Memorandum of Understanding for the Purchase of 40 Sukhoi Aircraft by Iranian Companies

Two airlines, Aseman and Iran Airtour, signed a memorandum of understanding on Wednesday, April 24, for the purchase of forty Sukhoi passenger aircraft from Russia. Aseman announced that at the Eurasia exhibition in Turkey, a memorandum for the purchase of 20 Sukhoi aircraft was signed in the presence of the Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of Russia between the CEOs of Aseman Airlines and the Superjet aircraft manufacturing company. Aseman stated in a press release that this model of aircraft is the latest design from the Superjet 100 series, equipped with avionics and a number of other components exempt from sanctions. Meanwhile, Denis Manturov, the Russian Minister of Industry and Trade, stated that 'among the components and equipment of the Superjet 100, there are parts produced in the USA, and according to US sanctions, we must obtain permission from the US Treasury.' This Russian official added that 'we have not yet received a response from Washington regarding this matter, and unfortunately, the timeline for reviewing this request in the US government is uncertain.' It is possible that Sukhoi may have replaced Western company parts with Russian equivalents to avoid needing US government approval for selling these aircraft to Iran, although this has not been confirmed by any official. The body design of the Superjet 100 was done by Sukhoi, but Boeing served as the design consultant. The wing control system was designed by Liebherr of Germany, and the interior of the aircraft was designed by Pininfarina of Italy, with Alenia of Italy being Sukhoi's strategic partner for building this aircraft. Most of the aircraft's electronic and navigation equipment was also designed and manufactured by Thales of France. However, there is less concern regarding potential US sanctions for exporting the aircraft to Iran regarding the engine. The engine, named SaM146, is produced by a consortium between the Russian company NPO Saturn and the French company Safran. NPO Saturn is the most capable manufacturer of Russian military aircraft engines and has produced engines for the Sukhoi 27, 30, 35, and T-50. Iran Airtour is another Iranian company that has signed a memorandum for purchasing the Sukhoi Superjet 100. This company also announced in its press release that it signed a memorandum for the purchase of 20 Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft. Marzieh Jafarzadeh, the public relations manager of this company, stated, 'After expert reviews, a total of 20 Sukhoi Superjet 100s with a capacity of 100 seats will gradually be added to the Iran Airtour fleet starting next year.' According to Ms. Jafarzadeh, 'the total value of this memorandum is one billion dollars.' Iran Airtour has previously been one of the main companies using Russian aircraft. Before the ban on the use of the Tupolev 154, this company was one of the main users of this aircraft, which was involved in three deadly incidents resulting in over 260 fatalities. After the ban on the Tupolev, Iran Airtour had to replace its fleet with McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft that were over twenty years old and purchased as second-hand. The production location of the Superjet 100 has a history of purchasing Superjets from Sukhoi since 2016, when it was announced that three private companies in Iran were interested in purchasing Sukhoi passenger jets, and one company had reached an agreement with Sukhoi. Technical defects in these jets caused two companies, Aeroflot of Russia and Interjet of Mexico, to suspend flights of these aircraft. Following this event, the likelihood of Iranian companies purchasing these aircraft became uncertain. Maqsoud Asadi Samani, the secretary of the Association of Airlines, stated after the grounding of these aircraft in Mexico and Russia that 'due to the issues that arose, discussions regarding the purchase and leasing of these aircraft are facing uncertainties.' Aseman and Iran Airtour had previously signed contracts with Boeing and Airbus to develop their fleets. After signing the purchase agreement with Airbus, Iran Airtour announced that 'a total of 45 aircraft from the A320neo family with varying capacities from 100 to 240 seats have been purchased and will gradually be added to the Iran Airtour fleet.' In 2017, Aseman also signed a contract to purchase 30 Boeing 737 aircraft. Nevertheless, it seems that while the status of the nuclear agreement is uncertain and there is a possibility of non-delivery of aircraft by Airbus and Boeing, these two companies have turned to Russian companies for aircraft purchases.