Irkut Corporation, the developer of MS-21 aircraft, has chosen the engine suppliers, Kommersant reports.

Irkut Corporation, forming part of United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) should sign the final contract on delivery of engines for MS-21 aircraft in mid-May – it has been reported by two sources close to the industry. Pratt & Whitney, USA (part of United Technologies) and United Engine Corporation (UEC), Russia, will supply the engines for MS-21 (these companies have been chosen by Irkut as early as 2009). The Americans have managed to win the tender at the time, but the agreement with UEC should be signed in order to provide choice for the customer (Boeing and Airbus are also offering two different engines for each aircraft).

The parties have been coordinating the contract terms since 2009 (the contract’s term of execution, price and quantity parameters).

Irkut is prepairing for signing the contract with Pratt & Whitney, which should take place on May 15th – 16th. UEC should also manage to present the final version of the contract, thus the signing of both agreements will be synchronized", — the source said. Press-services of Irkut and UEC have confirmed that the negotiations have reached the final stage. Pratt & Whitney declined any comments.

According to the source, both American and Russian manufacturers will have the initial contract on delivery of 100 engines since 2016. The list price of one PW1000G Family engine made by Pratt & Whitney is $5,4 million. The Russian PD-14 engine, which is also under development, costs about $6 million. Thus the total list price of these contracts may exceed $1 billion. However, the sources believe that Irkut will acquire the engines at lower prices: they know that Pratt & Whitney is ready to give a discount of $500 thousand for each engine from the first batch, while UEC intends to lower the price to $5,5 million.

The sources have also told that Pratt & Whitney is finishing the negotiations with UEC on localization of American engine’s production in Russia. The parties may sign the corresponding letter of intent soon. According to the agreement, UEC will be performing the final assembly of the engines and provide their post-sales support in Russia.