Worsening relations between Moscow, the new regime in Kiev and the latter’s supporters in the West have prompted the Russian government to “dust off” the Ilyushin-114 turboprop. The Kremlin favors the outdated, but home-grown, design to Ukraine’s Antonov An-140, now in low-rate production at the Aviacor plant in Samara, and the Bombardier Q400, local production of which by Russian aerospace conglomerate Rostec remains under negotiation. Russian deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin, who appears on the EU’s sanctions list, acts as the driving force behind the Il-114, often suggesting it as a direct alternative to the Rostec Q400 plan. A development in favor of the Il-114 ocurred on September 9, when Rogozin chaired a meeting of government officials with various ministries and industry heads. “The meeting […] approved of Il-114 production restart,” said Rogozin. “The Ilyushin design house is ready to accept the work.” He stressed that the effort requires “a complete digitizing” of the original drawings after “a deep modernization”.
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