Sukhoi targets Boeing and Airbus

The Russian aviation industry has long been associated with outdated aircraft, and poor safety standards.

But Russia hopes this plane, the Sukhoi Superjet 100 can change that perception.

It's the first civilian aircraft to be produced by Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Sukhoi's director general.

SOUNDBITE: Mikhail Pogosyan, Sukhoi Director General, saying (Russian):

"We expect that in our segment of regional passenger airliners we'll take a 15-20 percent share of the global market. We think it will take us five to ten years to achieve this. I think it's absolutely realistic."

U.S. planemaker Boeing has acted as a consultant for the Superjet 100 project.

And like Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, the Superjet's been hit by delays. It only made its maiden flight in May 2008.

It was put through its paces in front of crowds at the MAKS aeropace fair outside Moscow.

Able to carry up to 95 passengers, the plane's designed to fly between Russia's regional cities.

That makes the jet a competitor to the Boeing 737 and Airbus A319 familes, and Sukhoi hopes it can attract orders from outside Russia.

SOUNDBITE: Mikhail Pogosyan, Sukhoi Director General, saying (Russian):

"I think that compared to other regional jets, our plane offers much better quality of comfort, it is much more environmentally-friendly and it has good prospects in the European market as well as in North and South America."

State-controlled Sukhoi hopes to have firm orders for 150 Superjets by the end of the year.

That would keep production going until 2012.

And that's important, given that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said at MAKS the government wouldn't support loss-making plane builders.

This warning comes as Russia wants MAKS - which attracts tens of thousands of visitors - to take off and become a major international air show.

Moscow sees the aviation and aerospace industries as one of its best hopes for diversifying the economy away from oil and gas.

And Sukhoi's Superjet could be just the start.

Joanna Partridge, Reuters