Long discussed Tu-334 licence deal with Iran appears to be close to conclusion

Published: 1/12/2000

The long-expected contract for the medium range Tu-334 for Iran appears to be reaching some conclusion. While briefing journalists after a meeting with acting President Putin, Sergey Ivanov, Secretary of Russia"s Security Council said that he expected Russia to receive orders not only for aircraft, but also for an extensive support package, which could be worth $3 billion. Sources within MiG are however, reluctant to confirm the size of the contract suggesting that it could be smaller than rumoured. In October 1999, Vasily Alexanderov, General Director of Tupolev, was quoted as saying that the programme to produce the Tu-334 under licence in Iran was close to finishing its planning phase, after negotiations of more than a year. Production will be undertaken by Iranian producer, IAMI, also known as HESA, which is based in Ishfahan. The Tu-334 is intended to fill the gaps in the Iranian air transport system, which is suffering from an aging fleet in need of replacement. A policy is also in place to find a single type replacement in each category. This has led to the An-140 being adopted as the turboprop replacement and it appears that the Tu-334 has been selected as the regional jet. For MiG, now responsible for the production of the aircraft, the confirmation of a contract can only improve the company"s poor morale. It has recently been criticised for focussing on civil programmes and has lost a substantial number of senior military designers. It will also help improve the very low levels of utilisation at the company"s Moscow facilities and provide essential cash flow required to put the $ 18.5m Tu-334 into serial production for other potential customers. According to Tupolev, these include 14 Russian airlines, in addition to potential customers in China and Slovakia. Associated articles: www.concise.org 9th February 1999,10th February 1999,26th March 1999,19th October 1999

Article ID: 1305