Article Posted on : - Apr 21, 2011

Sukhoi Superjet 100. A Sukhoi Company (JSC) photo

YEREVAN (BNS): Armenia has received the first Sukhoi Superjet 100 SN 95007 named after Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.

The aircraft was handed over to Armenian air company Armavia at a ceremony which took place at  Zvartnots airport on Tuesday.

“The delivery of the first production aircraft is the key milestone of the Sukhoi Superjet 100 Project. The event opens a new stage of the Program – the beginning of commercial operation and full-scale serial production…,” said President of United Aircraft Corporation and General Director of Sukhoi Holding, Mikhail Pogosyan.

“We are very grateful for such an aircraft. This is definitely a great milestone for the Russian aerospace industry, because this SSJ00 is in fact the first production aircraft of modern Russia, created in partnership with world-wide aerospace leaders. We congratulate everybody with such a significant achievement,” said Mikhail Bagdasaro, the owner of Armavia.

The Sukhoi Superjet 100 is a 100 seat regional jet, developed and built by Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company (SCAC), in partnership with Alenia Aeronautica.

It cruises at a Maximum Operating Speed of Mach 0.81 and 40.000 feet and takes off from a 1.731 meters runway in the basic range and 2.052 meters in the long range.

Armavia said it plans to launch flights to Moscow, Saint-Petersburg, Sochi and Ukraine.