Russia Seeking To Manufacture Ukrainian Antonov An-124 Airplanes Itself

The Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade is considering the possibility of providing technical support for AN-124 Ruslan airplanes itself and resuming production of upgraded modifications of these airplanes at the Aviastar-SP aircraft manufacturing plant (Ulyanovsk), the Kommersant publication writes.

"Such a task has been set, a meeting on this topic has been held in the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, and a number of complex measures will be prepared. This also applies to supply of components for aircraft and the aircraft industry, including helicopters. However, it is impossible to replace everything... I would not like to spend huge sums on mastering production of those parts that are currently manufactured overseas," said Aviastar-SP’s General Director Sergei Dementiev in the context of development of the An-124 project.

He believes that Russia could develop the project alone in the worst-case scenario and if Ukraine refuses to cooperate on the project: "Russia also has all the rights to the technical documentation for the An-124, it has set of design documentation, and there will be no problems in terms of support."

Read also: “The Kremlin Dangles the Ruslan: the Main Difficulties on the Road to Reviving An-124 Ruslan”

Ukraine’s Antonov state enterprise, which is the developer of the aircraft, believes that Russia cannot build upgraded versions of the An-124 alone because only Antonov holds the rights to the technical documentation. "We have all the documentation. Moreover, it is against the rules. The integrator of the aircraft is Antonov. We do not trust anyone to integrate it because it affects flight safety and the reliability of the aircraft," Antonov’s President and General Designer Dmytro Kiva said.

According to estimates by Ernst & Young, preparation for resumption of production of the An-124 requires about RUB 4 billion (USD 109 million). According to estimates by Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation, it will cost RUB 20-30 billion (USD 548-823 million), including the cost of R&D. The state program for development of the Russian aircraft manufacturing industry in the period of 2013-2025 provides for production of 45 new military and commercial An-123-300 aircraft in the period from 2012 to 2030.