For the first time since Independence, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry is about to order new planes from Antonov, Strategic Industries Minister Oleh Urusky tells Radio Svoboda. “A contract will be signed between the Ministry of Defense and the Antonov State Enterprise for three An-178 aircraft, which will be the first time in Ukraine since independence,” he says. “We have never ordered new planes.” An-178 is a Ukrainian medium-haul transport jet with a range of 3,680 km, cargo load of 18 tons, and capacity to carry 90 soldiers. Turkey and Antonov are negotiating joint production of the An-178. During the summer of 2014, at the height of the Ukraine-Russia air war over the Donbas, three Ukrainian Air Force transport planes were shot down — an Antonov An-26, an Antonov An-30 and an Ilyushin Il-76.
For the first time since Independence, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry is about to order new planes from Antonov
