KYIV. Nov 22 (Interfax) - NATO will extend the contract to lease Ukrainian and Russian Antonov An-124-100 Ruslan (NATO reporting name Condor) heavy-duty transport planes with a 120-tonne lifting capacity under the Strategic Airlift Interim Solution program (SALIS) in the interests 18 members of NATO and the European Union.
The contract, whose terms have not yet been disclosed, is expected to be extended before the end of the year, a source in the Ukrainian military close to the talks told Interfax.
"The arrangements are being finally negotiated. The contract is likely to be extended by two years and it will reflect a change in our partner's plans for presence in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as a new situation on the market of commercial transportation of super-heavy and off-gauge cargo," he said.
The Ruslan's leading world operators are Ukraine's Antonov Airlines and Russia's Volga-Dnepr. In late 2005, the partners signed a 600 million euro three-year contract with the NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency with the right of prolongation, to airlift cargo for NATO and the European Union. The contract was extended by two years in late 2008.
Ruslan International Ltd. (RI, Standtsed, U.K.), formed by Antonov Airlines and Volga-Dnepr in 2006, is the Ukrainian and Russian operators' sole marketing agent.
Strategic airlift services under the NATO SALIS program are also provided by Ruslan SALIS (RS, Leipzig, Germany).
Ukraine and Russia are currently working on a program to re-launch the commercial production of upgraded Ruslan aircraft with a cargo lifting capacity of 150 tonnes.