Ukrainian aircraft designer Antonov will not know until this summer whether it will be awarded an estimated $13 billion contract to produce 288 military cargo planes for a consortium of eight European countries.
But recent reports in the European press indicate that Germany, the key decision-maker in the deal, is favoring the Antonov plane over a model produced by aircraft group Airbus.
The German daily Die Welt reported on April 6 that the German Defense Ministry is favoring the Antonov An-70 over the Airbus A400M for economic reasons.
Quoting Defense Ministry figures, the newspaper reported that Germany could purchase 70 Antonov planes for 12.9 billion German marks, a move that would create 5,600 new jobs in the German aerospace industry because the aircraft would be fitted with Western electronic equipment. For the same sum, the German government could buy only 56 Airbus aircraft and create 3,500 new jobs, the newspaper reported.
If chosen, the An-70 would be produced jointly by Ukraine and European consortium countries, with a production scheme still to be determined.
Antonov has been anticipating the contract since last year when the consortium of European countries announced an international tender for a new military cargo aircraft to replace by 2005 its current fleet of older U.S.-made Hercules planes.
The European nations banded together to buy a package of planes to ensure that they will all be using the same military aircraft. Germany, which plans to buy up to 75 of the 288 planes, carries the most weight in the decision.
The Ukrainian-designed An-70 model, touted by its designers as a state-of-the-art plane, is a mid-sized military freighter with a capacity of hauling up to 47 tons of cargo. The freight cabin is wider than of that of rival planes, which enable it to carry tanks and anti-aircraft guns or accommodate large engineering facilities.
The plane requires only 600 meters of runway to take off – two to three times shorter that what is needed by similar-sized planes.
With such features, it's easy to see why this plane is drawing interest from the West, said Andry Sovenko, spokesman for the Kyiv-based Antonov design bureau.
Two years ago, the German government commissioned DaimlerChrysler Aerospace to evaluate the Ukrainian plane. After months of study, the commission concluded that the An-70 meets most requirements for a middle military transport aircraft
But the matter is far from decided. European governments also are considering the Airbus A400M.
Sovenko fears that European countries may be wary about cooperating with Ukrainian and Russian aircraft manufacturers because they may consider it a political risk. Coupled with a powerful industrial lobby from European producers, that may force the consortium to choose one of their own.
However, Sovenko is confident Europe countries will appreciate Antonov's experience and investment in the aircraft.
The An-70 is designed by the Antonov design bureau and is assembled at both the Kyiv Aviant and Russian Aviakor plants. Zaporizhya-based Motor Sich makes engines for the aircraft, with most electronic equipment for the plane coming from Russia. Six other big German companies, including BMW Rolls Royce, said they would participate in the production of the An-70s.
Sovenko said Antonov has already spent billions of dollars developing the aircraft since the early 1980s and is now years ahead of its rival Airbus on the project. He said Antonov has one aircraft already flying and another in the works, while Airbus has yet to put a plane in the sky.
'It will cost [Airbus] about $9 billion to reach the stage where we are at now,' Sovenko said.
Even if the consortium chooses Airbus in the tender, Sovenko said the European aircraft maker will likely need Antonov's help to produce the plane.
'We are already in the program,' he said. 'The question is to what extent.'
European consortium is expected to make a decision on the matter after an international air show in Berlin scheduled for early June.
