First flight of An-7X expected in 2001 according to Antonov

Published: 8/26/1999

The An-70 adapted to meet the requirements of potential Western European/NATO buyers, the An-7X, will have its first flight in 2001 according to Petr Valabuev, the Chief Designer of ANTK Antonov at MAKS-99. According to him the programme of test flights for the first aircraft is progressing well and to date 186 flights have taken place. The decision to buy the aircraft by the Ukrainian and Russian Governments however will have to wait until the end of the year according to Valabuev, when a decision about serial production of the transport aircraft will be made. This plane will be manufactured at Samara based Aviakor and at Aviant in Kiev. Both plants will produce two additional aircraft in 2000 to join the prototype to continue with the aircraft's flight program and complete certification and airworthiness in 2001. According to the Chief Designer the An-70 tests will considerably shorten the process of bringing the An-7X to completion. According to a recent report in the Russian business publication Finmarket however, Dmitry Kiva, First Deputy Director General of ANTK Antonov , has a contrasting view from his colleagues as he announced that the air forces of Russia and the Ukraine will purchase a total of 200 An-70s. The price of the An-70 is reported to be $40m within CIS, and $50m for the An-7X. This size of order in the current budgetary conditions seems very unlikely to Concise, although there is little doubt that both air forces need to replace their aging fleets. Given recent comments from both the Russian Government and the military it seems that aircraft will be bought, but over a very long period perhaps as long as 15 years. Antonov estimates total demand for the An-70, in all its variants, to be around 1,500.

Article ID: 797