VORONEZH. Aug 19 (Interfax-AVN) - The Kyiv-based Antonov aircraft research and technical corporation and the Voronezh aircraft building company signed an agreement on Friday to establish an affiliate of the Ukrainian corporation in Voronezh, the Russian company's deputy chief engineer Vitaly Zubarev told Interfax-Military News Agency.
"With the affiliate of Antonov on the premises of the Voronezh plant, the timeframe for resolving various technical issues during the production of the An-148 regional airliner will be reduced dramatically," he said.
According to him, the affiliate will also provide follow-on support to An-148 aircraft to be mass produced in Voronezh and sold to Russian air carriers.
"There are plans that the first serial An-148 will be rolled out from the workshops in Voronezh in the second quarter of 2006," he added.
The An-148 airliner is a regional jet. It was first shown to public at the MAKS 2005 international air show. The aircraft is propelled by D-436-148 engines mass-produced by the Motor Sich company from Zaporizhzhya.