The state-owned Spetstekhnoexport foreign trade enterprise, which is part of the Ukroboronprom group of defense companies, has completed the signing of a contract for supply of an An-178 multipurpose transport aircraft with the Peruvian Interior Affairs Ministry.
Spetstekhnoexport announced this in a statement, the CFTS portal reports.
The contract provides for production and supply of aircraft for the needs of the Peruvian National Police, provision of a package of training services, maintenance, and extension of warrantees.
"Thanks to the signing of the contract, Ukraine has opened up the Latin American market to a new generation of Antonov cargo planes. At the moment, Spetstekhnoexport is in talks with potential customers of Ukrainian planes in other countries in the region," the enterprise said.
The An-178 performed its first flight in May 2015. Later, Antonov replaced the imported Russian components on the aircraft.
The An-178 aircraft has a speed of 825 kilometers per hour, a flight altitude of 12.2 kilometers, and a flight range of 5,500 kilometers. The aircraft is capable of landing and taking off from any airfield, including unpaved airfields.
The configuration of the aircraft ordered by the Peruvian Ministry of Interior Affairs will allow it to perform transportation of personnel (100 people); parachuting of personnel (84 people); transportation of passengers (80 people); delivery of cargo (up to 18 tons); parachuting of cargo; evacuation of wounded personnel with the possibility of medical care (40 people).
As reported in August, Spetstekhnoexport won the tender for supply of aircraft to the Peruvian National Police by beating competitors such as Leonardo, which offered the C27J aircraft (United States), and Airbus, which offered the CASA C-295 aircraft (Spain). The size of the contract is USD 65 million.
The last time Antonov sold an aircraft was in 2015, when it delivered an An-158 to a customer.
