Sanctions Haunt Russian Aerospace, But Govt Says $7.73B Could Buy Independence

Russia has issued more than $12 billion USD in state subsidies and loans to keep its homegrown aerospace industry on life support, making up for difficult sanctions that cut off the country’s supply on vital parts & technical equipment.

While Russia sits somewhat more comfortably in terms of homefield industry than other “service based economies”, aerospace assemblies and engine parts remain a difficult thing to make even in the best of times - tight tolerances, high materials quality, and consistent production make home-grown alternatives an unlikely prospect any time soon. Russia’s civil fleet was hammered by the sanctions, since many carriers had leased their aircraft from foreign lessors from countries all too amenable to seizing the planes once they parked on friendly territory.

Without Airbus and Boeing’s continued support, Russia now faces a daunting task: Either making their own domestic airliners quickly enough to make a quick and simple switch, or figuring out methods to make unsanctioned ‘knock-offs’ of western equipment. While the latter is a fairly unlikely element, the occasional rumor has pointed to vague collaborations between Chinese, Iranian, and Russian technical engineers aimed at creating their own parts for western jets. Given the Iranian’s surprising performance in keeping their aged F-14 Tomcats in the air, it’s not impossible that they help teach the Russians a few tricks to avoiding the worst aspects of aircraft parts sanctions.

But time is running out already, western analysts say. They believe the $12 billion in subsidies and loans is coming out of Russia’s nest egg, and there’s only so much yolk to go around. Reserve funds provided $1.2 billion USD to Russian airlines, compensating them for “rising fuel costs” and the assorted damages of western sanctions. In 2023, Russia’s National Wealth Fund “played a bigger funding role”, offering up $4.3 billion for aviation then. All in all, the sum hits about 1% of Russian GDP. Government plans reportedly put a $7.73 billion-dollar price tag on achieving technological parity with, and independence from the west - and those in the know can bet that’s probably a pretty “affordable” figure.

FMI: http://government.ru/en/department/74/events/