Russia, Ukraine Revive Plan to Build An-70

[Mig-29]

MOSCOW - Russia and Ukraine have agreed to revive long-standing plans to produce the An-70 military transport plane, the head of the design bureau at Ukrainian aerospace company Antonov said Aug. 19.

"I am sure that we will manage this with Russia until its completion and this aircraft will be part of the Russian and Ukrainian air forces," Dmytro Kiva said at the Maks-2009 air show outside Moscow, news agencies reported.

Kiva said the project could be completed as early as 2010.

In a statement, the Russian defence ministry confirmed the report and said the agreement was signed by Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and Ukrainian Defence Minister Valery Ivashchenko during the air show.

Russia and Ukraine signed agreements on the An-70 in 1993 and 1999 but Moscow warned in 2003 that the aircraft was not safe and in 2006 it formally pulled out of the project as relations with Ukraine deteriorated.

Ukraine has taken an increasingly pro-Western stance since the coming to power of President Viktor Yushchenko following the Orange Revolution protests of 2004. Its bid for NATO membership has particularly angered Russia.

Russia, Ukraine Revive Plan to Build An-70 - Defense News

 

[Mig-29]

Russia decides to resume An-124 cargo plane production


Russia's Defense Ministry has decided to resume production of one of the world's largest cargo planes, the An-124 Ruslan (Condor), the country's Air Force chief said on Thursday. Col. Gen. Alexander Zelin told reporters at the MAKS-2009 air show outside Moscow that the aircraft would be used both for commercial domestic flights and for carrying NATO troops to Iraq. The An-124 was designed by the Antonov Design Bureau in 1982, and was produced in Kiev and Ulyanovsk until 1995. The plane has a maximum payload of 150 metric tons with a flight range of around 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles). The cargo jet is the world's third largest after the An-225 and the Airbus A380F. Russia and Ukraine reached a preliminary agreement to resume production of the An-124 in April 2008.

ASIAN DEFENCE: Russia decides to resume An-124 cargo plane production