Ukraine has approved production of the Antonov An-70 transport aircraft and will introduce it into service with its armed forces, the company announced on 22 January.
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| Ukraine Approves An-70 Production, Fielding Airlifter. |
The decision to adopt the An-70 was taken by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) following a test programme that was concluded in June 2014. Serial production will now begin, although the company did not specify numbers or timelines.
The An-70 is a four-engined propfan that has been jointly developed by Ukraine and Russia. With a cargo hold measuring 22.4 m in length, 4.80 m in width, and 4.40 m in height, the airlifter has a hold volume of 425 m cubed. This, combined with a range of 6,598 km (with a 20,000 kg payload) and a maximum payload of 47,000 kg, place the An-70 in the same category of airlifter as the A400M Atlas from Airbus Defence and Space.
With a forecasted global heavy-lift market valued at about USD30 billion over the next decade, the An-70 is likely to find itself competing not just with the A400M, but against the Embraer KC-390 and the Lockheed Martin C-130J-30 Hercules also.
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