"In a visit to Russia’s Irkutsk Aviation Plant Corporation on Saturday, Myanmar military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing personally inspected the construction of an MC-21 narrow-body airliner, checked on piloting requirements for the plane and witnessing a test flight, according to the army’s website. The Office of the Commander-in-Chief released a brief statement accompanied by three photos showing Sen-Gen Min Aung Hlaing sitting in a cockpit next to a test pilot from the Irkutsk company. The senior general asked the pilot about flying the MC-21 as well as installation processes for the aircraft. Last Thursday, Sen-Gen Min Aung Hlaing flew to Russia with a delegation from Myanmar ahead of the Aug. 18 closing ceremony of the International Army Games 2019 hosted by the Russian Army. He had a meeting with Russian General Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu, minister of defense of the Russian Federation, but no details were released. Irkutsk is the same company that is assembling six Sukhoi Su-30 SM multi-role advanced fighter jets for Myanmar under a contract worth about US$204 million (310.85 billion kyats) signed by the two nations last year. The market price of one of the twin-turbine engine fighter jets is around $34 million. It remains unclear whether the military chief discussed the progress of the assembly of the fighter jets with the Russian defense minister, or discussed future arms deals. During Sen-Gen Min Aung Hlaing’s visit to the Irkutsk plant in April, he told journalists that Russa’s military hardware is “very useful” for his military in key locations in Myanmar..."