MOSCOW. Jan 21 (Interfax-AVN) - The Russian Defense Ministry will discuss Wednesday the outlooks for the development and serial production of the AN-70 Russian-Ukrainian military cargo aircraft, a competent source in the Russian defense industry told Interfax-Military News Agency Tuesday.
"The session to be held under the auspices of the Defense Ministry's armament department, will hear reports on prospects of the AN-70 plane's development and production," the source said.
It is possible that this project will be replaced by another one. The session will examine how much money has been spent to date and analyze the potential costs of alternative projects, the source said.
"To date, the cost of full R&D on the AN-70 program is estimated at USD86m. The R&D on another aircraft to substitute for the AN-70 (for instance, the TU-330) will be not less than USD250m to 350m," he also said.
According to the source, Air Force experts should introduce their prospective vision of the military cargo fleet for 20-25 years into the future to determine the type of the relevant aircraft as soon as possible, for example, whether it is possible and expedient to prolong the service life of the IL-76 Candid to 30-35 years.
The session is not related to the planned discussion of the AN-70 program in the Russian government, the source also said.
He said that the session would be attended by the representatives of the Russian Aviation and Space Agency, of leading defense research institutes, of Ukraine's Antonov aircraft research and production corporation (AN-70 designer), of the Zaporizhzhia-based Progress design bureau (designer of the engine for the AN-70), of the Medium Cargo Aircraft international consortium (responsible for the whole development, production, operation, and cannibalization cycle of the aircraft), and of other enterprises and establishments.
Russian Air Force Commander Vladimir Mikhailov said at a recent news conference in Moscow that the potentials of the AN-70 had much deteriorated within the 16 years it had been developed. Then created as a substitute for the AN-12 Cub, the aircraft later became heavier, he said.
"It was transferred from the medium type to the IL-76 type. And it was not only minimal funding but also other factors that affected the time it took to create it. According to Pyotr Balabuyev, the chief designer, the AN-70 has already consumed USD3.5bn. In addition, Ukraine was granted three AN-124 Condors in support of this program," Mikhailov said.
He also said that the 386 flight hours of the aircraft had revealed 382 serious faults, 52 in-flight engine stops, 30 of them with surging.
Another "most serious" weak point, according to the general, was the high noise of the engine.
Meanwhile, the general said, it is the faults rather than the whole program that should be eliminated; the trials should go on. However, there has been no work on it, he said.