Russia was set to unveil on Wednesday its new passenger plane MC-21, billed as a competitor to Boeing and Airbus even as the project is overshadowed by sanctions and setbacks with its predecessor, the Superjet.

President Vladimir Putin formally opened the MAKS air salon outside Moscow Tuesday with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was enticed with Sukhoi fighter jets.

The showpiece of this year's MAKS is the new civilian aircraft, which will be formally shown to potential clients after more than a decade in the making and multiple delays.

Putin lauded Russia's aircraft builders and their unique traditions which permit the country to "remain among the flagships of the global aerospace industry" and produce "breakthrough projects" such as the MC-21 and Mi-38 and Ka-62 helicopters.

The salon is the first since Russia's United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), a conglomerate of the country's main civilian and military aircraft makers, was put in the hands of state-owned corporation Rostec last year. 

The handover, to be formally completed next year, was billed as a way to steer the industry toward more streamlined management and kindle new airplane projects.

The medium-haul MC-21, which is produced by Siberian-based manufacturer Irkut and seats up to 211 passengers, is the industry's big hope after setbacks with the regional Sukhoi Superjet 100 liner, launched in 2011 as the first post-Soviet civilian airplane.

"MC-21 is a modern, improved mid-range plane, which is set to compete on the market with Airbus 320 and Boeing 737," said Oleg Panteleyev, an aviation analyst who heads industry website Aviaport.ru.

An MC-21 prototype made its maiden flight in 2017 but serial manufacturing has been delayed, in part due to US sanctions affecting the production of its carbon composite wings.

Though it was supposed to be put in service at the end of 2018, Rostec chief Sergei Chemezov said this year the first MC-21 planes will be delivered to Russian state-owned Aeroflot airline only in 2021.