Victory for Polyot is no surprise, but official ratification is still to come, plus confirmation of Aviakor's role (446 words)

Published: 9/21/2001

Sources within the Russian Aerospace Agency (RAKA) have unofficially confirmed that Polyot, based in Omsk, has been awarded the tender for the production of the An-70. It has also been suggested that the other candidate for the contract, Aviakor, may get some of the programme, although it is unclear whether it will be the aircraft wings, for which it has been lobbying. Aviakor's Deputy General Director Gennady Bezzubov refused to confirm the reports saying that the plant had not received official notification of RAKA's decision. Polyot, however, says that its management is in the process of planning the production, in terms of buildings, personnel and setting up supplier chains for the starting of serial production, estimated to cost $100m. Reports estimate that the plant needs to recruit 2,800 people for the production line with skilled staff being sought from Kiev and Novosibirsk. According to Omsk's ORTRK television channel, the financing of the programme will be shared between the federal budget (20%), the regional budget, and Polyot. The Omsk regional administration has said that Leonid Polezhayev, Governor of the Omsk region, has already allocated a $50.8m programme over three years. Polyot's proportion of the funding is expected to come from the launch of Cosmos launch vehicles planned for 2002. Oleg Dorofeyev, General Director of Polyot, has been reported as saying the company's success in the tender was due to its performance in repairing the An-70 prototype that crashed in Omsk in January 2001 and the guarantees provided by the regional administration to finance the programme. Financing proved a problem for Aviakor and became the reason why it was forced to participate in a tender, having originally been designated the aircraft's producer. The prospects of the An-70 may also be looking up elsewhere. According to sources within Antonov, the aircraft has been included in a Canadian evaluation for 13-15 aircraft to be carried out in 2002, along with potential leasing of an An-124. If successful, according to Antonov, the aircraft will be upgraded to meet Canadian Air Force requirements including avionics and engines and will probably be given a new name. It seems likely therefore that the engines will be of western manufacture. The prospects for Ukrainian/Russian success in such a tender is difficult to assess. According to Antonov, the Canadian Air Force likes the aircraft, but given the experience with the failed German An-7X bid it would seem unlikely that a member of NATO would make such a commitment on its own, particularly given the work involved in making the aircraft meet Canadian standards.

Article ID: 2773