Kommersant learned about the critical part of the SuperJet International deal

UAE MarkAB Capital wants to acquire UAC's stake in SuperJet International (SJI, a joint venture between UAC and Italy's Leonardo), which is currently arrested under anti-Russian sanctions, in order to start production of SSJ-100 aircraft in the UAE, Kommersant found out.

According to the newspaper, the Emirati company expects to receive a European type certificate for the SSJ-100 aircraft, whose validity is suspended due to sanctions in 2022 (owned by Yakovlev). One of the newspaper's sources, close to SJI, specified that the transfer of the certificate and "all technical documentation for the aircraft" is one of the conditions under which MarkAB Capital is ready to purchase UAC's stake in SJI.

“Obtaining the certificate will be a critical part of the deal to sell UAC's stake in SuperJet International,” the newspaper writes.

The press service of SJI refrained from commenting on the relaunch of the joint venture, but noted that the company "strives to secure its future by attracting new shareholders." “We are actively working on a plan to restart the company, which will be possible only after certain conditions are met and the necessary permits are obtained from the Italian and Russian authorities,” the company said.

SJI is a Russian-Italian joint venture established in 2007 by UAC structures and the Leonardo holding (then Finmeccanica) to customize the SSJ-100 before deliveries to foreign airlines. UAC shares, along with four SSJ aircraft in Venice, were arrested in Italy in the summer of 2022 as part of anti-Russian sanctions.

Italian media reported that UAC in total owns 90% of the shares worth $160 million. In February of this year, SJI reported that UAC agreed with Mark AB Capital Investments to sell its 49% stake in the joint venture to it. Another 41% would go to Italy's Studio Guidotti International.

In June, SJI reported that the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) had approved a project to build a regional aircraft assembly line in Al Ain, without specifying which ones. SJI said that the plant in Al Ain can be built as early as 2025, and by 2026 the supply chain of the necessary components will be established in the UAE and Italy. The investment in the first stage was estimated at €200 million.

According to a Kommersant source in Brussels, the Italian side is “trying to present the deal as a fait accompli,” however, according to him, there is no real progress either in the transfer of the certificate or in the unfreezing of shares. At the same time, he did not rule out that the removal of the arrest from UAC shares could occur when the exchange of frozen assets with foreigners is scaled up.

The Superjet is the result of a collaboration between designers from “more than 20 world leaders in the aircraft industry,” according to the website of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC; part of Rostec). The aircraft uses SaM146 turbofan engines manufactured by PowerJet, a joint venture between the French Safran Aircraft Engines and UEC-Saturn (a subsidiary of UEC).

EASA issued an A-176 type certificate for the SSJ-100 (RRJ-95B) in February 2012. The validation process began in parallel with the aircraft certification in the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) in Russia since 2004. The Superjet became the first Russian passenger liner certified according to the EASA CS-25 aviation rules, which allowed it to be delivered to the EU . After February 24, 2022, the certificate was suspended.

In March, companies flying the SSJ-100 reported they were facing a shortage of spark plugs from the United States . First Deputy General Director of IrAero Vladimir Panfilov said that the situation leads to the risk of stopping part of the SSJ-100 fleet until the entire fleet of aircraft stops flying.

At the end of 2023, UAC plans to certify an imported version of the Superjet 100 - SSJ-NEW. In it, among other things, the SaM146 engine will be replaced by the Russian PD-8. Aeroflot Group should become the launch operator of the "import-substituted" Superjet New aircraft. It was planned to transfer the first aircraft to it in December 2023.