Few have doubted Russia’s aerospace engineering capabilities but many observers have questioned weather the country could deliver the marketing and customer support needed to successfully export civil airliners.

The newly formed Superjet International joint venture–based in Venice, Italy–carries the responsibility for alleviating any lingering doubts.

Alenia Aeronautica–part of Italy’s Finmeccanica group–is a co-founder of Superjet International and controls 51 percent of its stock; Sukhoi holds the remaining 49-percent interest. Alenia plans to apply the marketing and customer support strengths derived from its role in the Avions de Transport Regional joint venture to the Superjet program.