An-70 engine development continues in the absence of orders

Published: 4/28/2000

Although the An-70 programme waits purchasing decisions, Kiev based engine producer Zaporozyhe"s will invest a further $1m in the aircraft"s ZMKB Progress D-27 engines according to Leonid Terentiev, General Director of the Medium Transport Consortium (MTC) responsible for building the various versions of the aircraft. To date no contracts have been signed for the $3m engines, which each military aircraft will have four of and civilian two. According to the German press the debate on whether the Germans will buy the An-7X offered by the consortium of German Airtruck an the Ukrainian/Russian MTC to fulfil their 75 aircraft requirement from 2008 continues, with talks taking place among the European partners on the viability of a European solution in the form of the A-400M. German press reports have suggested that the An-7X would not only be a cheaper option for German, but would also offer substantially more jobs for the German aerospace industry to fulfil the requirement that the aircraft be fitted with western avionics. Orders for the An-70 from the Russian and Ukrainian government"s are expected imminently according to the Deputy General Designer of Antonov, Oleksander Hudilin.

Article ID: 1556