Ukraine Offers Transport Planes Joint Development

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India Defence Online, New Delhi — India and Ukraine are likely to jointly develop a medium weight transport aircraft and look into the prospect of manufacturing and exporting the aircraft as well. The offer has recently been made by the Ukraine to the Indian Air Force (IAF).

As per Ukraine’s offer to India, a joint production of a 10-12 tonne class weight aircraft based on the Ukrainian Antonov-148 commercial aircraft is being envisaged. The proposed aircraft by the Ukrainian side is the AN-78 aircraft and its suggested payload lies between that of a C-130J Hercules (20 tonnes) and the AN-32 aircraft (6 tonnes).

The Indian Defence Ministry is currently reviewing the approval by the Ukraine for the proposed AN-78 transport aircraft and its joint development. The Indian Air Force (IAF) has been trying to supplement its fleet of transport aircraft and will shortly procure twelve 20 tonne C-130Js from America at over $1.5 billion. Besides, it is also looking at acquiring ten C-17 strategic lift aircrafts from the US, which can carry over 70 tonnes of load.

Added to this, India also signed a joint development project with Russia for the Multirole Transport Aircraft (MTA).

India and Ukraine have been building up military relations steadily and the IAF already operates a fleet of over 100 Ukrainian An-32 aircraft, which are being refurbished in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev. Under the deal, the Ukraine firm Spetstekhnoexport, a subsidiary of the Ukrspetsexport state company, will modernise the 105 AN-32 cargo aircraft of the IAF. The Antonov Aircraft Company, headquartered at Kiev, will give the 20-tonne-capacity aircraft a full upgrade of on-board communications and navigation systems

The  upgrade  of  the  AN-32  will improve  the  avionics  systems, increase the engine  life,  the range  of  the aircraft and its  payload  from 6.7 tonnes to 7.5 tonnes so that  the  aircraft  is  operational  with the IAF for another couple of decades. Some of the AN-32 aircraft will also be upgraded with systems to enable them to carry out maritime patrol functions as well.

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