The latest round of economic sanctions imposed against Russia by the U.S. and European Union (EU) did not directly target the civil aerospace and air transport sectors, but they might yet inflict collateral damage on those industries. The U.S. sanctions, announced on September 12, included the Rostec defense group, which harbors ambitions in the civil sector, such as its planned joint venture with Canada’s Bombardier to build Q400 regional airliners in Russia.
On the same day, the latest wave of EU sanctions specifically named United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), the state-backed conglomerate that encompasses most of Russia’s military and civil aviation ventures. However, in both cases, the small print in the complex sanctions documentation indicates that the bans on exporting technology to those ventures do not relate to non-defense-related programs, such as the SSJ-100 airliner marketed by the Superjet International joint venture between UAC subsidiary Sukhoi and Italy’s Alenia Aermacchi group.
Charles Alcock is managing editor of the AIN Media Group, having rejoined the company in 2019. He has been an aviation journalist since 1986, and previously worked for AIN from 1990 to 2017, most recently as editor-in-chief. His main focus is on covering new aviation technology and business models, as well as international news.
Having been raised in the London area, Alcock studied at the University of Manchester in the UK and earned an honors degree in Politics and Modern History. He speaks English and French, and some German.
