First Osvey aircraft manufactured jointly with Russia to be produced in Belarus in 2026
MINSK. May 22 (Interfax) - The first model of the Osvey aircraft produced jointly with Russia is planned to go into production in Belarus in 2026, Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Pyotr Parkhomchik said.
"The project is underway. A small aircraft, a 19-seater; it is called Osvey. We are working with our Russian partners at the aircraft development stage. Accordingly, we will have the right to produce this aircraft," Parkhomchik said in a government press release published on Tuesday.
"Today we have a firm order from the Russian Federation: to produce 50% of 180 aircraft in the near future. They are doing some hard work now at the 558th [aircraft repair] plant. The goal is to produce the first prototype, developed alongside our Russian partners, in 2026," Parkhomchik said.
Belarusian production facilities have the necessary expertise, the deputy prime minister said. For many years, they have been involved in providing work under warranties and repairing aircraft. The time has come to develop these competencies."
"Thank God we are receiving a large number of proposals from the Russian Federation for the production of a large number of components for aviation. This is something we will implement at the 407th plant together with the Kazan Civil Aviation Plant. This is a wide range of competencies. We have to create certain production capabilities in the near future to solve this complex problem," he said.
According to the agreement between the two countries' governments, Russia, as part of its cooperation arrangement with Belarus to create the Osvey light multi-purpose aircraft, must place an order with Belarus's JSC "558 ARZ" (Baranovichi) for the production of at least 178 fuselages through 2038, as well as 50% of the number of completed Osvey aircraft intended for delivery as part of the implementation of the comprehensive program for Russia's aviation industry development, but not less than 89 of these aircraft.
The project will be implemented based on Russian legislation, the document says. Certification of the aircraft will be carried out in accordance with federal aviation regulations approved by the Federal Air Transport Agency. The financing for the development and certification of the aircraft is being provided by Russia and Belarus on a parity basis.
On the Russian side, the Ural Civil Aviation Plant (UZGA) was identified as lead contractor for development work on the Osvey, while the 558th ARZ was appointed co-executor from Belarus. The developers have the task of ensuring the aircraft's competitiveness with foreign analogues, such as the Cessna-408 SkyCourier, the L-410NG, the Indonesian Aerospace N-219, and the DHC-6 300 Twin Otter.