The Antonov was one of the biggest victims of the crisis between Ukraine and Russia erupted after the annexation of Crimea by Moscow. The Ukrainian authorities confirmed the settlement of the Antonov Desing Bureau and the merger of its main assets to state conglomerate Ukroboronprom.
The information was confirmed by the Ministry of Economic Development of Ukraine. According to the government, the integration is due to the financial crisis experienced by Antonov. If in the past the company stood for the development and production giants like the An-22, An-124 and An-225, currently the manufacturer had been suffering from a lack of market interest in their products.
Focused in recent years on small and medium-sized aircraft, the Antonov had suffered a series of setbacks in the sale of its regional aircraft. Each series 30 and 40 captured between requests on average. Since the middle military cargo An-70, after nearly 22 years of development, failed to get any request by the armed forces of Russia and Ukraine. Furthermore, the program consumed considerable amounts during their development, requiring several design changes over the years. The program also provided for the assembly of Russian copies in partnership with KAPO (Kazan Aircraft Production Association), the Kazan plant in Russia.
In October 2010, the Antonov and the Russian UAC signed an agreement to form a joint company focused on marketing, sales, design and production of military aircraft, civilian and cargo, as well as modify old models Antonov. The partnership was also undone with the escalation of tensions between the two countries.
Besides the Antonov, many Ukrainian aerospace manufacturers face the same problem in relation to its agreements with the Russians. The most affected companies are located in eastern and southern Ukraine, which had several export deals with Russia, and are also dependent on Russian capital.
Giants with six engines
The settlement of the Antonov as an independent company puts end not just an iconic company arising from the Soviet era, but also drastically reduces the possibility of resumption of production of the An-124. The model, which is not produced for over 10 years, had some units upgraded in recent years. The Russian air force studying operate a more modern version of the model, but dropped the plans due to high costs of production and operation. Defence Minister of Russia, Sergei Shoigu, in a recent statement, said the Air Force decided to just repair and modernize aircraft in service by opting for a smaller, cheaper model. In the words of the minister only airline dedicated to large cargo transport require an aircraft with the capabilities of the An-124. "Who needs that kind of aircraft are civilian commercial companies involved in transporting bulky loads," Shoigu said.
The only An-225 produced has an uncertain future. The Ukrainian government believes that the plane should still have a captive market in the coming years, but ruled out the production of new copies or even the completion of the second plane.
The Antonov was founded 70 years ago was consecrated in the production of large cargo aircraft, especially the giants. Originally the company headquarters was in Novosibirsk, Russia, and in 1952 moved to Kiev, where he remained after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Did you know?
The famous humps of the An-225 is not the system anchoring the Soviet space shuttle Buran, but rather structural reinforcements of huge wings. With a wingspan of 88.4 meters and a total area of 905 m², its weight, combined with six engines, it was equivalent to almost half of the plane.
