Sept 24 (Reuters) - Chinese planemaker COMAC is falling

behind on previously stated delivery targets for the production

of its narrow-body C919 commercial plane, according to

regulatory filings from the three airlines that fly the model.

China Eastern Airlines, Air China

and China Southern were expecting 32 of the planes

to be delivered this year, but as of September only five have

been handed over from COMAC, according to airline financial

reports and data from ch-aviation and Flightradar24.

The state-owned manufacturer has cut its own C919 production

target to 25 this year from a previously stated goal of 75,

Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing sources familiar with

the matter. COMAC did not respond immediately to a request for

comment.

COMAC in January said it planned to deliver 30 C919 planes

and scale up annual production capacity to 50 aircraft in 2025.

In March, it raised the production target up to 75, according to

Chinese media reports.

COMAC is seeking to compete internationally with leading

Western planemakers Airbus and Boeing ( BA ), which

produce dozens of their single-aisle A320neo family and 737 MAX

jets each month.

COMAC this year faced the unexpected challenge of the United

States temporarily halting exports of the CFM

engines it uses on the C919 between June and July as trade

tensions escalated. A key vulnerability of China's jet-building

programme is that major elements of the designs use foreign

parts.

The C919, which lacks benchmark certifications from major

Western aviation regulators, has only had orders from Chinese

customers and two airlines in Brunei and Cambodia - both close

allies of Beijing.

Aviation consultancy IBA said last month that COMAC's C919

production targets were ambitious and it expected "more measured

growth" from the manufacturer.

IBA forecast around 18 C919s would be delivered in 2025 and

25 in 2026, rising to about 45 in 2027.

China Eastern, Air China and China Southern each ordered 100

of the jets.