MC-21: Inside Russia's Quest to Build Its Own Boeing-737

I'm standing next to Russia's most ambitious aviation project to date, the MS-21. This isn't just any aircraft, this is supposed to be the savior of Russian civil aviation that is currently grappling with one of its most profound crises in history. Boeing is the latest company to cut ties with Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Picture this. Prior to the war in Ukraine, more than 80% of the aircraft used by Russian commercial airlines were foreign-made, primarily by Boeing and Airbus. Needless to say that sanctions have led to a myriad of problems. How to buy new planes, how to keep the ones you have operational, how to fly abroad without your planes being seized. It's been an absolute nightmare. Do you know what else sanctions have done? They've thrown a spotlight on just how desperately Russia needs its own, sanction-proof, 100% domestically-made aircraft, like the one right behind me. The MS-21 is a narrow-body, twin-engine passenger jet, positioned as a direct competitor to the Boeing 737 MAX and the Airbus A320. On paper, this plane boasts several advantages. It has the largest cabin in its class, composite wings that enhance fuel efficiency and aerodynamics, and a cockpit equipped with modern features like a fly-by-wire system. However, there is one serious hitch. It can't take off at the moment. Not without Western components, that is. So the big question is, can Russia successfully launch this ambitious project and rescue its commercial aviation? Or is this mission likely to stay grounded? Because, you know, developing a 100% locally-produced passenger jet nowadays, that's a daunting challenge. Just nobody does that anymore. Have you ever wondered how mastering a new language could be both fun and incredibly effective? Well, wonder no more. I'm here to share a secret weapon for learning languages, and it's not just any tool. 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Well, as you can see, this Moscow airport is far from deserted. In fact, it's buzzing like a beehive even though it's close to midnight. It's the summer season so this place is teeming with vacationers and you can notice quite a few men in uniform too. From what I gather, these are soldiers who've completed a tour in Ukraine and either heading back home for a rotation or perhaps heading back to the front after some R&R. So clearly Russians haven't stopped flying. But the big question remains, where are they flying to? Pretty much all Western countries have shut their skies to Russian airlines, so if you want to get to Russia from places like New York or Berlin, you'll need to hop on a connecting flight through a country that hasn't joined Western sanctions like Turkey, Serbia and the UAE. Russia has also closed its airspace to Western airlines causing them significant financial losses as they now have to take longer routes to reach Asia. Finnish Airlines, Finnair, has been hit hardest by this given how close it is to Russia. And of course, domestic flights are still up and running although the regions bordering Ukraine have been no-fly zones since February 2022. Before the conflict, a direct flight to New York would have cost me around $400 or less. Now it's up to $900 one way including all the layovers. A flight from Moscow to Istanbul a month from now would run me about $200, similar to the cost of flying to Beijing. However, a one way trip to Belgrade in Serbia, a major hub for Russians flying West, would set me back $600. Sure, prices can swing depending on the season and you can always snag a discount here and there, but from what I've seen, international flights are now almost twice as expensive as they were before the conflict. Domestic flights are generally more affordable, but say this flight from Moscow to Irkutsk set me back $300. So it's even pricier than a trip to Turkey at the moment. So a big thank you to all my Patreon supporters and to all supporters who helped me keep the show running. For one, Russian airlines can't use their remaining Boeings and Airbuses for international flights as there is a real risk these planes could be seized the minute they touch down outside Russia. It's been reported that out of 800 aircraft Russia had prior to the war in Ukraine, it has lost 72. These planes had been leased out and were outside of Russia when the conflict began. Well, this is my ride, a Boeing 737-800. Well, this is actually one of those Western-made planes that the MS-21 is meant to replace. Notice the letters RA on the plane's tail. Well, that stands for Russia. So Moscow simply re-registered its Western-made planes, essentially nationalizing them. And you know, while Western-lessers claim that this move is theft, Russia says, well, it's a legitimate response to sanctions. So, well, what's your take on this? Interestingly enough, Airflot, Russia's flagship airline, was actually allowed to buy out some of its Western planes, spending over half a billion dollars with funding from the Russian government. These planes are no longer considered stolen and can now fly freely across the globe. So, while sanctions are tough and uncompromising, it seems there is always a bit of wiggle room when big money is involved. And that's a tough question. The International Civil Aviation Organization has flagged safety concerns because Russia is now operating its aircraft without valid certificates of airworthiness. This means that, although the planes are still maintained, they lack oversight from Boeing and Airbus. Several Western media outlets have also reported a troubling surge in the number of air accidents in Russia in 2023. They drew these conclusions after analyzing public statements and reports from Russian opposition media. However, Rossovyatsya, Russia's aviation authority, published its own report claiming that the number of accidents actually dropped by 1.3% in the same year. It's an open secret that spare parts for Western planes are sourced through grey market schemes. Some aircraft are even sent to Iran for maintenance, a country long isolated from Western aviation, yet highly scaled in handling these repairs without the West's supervision. Sanctions often hit different targets, like there are countless examples of ordinary people like those on this plane taking the blow. Vladimir Putin doesn't fly on commercial airlines and the military has their own air force planes. Let's be honest, sanctions impact ordinary Russian citizens flying on passenger jets way more often than the inconvenience to people sitting in the Kremlin. Well, here we are at the Irkutsk Aviation Plant, a flagship facility in Russia's airspace sector. And before we go inside to check out an MS-21, let me give you a bit of historical background. This plant was established in the 1930s and soon became the main manufacturer of numerous iconic Soviet aircraft. During World War II, it produced Yak fighters, later transitioning to the famed MiGs, including the MiG-21, used by the North Vietnamese Air Force against American F-4 Phantoms during the Vietnam War. Today, it manufactures Su-30s, one of the principal Russian fighter jets deployed in Ukraine. The facility also produced Yak-24, the USSR's tandem rotor helicopter akin to the American CH-47 Chinook, and the Yak-38, a naval fighter capable of vertical takeoff and landing similar to NATO's Harrier jets. In 1987, it even produced the Soviet Union's first unmanned aerial vehicle, nicknamed Bumblebee. Additionally, the plant developed the Yak-42, the first Soviet jet engine passenger aircraft with rear ramp boarding. I even remember flying in one of those in the 1990s. Of course, the section of the plant dedicated to military aircraft production is off-limits, but I was granted access to the assembly area for the MS-21. Now, some of you might wonder why they'd allow a regular YouTuber into the heart of the Russian aerospace industry. Well, I'm not just any YouTuber. Over the last two years, I've gained over 250,000 subscribers, making Real Reporter one of the top English-speaking channels in Russia. And trust me, the vetting process wasn't easy. It took three months of intense negotiations before they finally approved my visit and allowed my camera inside. All right, let's get the ball rolling. Here I am, stepping into the womb of Russian civil aviation, where the goal is to give birth to the very first entirely Russian passenger jet since Soviet times. The MS-21 was unveiled with great fanfare in 2016 as a symbol of Russia's revitalized civil aviation sector. The ambition was clear — to craft a competitive airliner that could undercut the operating costs of its Western rivals by 12 to 15 percent. The MS-21 aimed to challenge the dominance of the Boeing 737 MAX and the Airbus A320, two of the best-selling aircraft in history. However, despite a promising debut, the MS-21 has only been showcased at air shows and has yet to enter mass production. All right, now let's talk about the MS-21's advantages first, and then we'll discuss the issues that's been keeping this project from taking off. First off, the MS-21's wings boast a very high aspect ratio. To put it simply, these wings are long and skinny, which reduces drag and thus results in much better fuel efficiency. Think of it as a tape measure. When you pull it out a bit, it's pretty strong and stable, right? But when you extend it further, it starts to bend. The same is true for a wing. The longer it is, the more it tends to bend. So you need to add more material. But when you add more material, it becomes thicker, which means more drag, more fuel consumption. The world's best engineers have been wracking their brains for decades. How do you extend a plane's wing but keep it relatively light? And that's where the Russians come into play. Russian engineers opted to construct the MS-21's wings from composite materials. These materials are not only cutting-edge and expensive, but also lighter and stronger than traditional metals, enhancing the aircraft's aerodynamics and giving the MS-21 an edge over its rivals. Simply put, this plane can fly longer than a Boeing 737 MAX and an Airbus A320 on the same amount of fuel. This has also allowed for exceptional maneuverability, as recently demonstrated during an MS-21 test flight, where the aircraft performed sophisticated aerobatics typically executed by fighter jets. And last but not least, the MS-21 boasts one of the widest cabins in its class. Let's check it out. Here we go. So it's four meters wide. And to put it into perspective, the Airbus A320's cabin is 3.7 meters wide and the Boeing 737's cabin is the narrowest at 3.5 meters. Now, why does this matter? Well, it just means more comfort for passengers. Ever been blocked in the aisle on your way back from the restroom because the flight attendant is serving food and drinks? Well, the MS-21's creator claimed that their cabin and their aisle is going to be wide enough for you and a flight attendant to pass each other with ease. How cool is that? The thing is, the MS-21 has proven to be extremely vulnerable to sanctions, primarily because many of its essential components were sourced internationally. This includes Bratton-Whitney engines and Goodreads chassis from America, as well as windscreens imported from France. I was told that the goal is to replace around 80 Western-made systems and components before the aircraft can fly again. During my visit, one of the plant's leading engineers showed me the underbelly of the MS-21, where they had recently installed the first Russian-made electrical distribution system. The system acts like the plane's heart and veins, distributing power throughout the aircraft to operate the lights, entertainment screens, and air conditioning. Only a few nations have the capability to build these systems domestically. Off the record, I was told that Russia's new PD-14 engines, though just as powerful as America's Bratton-Whitney 1400, don't quite match up in fuel efficiency yet. But the real challenge isn't just efficiency, it's time. Imagine needing at least 50 test flights just to confirm that something as basic as the plane's windscreens are reliable. And that's just the start. Complex systems like navigation and avionics need even more testing. They're planning to roll out 270 MS-21s by 2030. That sounds like a lot, but it's hardly enough to fulfill all of Russia's needs for this type of aircraft. What really baffles me is that Russia is having to rebuild entire aviation industries from the ground up, even though the Soviet Union once had a completely self-sufficient aircraft production setup. Do you believe that the MS-21 will take off one day? There's this ongoing debate that often crops up in my channel's comments section. Are sanctions good or bad for Russia? In reality, it is way more complicated than a black and white question, as we've just seen. Have sanctions created a ton of problems for Russian civil aviation? Absolutely. Air travel is now more expensive, the number of aircraft Russia has limited, and they're aging. Keeping them in service is a huge challenge. But this exact situation has prompted everyone to roll up their sleeves and tackle something long overdue, creating a truly Russian passenger jet. Why wasn't this done earlier? Well, that's a good question. That's probably above my pay grade, but I'm looking forward to the day when the MS-21 finally takes to the sky. For now, I'm about to catch a flight back to Moscow on one of the few Western aircraft that Russia has left.