Aviant says production of An-32 at 55% of Soviet levels

Published: 9/21/1999

The producer of the An-32 short/medium range turboprop Aviant, located in Kiev, has stabilized its production at 55% of its Soviet levels of 14 aircraft a month, according to its Sales Director, Boris Soroka. Aviant is still producing the An-32 for export in cargo and firefighting configurations (An-32P) and is currently involved in discussions for the supply of aircraft to Greece(www.concise.org 16th September 1999. Soroka's optimism is somewhat surprising, given that other reports claim that the plant has not produced the aircraft at full production levels since 1992 and that the last aircraft produced was delivered to the Peruvian Air Force at the end of 1997, although production does continue to order. The main customers for the 220 aircraft exported out of the 360 produced are based in Latin America and South Asia: particularly India, which operates 123 under the Sutlej name. Aviant has established a service network to support the aircraft in these regions, of which 80 are reported to be flying for civilian operators. Current customers include Sri Lanka, where the five aircraft delivered are operated an aggressive 350-500 flying hours a month, according to Aviant. The plant has also recently made efforts to sell the aircraft in Egypt and Mexico, whose Navy operates four aircraft, and where it is felt that the An-32's selling price of $6-9m makes it an attractive option against the $12-18m price for an equivalent Western type. Currently, Aviant is gearing up for proposed serial production of the An-70 and Tu-334, but has 20% of its output concentrated in the manufacture of trolley buses and consumer products.

Article ID: 887