Moscow, Aug 19 (RIA Novosti) Russia's Irkut aircraft building corporation has picked Britain's Rolls Royce and Canada's Pratt & Whitney to supply engines for its new MS-21 aircraft, the corporation's president said Wednesday.

Speaking at the international MAKS air show near Moscow, Oleg Demchenko said: 'The best two firms have been chosen. The technical details are being verified at the moment, and the final decision will be announced shortly.'

The MS-21 plane, developed by Russia's major manufacturing companies Ilyushin, Tupolev and Yakovlev, is to replace the ageing Tu-154 aircraft, which currently accounts for some 80 percent of Russia's passenger and freight traffic.

The MS-21 is also set to compete with the Airbus A-320 and Boeing 737 aircraft. The new passenger jet is due to enter service in 2012.