MOSCOW. Dec 7 (Interfax-AVN) - The Russian Air Force will get the first TU-214 aircraft, adjusted specially for it by Kazan aviation specialists, in 2006, Army General Vladimir Mikhailov, Russian Air Force Commander-in-Chief, told Interfax-Military News Agency on Tuesday.
"We have ordered three TU-214s at the Kazan aviation production association (KAPO) and are going to order another one soon," he said, adding that the first of the batch is expected to come in the inventory already in mid-2006.
Mikhailov explained that the TU-214 is required due to the fact that the stricter noise and emission regulations of ICAO will come in force January 1, 2006.
"In the long run, the TU-214 will be fielded more intensively in replacement of the existing Air Force fleet of transport aircraft," he added.
"KAPO has not had many orders of late, so we could not promote the intensive manufacturing of the aircraft. However now it is ready. The aircraft has the PS-90 engines of the Permskie Motory enterprise. The only thing necessary to launch the production is money," he said.
It was reported earlier that the TU-214 attracted the attention of the Russian Defense Ministry owing to its long flight range, few amendments to the design required for its adjusting for service with the military, the easiness of serial production and plausible price. Yet another important factor is that unlike most of aircraft currently operated by Defense Ministry officials, i.e. the TU-154 Careless, TU-134 Crusty and IL-62 Classic, the new plane meets the noise and emission requirements of the ICAO.
The TU-124 medium-range plane has a maximal take-off weight of 111t, maximal payload of 25.2t, maximal number of passenger seats of 210, crew of three, and cruising speed of 850kmph. The plane is certified for compliance with AP-25 aviation rules that are equivalent to FAR in the United States and JAR in Western Europe. The basic price of the airliner is $25-30 million.