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Ukraine has considerable strengths in the fields
of rocket building and space technologies, nuclear
energy, industrial machinery production, ship-building,
railway, oil & gas industry, welding etc.
In particular, Antonov aircrafts are the pride
of Ukraine, being a signature national brand well-known
around the world. Their established reputation
in international markets is based on the aircrafts’
structural reliability, their ease of maintenance,
flexibility of transport operations and the ability
to use unpaved airfields. Other Antonov advantages
include competitive pricing, modern training of
its staff and excellent service facilities. In
fact, Ukraine is one of the few countries, which
have all round capabilities with regard to aircraft
design and production.
As the rich history of the company indicates,
the Antonov family transport aircrafts have through
the years established themselves as a highly reputed
company. The company’s vast experience, focus
on innovation and provision of ingenious solutions
for special transportation tasks has established
it as a leader of transport aviation building.
Since its foundation in 1946, a total of more
than 22,000 Antonov airplanes have been built,
with over 1,500 aircraft having been exported
to 77 countries world-wide.
Moreover, Antonov has its own Flight and Test
centre near Kyiv, a vast complex of testing facilities
and one of the largest fatigue test laboratories
in Europe. Recently, the company has invested
heavily in computer-aided techniques in design
and analysis work. In-house wind tunnel facilities
enable necessary testing of aircraft models.
Antonov in India
The era of Antonov aircrafts in India began over
50 years ago, with the supply of the first An-12
in 1961. Since then, India has purchased 46 planes
of this type, serving both military and civil
purposes.
Another important benchmark was achieved through
joint research and the creation of the An-32 aircraft,
produced exclusively for India and capable of
performing flights from high-mountain airfields
(up to 4,500 m). In many cases, the plane served
as an irreplaceable transportation tool to remote
locations and is still a reliable workhorse, notwithstanding
its solid exploitation term. In 2009, Ukraine
and India signed a contract to modernise 105 An-32
aircraft, currently serving the Indian Air Force
(IAF). Thus, it comes as no surprise that An-32
proudly participated in the India Republic Day
military parade on January 26, 2011.
On June 15, 2009 State Foreign Trade Enterprise
“SpetsTechnoExport” signed the contract
with the Ministry of Defence of India to the amount
of $397.7 million for Life Extension, Overhaul
and Re-equipment of 105 An-32 aircraft of the
IAF.
According to the contract State Enterprise “Plant
410 Civil Aviation” and State Enterprise
“Antonov” perform overhaul works on
40 aircraft in Ukraine and assist in deployment
of overhaul facilities for rest 65 aircraft at
the IAF’s No. 1 Base Repair Depot, Kanpur,
UP.
At present, 30 overhauled and re-equipped aircraft
have been handed over to the Customer. Ten An-32
are now in Ukraine for completion of the works.
In addition, Antonov regularly participates in
Aero India exhibitions, presenting numerous projects
that could be promising for Indian partners. Of
special interest are the An-70 middle military-transport
aircraft with short take-off and landing distance,
the An-74 and the An-38D-100 aircrafts. At Aero
India 2011, basic component for the whole family
of passenger aircraft An-148-100 was demonstrated.
It may surprise some to know that “Antonov”
aircrafts are frequently used in UN peacekeeping
operations. An-225 (Mriya) of 1988 vintage is
still a class apart, being the largest and heaviest
aircraft ever built. Its maximum take-off weight
exceeds 600 tonnes; maximum flights range surpasses
15,400 km. This multipurpose super-heavy transport
plane is intended to carry oversized assembled
goods of up to 250 tons of total weight, including
space-rocket systems. An-225 was featured in the
popular science fiction movie titled 2012. Currently
An-225 Mriya performs commercial transportations
for Antonov Airlines, the National Cargo Operator
of Ukraine.
The Antonov Airlines fleet of An-124-100 Ruslan
could also provide a wide range of transportation
services for large-dimension and non-standard
cargo. The new variant of a fully computerised
Ruslan, An-124-200, is being designed and Indian
partners can participate in its manufacturing.
Joint designing and manufacturing of aircraft,
including technology transfer, is an important
direction of Antonov’s international strategy,
with a largely untapped potential in India. For
example, Antonov has been successful in cooperating
with Iran, where joint production of short-range
An-140 aircraft was established under the brand
“IrAN”. Iranian partners plan to produce
more than 100 aircraft of this type in the coming
years. An-140 essentially surpasses its predecessors
in both passenger comfort level and performance:
flight range is longer by 75 per cent, flight
speed is higher by 20 per cent and fuel efficiency
is almost twice better. It also needs 30 per cent
shorter runway length in comparison with the An-24.
A multibillion project for joint manufacturing
of 78 new generation An-148 aircraft was recently
signed with Iran.
Antonov Company is looking into the future,
trying to cater to the growing and diversified
demands for modern and reliable aircraft. On December
30, 1992, the Interstate Aviation Committee Aviation
Register (IAC AR) issued Certificate No. P-2 to
Antonov Company granting authorisation to develop
civil aviation aircraft.
Currently, the company is engaged in building
An-148 (IAC certificate No. 246-An-148, issued
in 2007), a new regional passenger aircraft powered
with two turbofans. The aircraft is intended to
carry 70-80 passengers over a distance of 2,800
to 4,000 km at both regional and long-haul routes.
Currently, 10 An-148 aircraft are in service and
the company plans to manufacture 48 more by 2020.
Recently, Antonov applied to the Directorate General
of Civil Aviation of India for certificate validation
of An-148-100 regional passenger aircraft.
In 2011, the company presented An-158 –
a new-generation aircraft capable of carrying
up to 99 passengers over a distance of 3,000 km.
Due to the many advantages, including easy transformation
of the cabin for passengers or cargo transportation,
Russian “Ilyushin Finance Co” has already
contracted 20 aircraft of this type. Antonov is
also working on a new cargo aircraft An-178 intended
to transport up to 18 tonnes of cargo, and a high-comfort
plane Antonov Business Jet (8-41 passengers, range
– 7000 km, equipped with VIP facilities).
These new birds of the Antonov family are looking
forward to explore the Indian sky, aimed at bringing
Indo-Ukrainian bilateral cooperation to new heights.
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