The long-haul wide-body commercial jet to be jointly developed between the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. (COMAC) and Russia's United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), was officially named CR929 on Friday in Shanghai.

The operator of the project's logo was also revealed at the naming ceremony: China-Russia Commercial Aircraft International Co., Ltd. (CRAIC).

The naming ceremony /COMAC Photo

The letters "C" and "R" stand for China and Russia. "9" is the largest single number and represents long-lasting in traditional Chinese. In this case, it specifically stands for profound and long-lasting mutual cooperation, a long lifetime and service time of the jet, as well as a stronger development of the joint venture between the two countries. "2" refers to the two parties’ cooperation and co-development.

There are three versions of the aircraft: CR929-500, CR929-600 and CR929-700. The CR929-600 has 280 seats and a range of 12,000 kilometers, which will be the baseline version, with the 230-seat CR929-500 being a shorter version and the 320-seat CR929-700 as a stretch.

With advanced aerodynamic design, composite materials and a new generation high bypass ratio turbofan engine, all the performance indicators of the wide-body aircraft will be largely improved, contributing to a lower direct operating cost than similar models.

The CR929-600 model /COMAC Photo

Launched last year, this aircraft is a major strategic cooperation project between the two countries in the high-tech field.

It is now undergoing feasibility research and the joint assessment of this phase is expected to be completed by the end of this year. It is expected to be roughly seven years before the aircraft's maiden flight, and ten years before its delivery.