Antonov Design Bureau Cooperation With Russian Industry
Antonov Design Bureau, designers of the Antonov An-124, and a pillar of the Ukrainian economy has struggled ever since the independence of Ukraine in 1991 to establish not only a customer base but also a supplier network which is less subject to political influences. A remarkably difficult task given their intimate business, technical and financial relationships with the Russian aerospace industry.
News Agency Ukrinform posted the following on 22 Oct.
Antonov complex implementing 7 programs with Russia
KYIV, October 22. /UKRINFORM/. Ukraine's Antonov aircraft engineering complex (Kyiv) is carrying out together with Russian partners in that country seven programs on the development and construction of different models of An family planes.
The share of Russian factories in aircraft production is minimum 70%. Minimum 102 and maximum 289 Russian enterprises are involved in those projects. Dmytro Kiva, general designer of the Antonov complex, announced this during Tuesday's plenary meeting of business forum "Ukraine – Russia: cooperation in innovation and investment areas".
Among the joint projects there are passenger planes An-148 and An-124, regional passenger plane An-140, as well as An-38, An-3 and An-70 planes.
According to Kiva, the development of An-70 has already taken from the Russian and Ukrainian parties over USD 1 billion, and its completion needs about USD 120 million. "We distribute and share the risks together. Work on the project with Russian partners is continuing. We are holding talks, and reached agreement on restoration of the project. It is necessary to work, to cooperate. We profit from that," he emphasized.
Russia's macro economic/political strategies would appear to be to undermine the financial pillars of the Ukrainian economy in order to maintain influence over Ukraine and this would no doubt include working to gain control of Antonov, a strategic company for Ukraine. At the same time Antonov is attempting to control it's own destiny by entering into relationships with Russian industry in order to bind their interests together while at the same time saying that it is best to leave the 'head and heart' of the organisation in Ukraine, a foreign country.
One wonders how Antonov Design Bureau's fate will fare in the Moscow decision making process.
