Western suppliers
Antonov is building the first An-178 with no Russian parts
After a break of five years, the Ukrainian manufacturer is working on an aircraft again. Now the airframe of the first Antonov An-178 without Russian parts has been completed.
Antonov President Alexander Los.
Antonov President Alexander Los.
In five years nothing was manufactured. Antonov has not completed a single aircraft or delivered one to a customer since 2015. But the Ukrainian manufacturer is working on changing that. After the tail unit and large wing sections were finished in May, the fuselage of an An-178 has now been completed. The plane carrying serial number 006 was ordered by the Peruvian Ministry of the Interior.
However, work is not done with the completion of the An-178 airframe. In the coming months the avionics will be installed. For the first time, it will no longer contain Russian parts, as Antonov President Alexander Los explained during a presentation last week. «Design work to replace Russian components with Ukrainian and Western counterparts has been fully completed and the necessary design documentation has been prepared».
More planes in the works
The first Antonov An-178 without Russian components will be delivered to Peru next year. Los said that work was underway on further frames. Turkey, Saudi Arabia and India are interested in the transport aircraft.