One of the largest aerospace exhibitions in Russia has been canceled for the third year in a row
The International Aviation and Space Salon (MAKS), which was supposed to take place in the summer of 2025 in Zhukovsky near Moscow, will not take place again, the Russian Interfax news agency reported, citing informed sources.
For the first time, the salon was not held in 2023 – after the start of a full-scale war in Ukraine and the introduction of international sanctions against the Russian Federation.
This is the third consecutive cancellation of the largest aviation event in Russia, which has been held since 1993. The reason for the cancellation of the event is said to be security considerations.
Shortly after the start of the full-scale war, the Russian authorities announced an ambitious program to revive the domestic aviation industry.
It was planned that the production of civil aircraft in the country would reach the level of the USSR in just a few years, and by 2030, companies would receive over a thousand domestic machines.
In reality, during the full-scale three-year war, only five aircraft left Russian aircraft factories – three Tu-214s and two Il-96-300s.
Thus, flagship projects of the Russian aviation industry, such as the MS-21 and SJ-100, were never implemented, and Western companies, including Boeing and Airbus, stopped participating in the show due to sanctions.
In early 2025, the Russian government scaled back its plans for aircraft production: now, instead of the planned 80% of domestic aircraft in the carrier fleet, only 50% are expected by 2030. The start of large-scale production has been postponed to 2027–2028.
- On November 25, 2024, it was reported that the Russian government acknowledged the failure of the domestic aircraft production program and identified those responsible for the failures.
- On May 14, 2025, it became known that the Russian project for a new $44 million "Kukuruzhnik" has "reached a dead end." It will be closed.
