Iran is interested in purchasing Russian aircraft Superjet 100, revealed the Iranian Ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanai. According to him, it will be possible to proceed with purchasing after resolving issues on the supply of components.
“With regard to the SSJ 100, Iran is interested in purchasing such aircraft. We need small airplanes, as Iranian airports in the provinces cannot accept large-sized airliners”, said Mehdi Sanai. He also noted that over the past three years, Iranian airlines have transmitted requests to the manufacturer of the SSJ 100 in order to purchase aircraft.
“Unfortunately, there is one catch. The company must obtain approval from an American supplier of certain components. I hope that this issue will be resolved. In any case, now we are talking about reducing dependence on American components”, said Mehdi Sanai, adding that the Iranian side is waiting for this issue to be finally resolved and it will be possible to proceed with the purchasing.
According to the ambassador, two memorandums of understanding have already been signed with the aircraft manufacturer Sukhoi.
Sukhoi Superjet 100 is a fly-by-wire twin-engine regional jet with 8 (VIP) to 108 (all economy) passenger seats. The final assembly of the Superjet 100 is done by Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association. Its SaM-146 engines are designed and produced by the French-Russian PowerJet joint venture and the aircraft is marketed internationally by the Italian-Russian SuperJet International joint venture.
