The Antonov state aircraft manufacturing plant and Aviall Services, Inc., which is a division of the Boeing Company, have signed a General Terms Agreement on cooperation on production of "An" aircraft. The agreement was signed at the 2018 Farnborough Airshow on July 17, the CFTS reports.
Antonov’s President Oleksandr Donets signed the agreement on behalf of his company while Aviall’s President and Chief Executive Officer Eric Strafel signed it on behalf of his company. The General Terms Agreement provides for cooperation between the two companies on after-sales support and manufacturing of upgraded An-148, An-158, and An-178 aircraft, which will be designated An-1X8 NEXT aircraft.
Under this agreement, Aviall Services, Inc. will purchase and supply to the Antonov state enterprise a wide range of components for serial production of these aircraft and provide after-sales support.
"Following the signing of this agreement with Aviall, Antonov now has a reliable partner that will become an important integrator in the process of acquiring a number of Western-made components under the import-substitution program, including components for launching serial production of the newest ‘An’ aircraft and providing quality after-sales support for them at the highest international level,” Donets said.
As reported, the general director of Antonov recently announced that the company intended to produce at least five aircraft over a period of five years. He also said that commencement of serial production of the An-158 aircraft next year was realistic.
