Defense Ministry to Buy 12 Sukhoi Planes

Iran’s Defense Ministry has signed a contract with its Russian counterpart to buy 12 Sukhoi Superjet 100 passenger planes.

The contract was signed in a meeting between the representatives of the defense ministries of the two countries, the Moscow-based Sputnik news agency reported, adding that the deal was signed on the sidelines of MAKS 2017 air show held in Zhukovsky, Moscow, on July 18-23.

“Russia and Iran have agreed on 12 Sukhoi Superjet 100 planes and there is a possibility that a contract for sales of a further 30 planes will be signed in the future,” Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak, who is the Russian chairman of the Iran-Russia Economic Commission, was quoted as saying by the news agency.

Financial Tribune was not able to independently confirm the news.

No Iranian airline attended the aviation event, according to the list of MASK 2017 participants available on its website. The list, however, contains the name of Iran Aviation Industries Organization, affiliated to the Iranian Ministry of Defense.

All AIO-affiliated companies are active in the manufacture of aircraft parts as well as repair and maintenance.

The Association of Iranian Airlines had said in February that Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company seeks to obtain a license from the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control to sell the SSJ100 planes to Iran.

For almost two years, Iran said it was reluctant to buy SSJ-100, due to the Russian plane’s bad reputation in Iran for its poor safety record. However, Iranian authorities recently hinted that they may be considering the purchase of the short-haul plane.