The Ukraine proposes Russia to think one more time over the mutual finishing of the project of construction of the plane An-70. Such announcement was made by the Ukrainian Prime Minister Victor Yanukovich in Sochi. "One more time we propose to finish the project and carry out its certification”, - the head of the Ukrainian government told. He noted that the plane is ready for 98% and right now “there are 2-3 orders for such planes”.
According to Yanukovich, the proposal was written into the protocol of his meeting with the Chairman of the Russian government Michail Fradkov. Besides, the Ukrainian Prime Minister noted that the sides discussed cooperation on the construction of the plane An-148.
Creation of the plane An-70 is mutual Russian-Ukrainian project. The plane An-70 is meant for transportation of the loads with the weight up to 47 tons, landing of parashutists and equipment. Among military-transport plane only An-70 can land on the earth squares with length 600-900m and can transport all the nomenclature of military loads of the CIS and NATO countries.
In July, 2006 the Russian government took decision to begin negotiations with the Ukraine about the stopping of the mutual project on the creation and serial production of military-transport plane An-70. As the Vice-Premier of government of the RF, Minister of Defense Sergey Ivanov announced “the project was laid in the middle of 80th years of the previous century. 20 years passed since that time, during the time a niche that was appointed for medium military-transport plane appeared to be totally occupied. First of all, it’s modernized IL-76. On the other side, we have a new project of construction of medium transport plane. It’s – purely Russian plane. In the connection the Russian government took the decision and corresponding instructions were transfered to the different departments to start negotiations with the Ukrainian part about seizing of mutual work on An-70”.
As always the Russian Minister of Defense hit a finger into...let us say into the sky. However, it’s no entirely his fault, only influence of those people in his surrounding whom he should believe within the limits of their official competence. Firstly, to Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force Mihajlov who was sheld back the project An-70 at the times of Kasyanov in favour of the noticeably reliquent to it project of modernization of IL-76. Minister Ivanov is speaking in this case from his part.
Nevertheless IL-76 is really an old plane having a number of restrictions, for example, it can land on the earth squares that a very important quality for the military plane which is used in difficult seats of war.
An-70 is a fundamentally new plane leaving behind all Western analogues by its characteristics, besides it’s been already standartized in the way that it will suit the technique both of the Russian and the Ukrainian production as well as for the standards of NATO. It’s considerably more powerful than IL-76 and more modern. And that is really important an engine of An-70 is of the Ukrainian origin but corresponds to new strict standards of the European Union, while it’s necessary to complete IL-76 with import engine to correspond to these standards.
What the Minister of Defense means when speaking about “medium military-transport plane” is not quiet clear. Porbably, TU-334 or RRJ. But neither this, nor that machine belongs to the same class with An-70 and can’t compete with it.
Theoretically the supporters of of construction of IL-76 (that is, obviously, Uzbek producers – that means that the plane won’t be purely Russian) quite smartly used political mess between Russia and the Ukrain to “flunk” the project An-70. If new warming of the relations between sister countries reanimates the project – the result could be very positive, first of all for the Russian aircraft industry lying on the side.
