Qa'dah 27, 1431 H/ Nov. 04, 2010, SPA -- Superjet 100, the first passenger plane developed in Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union, successfully undertook its maiden test flight Thursday, dpa quoted its manufacturer as reporting. Plane company Sukhoi said the new Sukhoi Superjet (SSJ 100) underwent a three-hour test flight from its production site at Komsomolsk, some 7,000 kilometres east of Moscow. The plane, with a capacity in the 75- to 95-passenger range, is designed to compete in the regional jet market against such established rivals as Embraer and Bombardier. The SSJ 100 was designed in cooperation with US aerospace giant Boeing and a number of European plane companies. The SSJ 100 was plagued by jet engine problems which had created numerous delays in the programme. Sukhoi reports having 161 orders for the plane, for which first deliveries are scheduled by the end of 2010. "This flight is a milestone in carrying out the Superjet 100 program," Sukhoi chief executive Vladimir Prissyashnuk said. The next tests on the plane would be conducted in Moscow, he said. At a price targeted at about 30 million dollars, the SSJ 100 would be cheaper than its rivals. Sukhoi hopes to sell some 70 planes per year and capture 10 per cent of the world market by 2025. The Superjet represents a step in the resurrection of the civilian airplane industry in Russia, on the orders of former president Vladimir Putin several years ago. In Soviet times, the country sold 100 passenger planes a year, but after the collapse of the Soviet Union, during the 1990s the civilian aerospace sector plunged to the brink of financial ruin with the country at times selling fewer than 10 planes.
