Antonov An-70
Encyclopedia
The Antonov An-70 is a four-engine medium-range transport aircraft
, and the first large aircraft to be powered by propfan
engines. It is being developed by Ukraine
's Antonov
design bureau to replace the obsolete An-12
military transport aircraft. The maiden flight
of the first prototype took place on 16 December 1994 in Kiev
, Ukraine
.
and Samara, Russia
, guaranteeing employment of about 80,000 people in the two countries. The Soviet government had shown interest in purchasing 160 planes for its military. But in the post-Soviet days of reduced military budgets in Russia, funding for the An-70 was cut. Antonov decided to proceed with self-funding.
The An-70 is a high-wing monoplane with four wing-mounted propfan engines, it has a full glass cockpit and fly-by-wire controls. The aircraft has a 19.1 metre (22.4 metre with the ramp) x 4 metre x 4.1 metre cargo space and can carry 47 ton of cargo. Powered by four Progress D-27
propfan
engines, each turning a pair of contra-rotating
scimitar propeller
s.
The first prototype was lost during its fourth flight on 10 Feb 1995 in a mid-air collision with an Antonov An-72
being used as a chase plane
, the test crew of seven were killed. The aircraft proved so promising during its first three flights that Antonov decided to press on and converted the static-test prototype into a flying prototype. The second airframe took to the air only 21 months after the crash of the first one, on 8 December 1996. Russia, Ukraine to revive An-70 joint project - defense minister
The An-70 was the first Eastern-bloc transport aircraft to be built according to the new IAC AP-25 norms that conformed with JAR-25
. This would allow civilian certification in both Western Europe and North America. Another first was the use of a MIL-STD-1553
B-compatible data bus, which allows NATO avionics and defensive suites to be installed.
In October 1997, the German defence minister Volker Rühe announced the intention to study whether the An-70 could be the basis for the FLA/Airbus A400M
. Evaluation was in competition with the newly-designed, paper-only A400M proposed by Airbus Military Company. The An-70 participation in the 1998-2000 tender process for the FLA was very successful and was the best bid from a financial, technical and operational point of view. The plane was checked thoroughly by MBB Munich, and presented to Air Transport Command in Cologne after Le Bourget airshow in 1999. However, for political reasons and under pressure both from the newly founded EADS company and the French government, the A400M was selected for the FLA. The French claimed that their projected Airbus A400M, although more expensive, would have lower life cycle costs
(LCCs) than the An-70. Antonov lost this opportunity to sell its An-70 to Western European nations and to make matters worse, shortly after, the second An-70 prototype made a crash landing on its belly in January 2001 after losing power in two engines on take-off during cold weather testing in Omsk
, and was severely damaged. It looked as though the A400M was now going to have the market all to itself. But Antonov recovered the crashed aircraft and repaired it in record time, but the project still lacked funding.
In 2002 Russia
and Ukraine
had agreed on a 50–50 risk-sharing deal on production In May 2005 a senior Russian Air Force
officials claimed that bilateral development and further testing of the An-70 would continue.
In April 2006 Russia announced its complete withdrawal from the project. The head of the Russian Air Force, Vladimir Mikhaylov, claimed that the An-70 has grown into a heavy, expensive cargo plane. The Russian military plans to use the Ilyushin Il-76MF, which reportedly costs half as much as the An-70. After the Orange Revolution
in late 2004, and with Ukraine openly aiming for NATO membership, political will for the project evaporated. Russia has provided around 60 percent of the estimated $5 billion invested in the project to date.
The project continued but Russia's $60 million debts on the plane were not being repaid in November 2009.
In August 2010, it was reported that user testing was taking place, and that the Ukrainian Air Force expected to take deliver of the first An-70 in 2011. Volga-Dnepr Airlines signed an agreement for a possible purchase of up to five An-70T aircraft.
An-112KC : A proposed aerial refueling
version of the An-70, except with two jet engines from the team of U.S. Aerospace and Antonov for the U.S. Air Force's KC-X
program. The USAF rejected the proposal, and the appeal was later dismissed.
Cargo aircraft
A cargo aircraft is a fixed-wing aircraft designed or converted for the carriage of goods, rather than passengers. They are usually devoid of passenger amenities, and generally feature one or more large doors for the loading and unloading of cargo...
, and the first large aircraft to be powered by propfan
Propfan
A propfan was first defined as a small diameter, highly loaded multiple bladed variable pitch propulsor having swept blades with thin advanced airfoil sections, integrated with a nacelle contoured to retard the airflow through the blades thereby reducing compressibility losses and designed to...
engines. It is being developed by Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
's Antonov
Antonov
Antonov, or Antonov Aeronautical Scientist/Technical Complex , formerly the Antonov Design Bureau, is a Ukrainian aircraft manufacturing and services company with particular expertise in the field of very large aircraft construction. Antonov ASTC is a state-owned commercial company...
design bureau to replace the obsolete An-12
Antonov An-12
The Antonov An-12 is a four-engined turboprop transport aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. It is the military version of the Antonov An-10.-Design and development:...
military transport aircraft. The maiden flight
Maiden flight
The maiden flight of an aircraft is the first occasion on which an aircraft leaves the ground of its own accord. This is similar to a ship's maiden voyage....
of the first prototype took place on 16 December 1994 in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
.
Design and development
Work on the An-70 began in Soviet Union in the early eighties. There were plans to establish serial production of the model in both KievKiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
and Samara, Russia
Samara, Russia
Samara , is the sixth largest city in Russia. It is situated in the southeastern part of European Russia at the confluence of the Volga and Samara Rivers. Samara is the administrative center of Samara Oblast. Population: . The metropolitan area of Samara-Tolyatti-Syzran within Samara Oblast...
, guaranteeing employment of about 80,000 people in the two countries. The Soviet government had shown interest in purchasing 160 planes for its military. But in the post-Soviet days of reduced military budgets in Russia, funding for the An-70 was cut. Antonov decided to proceed with self-funding.
The An-70 is a high-wing monoplane with four wing-mounted propfan engines, it has a full glass cockpit and fly-by-wire controls. The aircraft has a 19.1 metre (22.4 metre with the ramp) x 4 metre x 4.1 metre cargo space and can carry 47 ton of cargo. Powered by four Progress D-27
Progress D-27
-See also:- External links :*...
propfan
Propfan
A propfan was first defined as a small diameter, highly loaded multiple bladed variable pitch propulsor having swept blades with thin advanced airfoil sections, integrated with a nacelle contoured to retard the airflow through the blades thereby reducing compressibility losses and designed to...
engines, each turning a pair of contra-rotating
Contra-rotating propellers
Aircraft equipped with contra-rotating propellers, also referred to as coaxial contra-rotating propellers, apply the maximum power of usually a single piston or turboprop engine to drive two propellers in contra-rotation...
scimitar propeller
Scimitar propeller
A scimitar propeller is shaped like a scimitar sword, with increasing sweep along the leading edge. Typically scimitar propellers are constructed of lightweight or composite materials. In the early 1900s they were made of laminated wood...
s.
The first prototype was lost during its fourth flight on 10 Feb 1995 in a mid-air collision with an Antonov An-72
Antonov An-72
The Antonov An-72 is a transport aircraft developed by Antonov in the former Soviet Union. It was designed as a STOL transport and intended as a replacement for the Antonov An-26, but variants have found success as commercial freighters.The An-72 gets its nickname, Cheburashka, from the large...
being used as a chase plane
Chase plane
A chase plane is an aircraft that "chases" another aircraft, a spacecraft or a rocket during flight. Safety can be one function of a chase plane; others are to photo or video the target vehicle, or to collect engineering data from it...
, the test crew of seven were killed. The aircraft proved so promising during its first three flights that Antonov decided to press on and converted the static-test prototype into a flying prototype. The second airframe took to the air only 21 months after the crash of the first one, on 8 December 1996. Russia, Ukraine to revive An-70 joint project - defense minister
The An-70 was the first Eastern-bloc transport aircraft to be built according to the new IAC AP-25 norms that conformed with JAR-25
Joint Aviation Requirements
The Civil Aviation Authorities of certain European countries have agreed common comprehensive and detailed aviation requirements — referred to as the Joint Aviation Requirements — with a view to minimising Type Certification problems on joint ventures, and also to facilitate the export...
. This would allow civilian certification in both Western Europe and North America. Another first was the use of a MIL-STD-1553
MIL-STD-1553
MIL-STD-1553 is a military standard published by the United States Department of Defense that defines the mechanical, electrical, and functional characteristics of a serial data bus. It was originally designed for use with military avionics, but has also become commonly used in spacecraft on-board...
B-compatible data bus, which allows NATO avionics and defensive suites to be installed.
In October 1997, the German defence minister Volker Rühe announced the intention to study whether the An-70 could be the basis for the FLA/Airbus A400M
Airbus A400M
The Airbus A400M, also known as the Atlas, is a multi-national four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. It was designed by Airbus Military as a tactical airlifter with strategic capabilities. The aircraft's maiden flight, originally planned for 2008, took place on 11 December 2009 in...
. Evaluation was in competition with the newly-designed, paper-only A400M proposed by Airbus Military Company. The An-70 participation in the 1998-2000 tender process for the FLA was very successful and was the best bid from a financial, technical and operational point of view. The plane was checked thoroughly by MBB Munich, and presented to Air Transport Command in Cologne after Le Bourget airshow in 1999. However, for political reasons and under pressure both from the newly founded EADS company and the French government, the A400M was selected for the FLA. The French claimed that their projected Airbus A400M, although more expensive, would have lower life cycle costs
Whole-life cost
Whole-life cost, or Life-cycle cost , refers to the total cost of ownership over the life of an asset . Also commonly referred to as "cradle to grave" or "womb to tomb" costs. Costs considered include the financial cost which is relatively simple to calculate and also the environmental and...
(LCCs) than the An-70. Antonov lost this opportunity to sell its An-70 to Western European nations and to make matters worse, shortly after, the second An-70 prototype made a crash landing on its belly in January 2001 after losing power in two engines on take-off during cold weather testing in Omsk
Omsk
-History:The wooden fort of Omsk was erected in 1716 to protect the expanding Russian frontier along the Ishim and the Irtysh rivers against the Kyrgyz nomads of the Steppes...
, and was severely damaged. It looked as though the A400M was now going to have the market all to itself. But Antonov recovered the crashed aircraft and repaired it in record time, but the project still lacked funding.
In 2002 Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
had agreed on a 50–50 risk-sharing deal on production In May 2005 a senior Russian Air Force
Russian Air Force
The Russian Air Force is the air force of Russian Military. It is currently under the command of Colonel General Aleksandr Zelin. The Russian Navy has its own air arm, the Russian Naval Aviation, which is the former Soviet Aviatsiya Voyenno Morskogo Flota , or AV-MF).The Air Force was formed from...
officials claimed that bilateral development and further testing of the An-70 would continue.
In April 2006 Russia announced its complete withdrawal from the project. The head of the Russian Air Force, Vladimir Mikhaylov, claimed that the An-70 has grown into a heavy, expensive cargo plane. The Russian military plans to use the Ilyushin Il-76MF, which reportedly costs half as much as the An-70. After the Orange Revolution
Orange Revolution
The Orange Revolution was a series of protests and political events that took place in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005, in the immediate aftermath of the run-off vote of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election which was claimed to be marred by massive corruption, voter...
in late 2004, and with Ukraine openly aiming for NATO membership, political will for the project evaporated. Russia has provided around 60 percent of the estimated $5 billion invested in the project to date.
The project continued but Russia's $60 million debts on the plane were not being repaid in November 2009.
In August 2010, it was reported that user testing was taking place, and that the Ukrainian Air Force expected to take deliver of the first An-70 in 2011. Volga-Dnepr Airlines signed an agreement for a possible purchase of up to five An-70T aircraft.
Variants
An-70TAn-112KC : A proposed aerial refueling
Aerial refueling
Aerial refueling, also called air refueling, in-flight refueling , air-to-air refueling or tanking, is the process of transferring fuel from one aircraft to another during flight....
version of the An-70, except with two jet engines from the team of U.S. Aerospace and Antonov for the U.S. Air Force's KC-X
KC-X
KC-X is the United States Air Force program to procure its next-generation aerial refueling tanker aircraft to replace some of the older Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers. The contest was for a production contract for 179 new tankers with estimated value of US$35 billion...
program. The USAF rejected the proposal, and the appeal was later dismissed.
Operators
- Russian Air ForceRussian Air ForceThe Russian Air Force is the air force of Russian Military. It is currently under the command of Colonel General Aleksandr Zelin. The Russian Navy has its own air arm, the Russian Naval Aviation, which is the former Soviet Aviatsiya Voyenno Morskogo Flota , or AV-MF).The Air Force was formed from...
– on order. On 24 June 2010 Lt. Gen. Vladimir Shamanov stated that he had ordered 40 An-70s for his service in accordance with the new rearmament program for 2011-2020. Then, it was reported in early March 2011 that Russia planned to receive 60 aircraft of a redesigned version in the 2015-2016 timeframe. The first aircraft sold to the Russian Air Force
- Volga-Dnepr Airlines – possible order of up to five aircraft.
- Ukrainian Air ForceUkrainian Air ForceThe Ukrainian Air Force is a part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Ukrainian Air Force Command and headquarters are located in the city of Vinnytsia....
– 2 deliveries expected in 2011 and 2012.