By Admin 
A new dimension is going to be added to India-Russia relations and indigenous aviation sector. Indigenous government aviation company HAL has signed an agreement with Russia to manufacture Sukhoi Superjet (SJ-100) passenger aircraft. This agreement was signed in Moscow on Tuesday (October 28, 2025) in the presence of DK Sunil, CMD of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
HAL issued an official statement saying that these SJ-100 (Sukhoi Superjet) aircraft will be used for short distance connectivity under the UDAN scheme. However, HAL did not clarify how many aircraft have been agreed to be manufactured in India and when the production will start, but the aviation company definitely said that currently around 200 aircraft are required in the country under the UDAN scheme. Also, if international tourist destinations in the Indian Ocean region (like Sri Lanka, Maldives etc.) are added to this, then 350 additional aircraft will be required.
Russia-India’s first agreement on manufacturing civil aircraft
The two-in engine SJ-100 aircraft is manufactured by Russian government company, Public Joint Stock Company United Aircraft Corporation (PHSC-UAC). In Russia, 200 such aircraft are used by 16 commercial airlines for domestic flights.
According to HAL, SJ-100 will prove to be a game changer for short distance flights. Also, the partnership between HAL and UAC is the result of trust in each other. HAL has indigenously manufactured about 250 Sukhoi fighter aircraft and 600 MiG-21 fighter jets for the Indian Air Force under license from Russia. But this is the first agreement of its kind with Russia for civil aircraft.
India moving towards self-reliance in civil aviation sector
This is also the first civil aircraft for HAL. At present, apart from indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, HAL manufactures Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) Prachanda, Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv and HTT (trainer) aircraft. These are all military aircraft. However, in 1961, HAL also manufactured the Avro (AVRO HS-748) passenger aircraft. But this project was stopped in 1988.
According to HAL, the construction of SJ-100 aircraft is the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the Indian aviation industry. This is a step towards realizing the dream of ‘self-reliant India’ in the civil aviation sector. Manufacturing will also strengthen the private sector and create direct and indirect employment opportunities in the aviation industry.
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