You're reading: Kazan aircraft maker hopes An-70 program will contribute to personnel recovery

Kazan Aviation Production Association (Russia, Tatarstan) hopes that the assembly of An-70 military transport aircraft at the plant will contribute to the revival of its production and ensure personnel recovery.

“We have high hopes for the An-70 program. This ambitious project
will give a new impetus to the development of the enterprise, in
particular, the recovery of its personnel,” the press service of the
Kyiv-based Antonov State Enterprise quoted the plant’s director general,
Vasil Kayumov, as saying during his visit to the stand of the Ukrainian
company at an international exhibition entitled “Space technologies,
advanced materials, and equipment. Kazan 2012.”

The press service of the Antonov State Enterprise told
Interfax-Ukraine that during the exhibition that was held in Kazan on
August 14-17 the stand of the Ukrainian aircraft developer was visited
by President of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov and the
heads of the aviation industry and aviation companies, who familiarized
themselves with Antonov’s promising programs, including those on the
An-70 short takeoff and landing military transport aircraft and the new
An-148/158 regional jet.

According to the press service, during the exhibition a number of
meetings were held with the Tatar aircraft operators who expressed
interest in expanding their aircraft fleet with An-148/158 regional
jets.

In August 2009, Ukraine and Russia signed a protocol to amend the
Russian-Ukrainian intergovernmental agreement on further cooperation in
the development, and joint commercial production and commissioning of
the An-70 tactical military-transport aircraft and the An-70T airlifter,
which was signed on June 24, 1993.

Russia’s state defense program foresees the procurement of 60 An-70 aircraft by 2020.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said earlier that the An-70
military transport plane would be manufactured at the Kazan Aviation
Production Association (KAPA).

The issue of the enterprises that will be involved in mass production
of the aircraft was unresolved until recently. The most likely
candidate was first Aviastar JV (Ulyanovsk), then Voronezh Joint-Stock
Aircraft-building Company (VASO).

The An-70 aircraft beats all existing competitors as of today in
terms of its technical specifications. For example, the European A400M
cannot compete with it in terms of the weight-lift ability and cargo
hold size: the maximum weight-lift ability of the An-70 is 47 tonnes,
while the declared announced weight-lift ability of the A400M is 37
tonnes; the cargo hold size of an An-70 is 425 cubic meters, while that
of the A400M-is 340 cubic meters. The cost of the A400M is EUR 145
million at present and the cost of An-70 is $67 million.