VORONEZH, June 27 (RIA Novosti) - The Voronezh-based aircraft manufacturer VASO has launched production of an An-148 regional medium-haul plane, the United Aircraft Corporation chief executive said on Friday.
Alexei Fyodorov said the first aircraft would roll off the assembly line before the end of the year.
The Ilyushin Finance aircraft leasing company said five aircraft would be built in 2009, 18 in 2010, and 36 in 2001.
It also said 50 aircraft would be built annually from 2013 onwards.
Ilyushin Finance has signed a contract with the United Aircraft Corporation to buy 34 An-148's in 2008-10 and another 30 in 2011-12, worth a total of 40 billion rubles ($1.6 billion).
In its basic modification, the An-148 is designed to carry 70-90 passengers up to 5,000 kilometers. It costs an estimated $20 million to produce, which is cheaper than Sukhoi's SuperJet-100 (around $28 million).
