President of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov, during a private visit to Ukraine on Monday, Sept.10, approved a scheme of industrial cooperation on the joint Ukrainian-Russian production of the An-70 military transport aircraft.
The main topic of discussion with the delegation of Tatarstan at
Antonov enterprise was cooperation under the An-70 program, in
particular the organization of mass production of the aircraft at the
Kazan Aviation Production Association (KAPA), Interfax-Ukraine learned
at the press service of the Antonov State Enterprise.
“The meeting participants expressed their mutual willingness to take
steps to implement this program in the most efficient way. The parties
agreed to a scheme of industrial cooperation, according to which Antonov
Serial Plant will produce the wings of the An-70,” the press service
said.
“The launch of the mass production is the current task of the An-70
program. We need to put the aircraft into service and take a niche in
the market,” President and General Designer of Antonov State Enterprise
Dmytro Kiva said after the meeting.
Tatarstan’s president also visited the Zaporizhia-based engine manufacturer Motor Sich.
During his visit to Ukraine, Minnikhanov was accompanied by the
republic’s officials and representatives of the aircraft industry of
Tatarstan and the Russian Federation.
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 on June 9, 2012, that the
An-70 military transport plane would be manufactured at the Kazan
Aviation Production Association (KAPA).
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.
