The An-70 military transport aircraft is ready for joint state tests by Ukrainian and Russian pilots, after which its serial production can begin. Andrii Spasibo, a first-class test pilot with the Antonov state enterprise and the captain of the An-70, told journalists at the MAKS 2013 air show, where the aircraft is on display, the UNIAN news agency reports.

"As of today, we have completed the phase of preliminary tests and brought the act of readiness of the aircraft to undergo joint state tests with the Russian Federation. In other words, we have completed the entire phase of refinement of the aircraft on our part, and we are hoping that the state tests will begin in the near future," he said.

Spasibo added that all the defects in the aircraft have been repaired and that the aircraft, which is presented in a completely new, modernized form, could begin joint state tests. According to him, state tests are performed by a joint Ukrainian-Russian crew with the participation of representatives of the ministries of defense of both countries.

At the same time, he stressed that it was wrong to compare the An-70 with the Russian Il-476 transport aircraft because they occupy different niches. "Our An-70 occupies a niche where the Il-476 cannot prove itself. The An-70 is an airplane with short take-off and landing. We can carry cargo to unprepared airfields or an area with a length of only 700 meters. Herein lies its uniqueness," said the pilot, adding that the Il-476 needs unpaved airfields.

Spasibo expressed the conviction that there are no alternatives to the An-70 because of its unique performance characteristics. "We came to the MAKS 2013 to show that the machine has been completed and that it is ready for work. We have fulfilled our obligations to the Russian side in full," he stressed.

Spasibo noted that the European Union attempted to create a similar aircraft in the Airbus 400M, but this attempt was not entirely successful because the performance characteristics of this aircraft are worse than the performance characteristics of the An-70. He also said that pilots from the Russian Defense Ministry participated in the preliminary tests and that they were satisfied with the joint flights.

The An-70 performed two training flights on Tuesday morning, the first day of the MAKS 2013 air show, and it was scheduled to perform a demonstration flight on Wednesday.