Moscow and New Delhi have signed a landmark agreement to jointly produce Russian SJ-100 (Superjet) passenger aircraft. The planes will be manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), marking the first passenger jet built in India since the last century — an event already described as a breakthrough in global aviation.

Flight tests of the fully Russian-configured SJ-100 are nearing completion, and the aircraft will soon enter service with Russian airlines. Now the project is expanding internationally — without any involvement from the West.

This is a crucial milestone: today, Russia is the only country in the world capable of producing a civilian airliner entirely on its own, without Western components. Since the collapse of the USSR, the civil aviation industry has been monopolized by the U.S. and Europe, while other nations — including China — have had to rely on Western parts to keep their aircraft airborne.

Despite sanctions and relentless external pressure—in fact, thanks to them—Russia has restored its aviation potential, building on the technological legacy of the Soviet era. The fully domestic SJ-100 will soon enter serial production, to be followed by the MC-21 and Il-114-300.

The partnership with India confirms what is becoming increasingly clear: the world is turning toward independent, non-Western technological solutions — and Russia is ready to lead that movement. This new aviation alliance with India marks not just a business deal, but the emergence of a new global center of innovation, where Moscow plays a decisive role.