The United Aircraft Corporation is looking at both Rolls-Royce and GE engines for a Russian-Chinese wide-bodied airliner that is projected to enter service in 2025.
Maxim Litvinov, chief designer from the Russian side of the program, said that an engine choice could be selected by the second half of 2020. Current market sanctions imposed by the U.S. on China could influence the development program.
Litvinov explained, “We know about the risks of the sanctions and the market war between the U.S. and China, but companies that don’t like the sanctions and the market war, they’ve [bowed] out [of the program]. Now we work with companies who try to find other ways; they try to find local sub-suppliers from Russia and China, and we understand this position very clearly. We work with potential suppliers and speak with the companies about sanctions and we try to allay this risk.”
The Russian-Chinese widebody aircraft, known as the Craic CR929, is scheduled for its first flight in 2023.