China to build large military cargo plane

Wednesday, Nov 26, 2008

Ukraine and China have been engaged in negotiations on the joint design of a large military transport aircraft, according to sources in the Ukrainian Antonov Aircraft Company. The agreement was expected to be inked this month, with the aircraft project to begin soon afterward.

According to a source in the Ukrainian military industry, the basic design concept of the aircraft has already been finalized. The Chinese military transport aircraft will adopt different design concepts and technologies than the An-70 transport aircraft designed by Ukraine and Russia, the source said, and will be powered by four jet engines. Additional technical details of the transport aircraft are to be finalized after the November signing.

In recent years, China has greatly reinforced its strategic military ties with Ukraine in a variety of areas, but this is the two countries’ first collaboration in developing a large aircraft. A source from the Russian aviation industry says that China did not ask for Russian assistance on this project, suggesting that China is shifting its design cooperation away from Russia and toward Ukraine. It also indicates that the new aircraft will be an upgrade of the An-70 rather than a duplication of it.

Source: UPIAsia