Antonov An-148/158/178 Family & Developments

https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-defense/3376621-an178100r-aircraft-presented-in-kyiv.html
https://aeroin.net/esta-concluido-o-1o-exemplar-do-novo-aviao-antonov-178-rival-do-embraer-kc-390/
I've noticed that in this upgraded prototype the winglets have been removed. I wonder why ? Did the benefits not justify the added weight and expense ? The cockpit avionics have also been upgraded. I wonder how many of these they can sell ? It occupies an interesting niche between the C-295 and the C-130. This article gives a background of the project.

Edit: Apparently the contract that Peru has for a single airframe is in jeopardy due to non-payment:

https://www.airway.com.br/peru-e-ucrania-se-desentendem-sobre-entrega-de-rival-do-embraer-kc-390/
https://thaimilitaryandasianregion.wordpress.com/2015/12/19/antonov-an-178/
 

Attachments

  • An-178-100P-21122801.jpg
    An-178-100P-21122801.jpg
    396.8 KB · Views: 77
  • 48_an178.jpg
    48_an178.jpg
    222.1 KB · Views: 74
  • 15e8333849e3c75b296716bc045dacbe.jpg
    15e8333849e3c75b296716bc045dacbe.jpg
    153.4 KB · Views: 77
Last edited:
Is there something new here? Don't take it personal. It's just I seem to remember seeing the exact similar picture a month or two ago?!
 
So with all that has happened so far, Antonov is pretty much finished as a design bureau right ? It seems that repair and overhauls of the existing fleet of AN-124 freighters will be their prime activity once peace returns and Ukraine's airlift needs will likely be met by second hand C-130's. :(
 
I don´t believe so. They are probably involved in one form or another in Ukr AF innovative Drone and aircraft response. We should expect that to be transformed into new design for UAV, aircraft systems and full airframe.
There will also be the problem of reconstruction. Europe would gladly invest into something that can produce aircraft, heavy ones, to offset the fiscal cost of it.
 
There were reports that a lot of the design talent and many technicians moved to Russia to the various bureaus there
 
kaiserbill said:
There were reports that a lot of the design talent and many technicians moved to Russia to the various bureaus there
Click to expand...
Even before war. Lets be honest, Antonov DB was on it's last legs as plane DB, and subject of attention from unsavoury politicians due to it's sole profitable subsidiary - Antonov airlines, a heavy lift transport company. It allowed DB to stay afloat. With current events (war, brain drain due to mobilization, corruption at absolute maximum since gaining of independence), I feel like it's final nail in the coffin, esp. if Antonov wil lose it's transport fleet.
 
MotorSich.png

This is from Old reports of 2008 from MotorSich.

Antonov just can't live without Russians. Notice the large portions of Russian parts in their aircrafts. Reviving it as a full fledged aircraft manufacturer requires very high investments, especially if one dream for say 100% Ukrainian AN-124, 78% of it are Russian parts. Even the fuselage are built in Aviastar Russia. The Ukrainian part serve as main assembly for the airplane. God knows how much of AN-225 actually Ukrainian origin. production for parts has to be reconstituted and without strong market demand it's nothing but pipedream.

Russian themselves still have Tupolev, Beriev and Illyushin design bureau and basically still working transport aircraft plant.
 
alberchico said:
Quick update, the sole AN-178 prototype, which is completely Westernized so as not to depend on Russian parts was safely ferried out of the country and is located in Poland, awaiting the end of the war. Whether Ukraine resumes the development program is still up in the air.

https://www.reddit.com/r/aviation/comments/1jju2kt/an178100p_a_ukrainian_prototype_of_a_military
View: https://www.reddit.com/r/aviation/comments/1jju2kt/an178100p_a_ukrainian_prototype_of_a_military/
Click to expand...

This program has been effectively dead since the Saudi's cancelled their order. Moreover, the airframe and engines are most certainly not "Westernized" as the odds of Western certifications are about nil at this point. Ukraine's Soviet inherited aviation industry has been a tremendous resource to China, Iran and possibly even North Korea, a state of affairs that seems unlikely to be tolerated in future.

Antonov might have had a future with Western and/or Saudi backing after 2014. Ivecho-Progress was always of far more use to China than to the West. Or perhaps to India as an alternative source of marine gas turbines. I don't see an obvious future for either, not even as component manufacturers. Companies with a legacy of dealing with pariah states like Cuba and Iran will have a hard time garnering Western funds for rebuilding. Or perhaps US and EU rebuilding money will facilitate the production of spare parts for Cuba's grounded An-158 airliners? I somehow doubt it.
 
Last edited:

Similar threads

Back
Top Bottom