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Russian Defense Ministry plans to order An-124, An-70 transport aircraft
13:21 26/05/2010
The Russian Defense Ministry intends to order An-124 and An-70 military transport aircraft under the new state arms procurement program for 2011-2020, Airborne Troops Commander Lt. Gen. Vladimir Shamanov said on Wednesday.
"While working under the state program, we have submitted our proposals," Shamanov said.
He said the Airborne Troops had ordered 40 An-70s aircraft, but he did not specify the number of An-124s ordered by his military unit.
There are up to 300 transport aircraft in service with the Russian Air Force, including, among others, An-12, An-70 and An-124 Ruslan strategic heavy airlift transport aircraft.
The An-70 is a medium-range turboprop military transport plane developed by Ukraine's Antonov design bureau. The Antonov company first tested a flying prototype of the An-70 in 1994, but a lack of Ukrainian state funds, and political disputes between Moscow and Kiev have prevented large-scale production of the aircraft.
The recent thaw in Russian-Ukrainian relations saw Moscow renew long-stalled funding to Ukraine for eventual joint production of the airplane.
The An-70 is due to occupy the An-12's niche.
The An-124, that can be used both for domestic and military purposes, was designed by the Antonov Design Bureau in 1982, and was produced in Ukraine's Kiev and Russia's Ulyanovsk until 1995. The plane has a maximum payload of 150 metric tons with a flight range of around 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles).
The cargo jet is the world's third largest after the An-225 and the Airbus A380F.
Russia and Ukraine reached a preliminary agreement to resume production of the An-124 in April 2008.
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