Aircraft
Comac, UAC Formalize Widebody Joint Venture
Reveal new name of collaboration as China-Russia Commercial Aircraft International Company
Executives from Russia's UAC led by company president Yuri Slyusar (center left) and Comac representatives led by company chairman Jin Zhuanglong (center right) celebrate the establishment of the China-Russia Commercial Aircraft International Company. (Photo: UAC)
Executives from Russia's UAC led by company president Yuri Slyusar (center left) and Comac representatives led by company chairman Jin Zhuanglong (center right) celebrate the establishment of the China-Russia Commercial Aircraft International Company. (Photo: UAC)

China’s Comac and Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation officially established their joint venture to develop a long-range widebody airliner during a ceremony in Shanghai on Monday. Dubbed China-Russia Commercial Aircraft International Company (Craic), the entity established what UAC calls an “equivalence principle,” under which each side takes a 50 percent share in the program—known as the C929 by the Chinese. It remains unclear whether the sides have agreed on a name, however, given that the Russian partner believes it implies a Comac designation. In fact, the agreement calls for final assembly in Shanghai.