A model of C929 superjet

Chinese and Russian authorities have approved the joint review of the widebody long-haul airliner dubbed CR929, noting that the program has now entered preliminary design phase.

“The Sino-Russian designed widebody long-haul airliner has been officially named the CR929, while the China-Russian Commercial Aircraft International Corporation has officially commenced operations,” Zhao Yuerang, chief manager of China’s state-owned aerospace manufacturer Comac was quoted as saying by Thepaper.cn on Thursday.

According to Thepaper.cn, the CR929 program will go through several stages, including project approval, joint review, preliminary design, manufacturing and final marketing. The program is now entering the preliminary design phase and is expected to produce the airplane within ten years.

Arguably the world’s only new wide-body, two-aisle passenger jet to be manufactured by an entity other than Boeing and Airbus, the CR929 external design was unearthed in 2016, after Russian aerospace company United Aircraft Corporation signed a contract with China’s Comac for designing a wide-body plane, challenging the traditional conglomerates Boeing and Airbus, according to Russian Aviation Insider.