Antonov has reported that the Russian and Ukrainian Air Forces are to order 200 An-70s

Published: 8/20/1999

Dmitry Kiva, First Deputy Director General of ANTK Antonov (Kiev), has announced that the airforces of Russia and the Ukraine are to purchase a total of 200 An-70s (split 80:20), according to a report in Finmarket, on August 17th. The price of the An-70 is reported to be $40m within the CIS, and $50m for what is described as the 'European cargo modification proposed by the tender', which Concise assumes means the An-77 or An-7X variant being developed for the Western European FLA requirement. Originally intended to replace the Soviet Air Force's fleet of aging An-12s in the mid seventies. The An-70 has become a darling of the major air shows and is probably the Russian/Ukrainian aircraft most likely to succeed internationally given the high level of support that has been given from Germany particularly for its candidacy for the FLA requirement. Currently the Russian and Ukrainian Air Force's have expressed a requirement for up to 600 aircraft of this type. The chance of either air force purchasing this number of An-70s in the short term however, is low, given budget and senior air force officer's comments regarding new aircraft purchases over the last few months. To date Concise is aware of a prototype having been delivered to the Russian Air Force for evaluation with an intention of taking delivery of ten further aircraft. There is also considerable competition for those orders that may be available. With reports that Ilyushin and TAPO have been lobbying hard for the Air Force to adopt the modernised Il-76MF, as a cheaper alternative to the An-70 in resolving their transport requirement.

Article ID: 765