Russia to accelerate development of rocket and aircraft engines as war in Ukraine continues.

On September 5, 2025, during an official visit in Samara, Russian President Vladimir Putin has urged the country’s aerospace industry to intensify efforts in developing booster rocket engines for space launch vehicles and advanced aircraft propulsion systems. Speaking during a visit to the Kuznetsov design bureau and engine production facility in Samara, Putin emphasized the dual objective of meeting Russia’s internal requirements while also maintaining competitiveness on global markets, despite the ongoing weight of Western sanctions imposed since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
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During a visit to the Kuznetsov engine plant in Samara on September 5, 2025, President Vladimir Putin urged Russia’s aerospace industry to accelerate the development of booster rocket engines and the PD-26 aircraft engine, highlighting their importance for space, military transport, and independence under Western sanctions (Picture source: Screenshot from the video published by the Russian Government).

The Kuznetsov facility in Samara is one of the most historically significant centers of Soviet and Russian propulsion engineering. Since the Cold War, it has produced engines that powered strategic bombers, space launch vehicles and long-range transports. Among its best-known designs is the NK-32 turbofan, developed for the Tu-160 Blackjack strategic bomber, still considered one of the most powerful military jet engines ever built. Kuznetsov also contributed to the RD-107 and RD-108 engines, which powered the R-7 family of rockets, including the one that launched Yuri Gagarin into orbit in 1961. Later developments, such as the RD-170 family, provided the backbone for Energia and Zenit launch vehicles and remain a reference in terms of high-thrust liquid rocket engines. This legacy underpins the Kremlin’s insistence that Russia retain a central position in propulsion technologies, seen as essential not only for prestige but also for strategic independence.

Among the projects currently prioritized is the renewal of booster rocket engine production for Roscosmos. For decades, Russia supplied the United States with RD-180 engines for its Atlas V launchers, a cooperation abruptly halted after 2022. Moscow now seeks to reassert its dominance by expanding its own portfolio of heavy-lift engines to support independent launch capabilities. These systems are expected to equip the Angara rocket family, designed to replace the aging Proton launchers, and to guarantee Russia’s ability to place both civilian and military satellites into orbit without reliance on external suppliers. The production renewal also aligns with ambitions to strengthen Russia’s export portfolio for countries outside the Western bloc that may be interested in Russian launch services as an alternative to SpaceX or European Ariane solutions.

In parallel, Putin highlighted the PD-26 aircraft engine project as a key development for both civil and military aviation. Building on the PD-14 engine already integrated into the Irkut MC-21 airliner, the PD-26 is expected to provide higher thrust levels suitable for heavy transport aircraft, strategic lifters and potentially new-generation wide-bodied civil planes. For military use, the engine could significantly enhance the Ilyushin Il-76MD-90A transport fleet by improving payload, efficiency and reliability. It may also provide propulsion for the Russo-Chinese CRAIC CR929 program, a project repeatedly delayed but strategically important as a counterbalance to Airbus and Boeing dominance. For Russia’s defense sector, the PD-26 is central to efforts to secure autonomy from Western engine makers such as Rolls-Royce, Pratt & Whitney and General Electric, whose products are no longer accessible due to sanctions.

Advances in rocket and aircraft propulsion directly translate into enhanced military capabilities. Modernized booster engines would ensure Russia’s ability to sustain and expand its satellite constellations, which are critical for reconnaissance, navigation, early warning and secure communications. These assets underpin precision strike capabilities, including long-range cruise missiles and hypersonic systems, and guarantee Russia’s ability to operate independently in the space domain. On the aviation side, the PD-26 would enable heavier airlift operations, supporting strategic mobility across Russia’s vast territory and in expeditionary theaters from Syria to the Arctic. Improved range and payload capacity would allow the Russian Armed Forces to reinforce remote garrisons, deliver humanitarian or combat supplies, and deploy rapid reaction units without relying on outdated or imported systems.

The geopolitical context adds urgency to these technological efforts. Since 2022, Russia has been cut off from Western aerospace supply chains, including avionics, composite materials and engine technologies. Developing indigenous propulsion systems has thus become both a matter of industrial sovereignty and geopolitical survival. By highlighting these programs during a visit to Samara, Putin signals to domestic and international audiences that Russia will not relinquish its role as a global aerospace power. Moreover, partnerships with China play a growing role. While Europe has drastically reduced its dependence on Russian energy and technology, Beijing is emerging as Moscow’s principal partner for both energy projects such as the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline and long-term aerospace cooperation. In this sense, Russia’s aerospace propulsion sector is both a symbol of resilience under sanctions and a strategic tool for deepening ties within a Eurasian industrial and military framework.

Russia’s renewed focus on booster rocket and aircraft engine development reflects a broader strategy of technological independence, military preparedness and geopolitical repositioning. Kuznetsov’s heritage in propulsion design provides a foundation for the PD-26 and new rocket boosters, which aim to secure Russia’s access to space, sustain its military transport capacity and reinforce its global standing. In an era of fractured supply chains and shifting alliances, propulsion systems have become more than engineering achievements. They are instruments of strategic autonomy.