Russia stops lobbying SaM-146 engine for An-148

Illyushin Finance, the largest player on Russian aviation leasing market, asked Antonov to consider Pratt & Whitney’s PW120G engine for its An-148 plane, Kommersant wrote yesterday. Illyushin Finance reportedly said the Russian government was ready to invest about USD 130 mln in the project. The P&W engine is set to be introduced in 2014, and it would take another two years to fit it to the An-148. The An-148 is currently being equipped with Motor Sich’s (MSICH UK) D-436 engines; Russia had earlier insisted on the French-Russian SaM-146 engine as an alternative. Roman Dmytrenko: Illyushin Finance’s offer indicates the Russians have finally given up on their aggressively lobbied SaM-146 engine as an alternative to Motor Sich’s models. The news is definitely positive for Motor Sich, which looks to become the sole supplier of engines for the An-148, the most prospective Russian/Ukrainian aviation project, until at least 2016.