Industrial Collapse: Crippled by Sanctions, Russia’s Aviation Industry Produces Only One Commercial Aircraft in 2025
With just one commercial aircraft delivered in 2025 and production targets drastically slashed, the Russian aviation sector is facing its deepest crisis in decades.
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The Russian aviation industry, heavily squeezed by international sanctions and complex domestic monetary policies, is navigating one of its most acute crises. As of August 2025, the country has delivered only one of the 15 commercial aircraft planned for the year, a direct reflection of the challenges in establishing a self-sufficient manufacturing base, as confirmed by Reuters reports.
Since the onset of hostilities in Ukraine in February 2022, Western sanctions have blocked Russia's access to foreign-made aircraft and, critically, spare parts. This has placed local airlines in a precarious position, as their fleet of over 700 aircraft is predominantly composed of Airbus and Boeing models. To keep them operational, they are resorting to complex and opaque indirect import routes.
The challenge of creating an industry from scratch is monumental. An industry source warned that "there is no component base, technology, production facilities, or engineers. Creating all of this from scratch takes years, if not decades." For a nation spanning eleven time zones, the reliance on air transport to connect its vast territory is absolute.
Key Points: The Russian Aviation Crisis
What is the current state of the Russian aviation industry? It is in a deep crisis, with massive delays and minimal output due to sanctions.
Which aircraft is Russia trying to produce? Mainly the SJ-100, MC-21, Tu-214, and IL-114, all with domestic components.
Why are the new Russian aircraft delayed? Replacing Western components with local alternatives has resulted in technical issues, such as increased weight and lower efficiency, alongside production bottlenecks.
Production figures highlight the steep decline. In 2021, before the conflict escalated, Russia added 52 commercial aircraft, including 27 Airbus, 3 Boeing, and 22 Sukhoi Superjets that still featured a high proportion of imported parts. Since then, the number has plummeted to just 13 aircraft: 12 Superjets and one Tupolev Tu-214, used by the government.
Production targets for the 2024-2025 period, initially set at 171 aircraft, were slashed in June to just 21 units. A further downward revision was announced last month, citing financing costs and a sluggish supply chain.
Rostec, the state-owned conglomerate managing the Superjet-100 (SJ-100), Tu-214, Ilyushin Il-114, and the highly anticipated Irkut MC-21 programs, is accumulating delays. The MC-21, once touted as an A320 and 737 competitor and now built entirely with Russian parts, has turned out heavier, with a shorter range and lower efficiency than projected. This has dampened interest from airlines. The serial production of the MC-21, as well as the SJ-100 with domestic PD-8 engines and the IL-114 turboprop, has been officially postponed to 2026, two years behind schedule.
Despite import substitution efforts, Russia remains dependent on external suppliers. Customs data from 2024 revealed that parts worth at least $300,000 entered the country through intermediaries in Turkey, China, Kyrgyzstan, and the United Arab Emirates. Identified components included parts from Safran (France), Honeywell (USA), and Rolls-Royce (UK). These companies assert they are complying with sanctions and have control programs in place to prevent the diversion of their products.
Minister of Industry and Trade, Anton Alikhanov, described the challenge as "unique and hyper-complex," stressing that "no other country in the world produces aircraft with completely domestically substituted imports."
This supply contraction, coupled with sustained demand, has led to a steady increase in airfare prices throughout 2023 and 2024, according to data from Rosstat. The situation has become so dire that Moscow has resorted to using airlines from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to operate domestic routes, a clear sign of the difficulties Russian aviation faces in staying airborne.
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