First new An-124 could come out of factory in 2014
DATELINE: MOSCOW Dec 28
The United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) may start deliveries of its renewed Antonov An-124 ‘Ruslan’ planes in 2014, UAC President and CEO Alexei Fyodorov said on Monday.
President Dmitry Medvedev ordered up to 20 ‘Ruslan’ planes in the defense procurement program for the period until 2020 and to resume the production of this aircraft, he said.
“If the instructions are implemented quickly, we can start the deliveries in 2014. We also hope to supply up to 20 aircraft by 2020,” Fyodorov said.
The project costs 17 billion rubles, and the UAC expects budgetary funding, he said. A renovated ‘Ruslan’ will cost $200 million.
It is essential for the UAC to have an initial contract with the Defense Ministry, he said.
“There is a commercial demand for such an aircraft, but they are expensive and it is unclear whether commercial transporters can afford the ‘Ruslan’,” Fyodorov said.
The production cycle will have to be modernized, and the ‘Ruslan’ engine and cockpit will be updated, he noted.
Source: Interfax-AVN