Russia completed the maiden flight of its new MS-21 medium-range passenger plane yesterday, its first post-Soviet foray into production of a mainline commercial aircraft which it hopes will rival those of its Western competitors.In a surprise statement, manufacturer Irkut Corporation and its state-controlled parent company United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) said an MS-21-300 model had successfully completed a 30-minute flight at a height of 1,000m and travelling at 300kph.Squeezed by Western sanctions over its role in the Ukraine crisis, Russia is trying to rejuvenate domestic industrial production to make the country less dependent on foreign firms.The test flight, which was not …read more
Source: Gulf times
