Three Years of Delays — Still No Passengers
Russia is postponing the launch of the LMS-901 "Baikal" light aircraft for the third time, which is supposed to replace the Soviet An-2 ("Kukuruznik"). According to Mikhail Parnev, head of the State Transport Leasing Company, the first aircraft will be handed over to the "Aerochemflot" aviation alliance in 2027 — but not for passenger transportation, but for "aviation work": crop spraying, cargo flights, and design testing. Parnev did not specify when the passenger version would appear.
For dozens of small cities in Siberia and the Far East, where the An-2 remains the only transportation link to the outside world, this date means at least several more years on aircraft that are over 50 years old.
What Actually Happened to the Project
According to Kommersant from February 2025, "dramatic errors" were made during the design of the "Baikal" — the structure needs to be redesigned, which will take 3 to 5 years. In May 2025, Vice Premier Yuri Trutnev publicly stated that the development had reached a dead end and the solution would have to come through re-engining old An-2s.
"Production of the LMS-901 aircraft will not be launched, the project development has reached an impasse."
Yuri Trutnev, Vice Premier of the Russian Federation, May 14, 2025
Russia's Ministry of Industry and Trade and the manufacturer — the Ural Civil Aviation Plant (UZGA) — immediately refuted Trutnev's words and stated that "the project is on schedule." Two days later, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov confirmed full financing, and in April 2025, a state contract was signed for the re-engining of the "Baikal" with Russian engine and propeller with a total cost of nearly 12 billion rubles.
The Engine — A Separate Story
The original "Baikal" flew on an American GE H80-100 engine. After sanctions, it had to be replaced with the domestic VK-800SM. In June 2025, the aircraft made its first flight with the new engine and AB-901 propeller. Engine certification is planned for the first quarter of 2026, type certificate for the entire aircraft — by the end of 2026. That is, even in an optimistic scenario, there is minimal buffer between the certificate and the first real delivery, which this project has never had enough of.
- 2022 — first delay: serial production was supposed to begin in 2023
- 2023 — second delay: Trutnev ordered to "deal with cost increases"
- 2025 — third delay: deliveries postponed to 2027, passenger variant without a date
A Temporary Solution That Could Become Permanent
While the "Baikal" stalls, Russia is considering mass re-engining of the An-2 fleet — replacing piston engines with turboprop TVD-10B engines. This is the same engine that was manufactured from 1984 to the early 1990s in Poland at a factory that is now owned by American Pratt & Whitney. Restoring domestic production of the TVD-10B has been entrusted to the United Engine Corporation — with no announced deadlines.
Putin himself called on officials to "accelerate the creation of the 'Baikal'" back in September 2024 at the Eastern Economic Forum. After that, nothing fundamentally changed.
If the certification of the VK-800 engine is indeed completed in the first quarter of 2026 and does not entail another review of the structure — 2027 deliveries are technically possible. But three previous deadlines suggest that each new milestone in this project lasts exactly until the next official "clarification of dates."
