Ukraine wants to build an An-77 aircraft jointly with the US
The Ukrainian aircraft factory Antonov State Company (SC) (Kyiv) has invited the US to engage in cooperation on the project development of the An-77 medium military transport aircraft. Interfax Ukraine reported , citing a statement by the company.
The company has reported that the factory delivered a proposal on cooperation to the American side during a visit by a delegation of the Transport and Infrastructure Committee of the US House of Representatives to Antonov SC.
The company believes that the An-77 can occupy a niche between the US military transport plane Lockheed C-130 Hercules, with a commercial load of up to 21 tons, and a strategic Boeing C-17 Globemaster III, with a load of up to 76 tons.
Antonov SC noted that the implementation of cooperation would require interaction between the State Aviation Service of Ukraine and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). At the same time, an "important step" should be the conclusion of a Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement, added the company.
Antonov State Company is a Ukrainian aircraft developer and manufacturer. By government decision, in 2015, Antonov State Company was merged into the state concern Ukroboronprom. The company was founded as a design bureau at the Novosibirsk aircraft plant under the direction of Oleg Antonov, and has been in Kyiv since 1952.