjet to enter global markets."

The Superjet 100 is a family of medium-range passenger aircraft developed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau in cooperation with U.S. and European aviation corporations, the minister said.

Khristenko said the plane was a transitional product but in line with "the best models on the market," RIA Novosti said.

"From the very beginning, we kept in mind that merely catching up is not enough, and that we should outperform," Khristenko said. "But we could not afford to develop jumbo jets, and we were fully aware that we have already missed our opportunity as far as a new-generation long-haul airliner is concerned."

Sukhoi said it has 170 orders for its Superjet-100, which can carry 75-95 passengers about 2,800 miles per trip.