Ukraine Cooperates with Russia on $4bln AN-70 Project

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Ukraine Cooperates with Russia on $4bln AN- 70 Project

PR Newswire KYIV, Ukraine, August 16, 2012

KYIV, Ukraine,August 16, 2012/PRNewswire/ --

Ukrainian company Antonov together with Russian United Aircraft Corporation will participate in manufacturing Antonov An-70 transport airplanes. Russian defense ministry already placed an order for 60 such machines,USD 67 millionapiece. Developed since 1978, An-70 can carry heavier cargo than existing transport planes and land on ill-equipped runways.

An-70 can carry 300 troopers, or 200 injured persons, or 47 tons of freight. Comparably, the closest alternative to An-70 - Airbus A400M Atlas - can carry 37 tons of cargo. Market price of the Spanish A400M isEUR 145 million, whereas the Ukrainian An-70 costs less thanUSD 70 million. Planes An-70 will be produced at JSC Gorbunov Kazan Aviation Production Association in Kazan,Russia. The plane can fly at a speed of 780 kilometers per hour at distances of up to 7,800 kilometers. An-70 is capable of landing on 600- 800 meter runways with earth surfaces. Onboard navigation equipment allows the plane to land and takeoff at airports lacking special earth-based equipment. The four engines Progress D-27 make it possible for shorter takeoff and landing of An-70. By the end ofAugust 2012,Ukraineplans to finalize testing of the three-shaft propfan engine. Ukrainian state enterprise Ivchenko-Progress developed the engine, while PJSC Motor Sich, Zaporizhzhia,Ukraine, will produce D-27. An-70 will be built in compliance with the AP-25 norms of the Interstate Aviation Committee - Airworthiness Standards for Category Airplanes. This will allow certification of An-70 for civilian aviation inWestern EuropeandNorth America. The planned amount of An-70s to be produced by 2020 is 80 machines. Specifically for the purposes of An-70 productionRussiawill build a separate plant at JSC Gorbunov Kazan Aviation Production Association, according to the Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Medvedev. BesidesRussia,Ukraineis currently cooperating withChina(AI-222-25F turbofans),Iran(An-140, An-148) on aircraft production projects. Additionally, inJuly 2012, joint Ukraine-Russia Ruslan SALIS GmbH won NATO air transportation bid. Ruslan SALIS will provide An-124-100s for air transportation services for the Strategic Airlift Interim Solution project. Within the framework of previous cooperation with jointUkraine-Russiaenterprise, NATO uses An-124-100s to transport troops to and fromAfghanistanand peacekeepers in and out of Darfur, as well as to deliver aid to the victims ofOctober 2005earthquake in Pakistan.