The first two aircraft the department ordered from the Kazan-based aircraft manufacturer – Tu-214SR relay aircraft (RA-64515 and RA-64516) – were built in 2008 and handed over to the Rossiya special air detachment in a ceremony on 1 June 2009. Last year, KAPO assembled two more aircraft under the Presidential Property Management Department order. They were Tu-214PU VIP airborne command posts. The former of the two (RA-64517) was received by Rossiya in October 2010 and the latter (RA-64520) in January this year.

The government-awarded order for two Tu-214SUS aircraft is to be fulfilled before year-end. The second aircraft of the type (RA-64524) was rolled out right on the heels of the first Tu-214SUS. Once it is delivered, the Kazan-based aircraft maker will have fulfilled the order from the Presidential Property Management Department for six special aircraft derived from the Tu-214.

The aircraft fleet of the presidential air detachment is to be beefed up with other new domestically-built types as well. In October, the Aviastar-SP close corporation in Ulyanovsk rolled out two Tupolev Tu-204-300A airliners (RA-64057 and RA-64059) at once. RA-64057 first flew on 29 October, controlled by a crew led by Tupolev JSC test-pilot Victor Minashkin. According to Tupolev, the Tu-204-300As slated for the presidential air detachment are equipped with “a VIP cabin that has been soundproofed effectively, furnished with up-to-date telephone communications systems and provided with Internet access”.