Ukraine’s aircraft manufacturer Antonov Company reported the early completion of an order from Peru’s national police to construct a multi-million-dollar An-178 transport aircraft frame.
On Aug. 21, the Kyiv-based company demonstrated to journalists the aircraft’s assembled body that still is to be equipped with the necessary hardware and navigational equipment.
“By achieving this outstanding result, the enterprise’s personnel celebrates yet another anniversary of Ukraine’s independence,” Antonov Company said in its press release.
The Ukrainian manufacturer is ahead of schedule in completing the 65-million-dollar contract with the Peruvian national police which ordered the aircraft in 2019. Antonov Company won the Peruvian government’s tender over two other participants — Italian-American Leonardo C-27J Spartan and Airbus’ C-295 aircraft.
Antonov Company personnel demonstrate the newly produced Antonov An-178 airframe at the enterprise’s main production facility in Kyiv on Aug. 21. (Mil.in.ua)
The Peruvian clients decided to replace their old An-32B transporter (also produced by Antonov Company) with a newer aircraft.
For Antonov, which finds itself in a severe financial crisis for many years and makes most of its income by providing cargo transportation services, the contract was a rare lucrative opportunity to fully implement its manufacturing capacity and workforce.
The Ukraine-Peru contract signed in October 2019 is to provide the client with an aircraft designed to serve 60,000 operational hours over at least 30 years.
The Ukrainian company said that it would complete the production without employing Russian components due to the government’s ban on any form of defense production cooperation between Ukraine and Russia amid the Kremlin’s occupation of Crimea and the Donbas.
Following the contract’s signing, the Ukrainian manufacturer demonstrated swift progress in production. The works commenced in May and by late July the plane’s airframe was ready for further works, whereas in August the company completed fastening the aircraft’s wings.
The An-178 is one of Antonov’s most recent developments. This short-range medium-airlift military transport aircraft was designed based on the An-158/An-148 regional passenger jet airliners and available for orders starting in early 2010. The model has the benefits of Antonov’s successful passenger jets yet designed specifically for freight transport.
An Antonov An-178 transport aircraft, pictured during a test flight at the Hostomel airport outside of Kyiv (Antonov Company)
With a length of 32 meters and a 30-meter wingspan, the Antonov An-178 is capable of carrying up to 18 tones of cargo, including high-capacity maritime containers, at an altitude of up to 12 kilometers and at a speed of up to 825 kilometers per hour.
The plane’s maximum flight range is 5,500 kilometers, although when carrying 10 tons of cargo it can travel only 3,680 kilometers. Apart from cargo, the aircraft can also be used for transporting military forces, namely up to 90 infantry troops or 84 paratroopers, or for recovering up to 78 injured personnel.
“In an emergency, the Antonov An-178 can be used to evacuate populations from natural disaster zones, transport the wounded… and for land rescue squads,” the company notes on its website. According to designers, the plane can be modified for military purposes or medical and emergency services.
The aircraft is capable of landing and taking off at various types of airfields, including dirt runways.
