Russian PD-35 engine to enter market in six years

Total investment in the development effort will stand at around $3 billion (Aviadvigatel)

Russia’s new bypass turbofan engine, dubbed PD-35, will be developed in the next six years, Alexander Inozemtsev, chief designer of Aviadvigatel (a subsidiary of the United Engine Corporation), has told TASS newswire.

The engine is intended to power future widebody aircraft, including the Russo-Chinese C929. Inozemtsev said the powerplant program is currently in the scientific research phase.

Total investment in the project will amount to almost 180 billion rubles (approximately $3 billion). Of this sum, 60 billion rubles will be spent on test benches and laboratory equipment.

The PD-35 is a turbofan engine projected to develop 35 tons of thrust. The program was launched in the summer of 2016 as a joint effort by Russia’s largest powerplant specialists, Perm-based Aviadvigatel and NPO Saturn, which is located in Rybinsk (both are part of the United Engine Corporation).

The plan is to scale up the core of the PD-14 engine, which is currently being developed for the Irkut MC-21 narrowbody airliner, and add a stage to its high-pressure compressor. There will be nine stages in the compressor and two stages in the turbine.

The fan diameter will measure 3,100 mm, and the engine’s length will exceed eight meters. The powerplant will weigh around 8 tons.