A subsidiary of Italian defence
giant Finmeccanica is close to signing a major contract to take
part in the construction of regional jet airlines with Russia's
Sukhoi Civil Aircraft, local media reported Wednesday.
Finmeccanica signed a letter of understanding with Sukhoi
that would see the Italian firm's subsidiary Alenia Aeronautica
work in a joint venture to produce the Superjet 100, the
flagship craft of Sukhoi, for sale to China's O-Bay Aircraft Co.
The deal reportedly involves 100 of the Superjets for an
estimated cost of $3.5 billion US, beginning with 40 aircraft in
2014. Some assembly would occur in China.
According to media reports, if the deal comes to fruition
it will be the most significant in the history of Sukhoi and
Russian civil aviation.
The initial development of the Sukhoi Superjet 100 began in
2000 and has involved international partners including Italy's
Alenia Aeronautica, Canada, France and the United States.
Those same countries, through the Group of 7 major
industrial powers, have been involved in bringing multilateral
sanctions against the Russian government over the crisis in
Ukraine.
G7 leaders have issued a declaration reiterating their
support for Ukraine's new government and calling Russia's
annexation of Crimea illegal.
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