Antonov An70 Again Under Discussion
It seems that the struggle by Antonov Design Bureau and the Ukrainian Government to keep the An70 project alive continues.Â
It is more than 7 years since an independent review by the German government concluded that the An70 was "operationally, technically and financially" by far the best buy for the German military. However, nothing was going to derail the European politico/military/industrial complex in its plans for the A400M and the An70, the most advanced military airlifter of it's day, was left on the sidelines.
Today, Ukrainian Defense Minister, Yuriy Yekhanurov, disclosed that the subject of cooperation with German industry was again on the agenda during a meeting with German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung in Brussels.
"I think that our ministries may initiate the holding of a council at Antonov Design Bureau, involving German companies interested in the production of An-70 aircraft," Mr Yekhanurov said.
He added that this also concerns the modernization and production of helicopters. "We are already conducting work on modernizing our helicopters and we have joined the French-British helicopter initiative. We are interested in developing the production and assemblage of helicopters, for example, Eurocopter, at Ukrainian enterprises."
