How a backward and devastated Ukraine humiliates the Russian aviation industry. Domestic weapons and military equipment

The topic of today's conversation is the An-178 aircraft. This military transport aircraft was created by Ukrainian aircraft designers on the basis of the famous NTK Antonov.

An-178 aircraft

The idea of creating this personalized model was based on the previous version of "Ana" numbered 158 (modification 148), which was classified as an airliner passenger traffic. The plans of the aircraft designers were to create a version that was more advanced than previous versions, which was the beginning of work on the design of a new model of an aircraft for military transport purposes. Considering the historical stages of this event, I would like to note the following:

From the end of February 2010, a project was launched to design this model. The Aircraft Design Bureau officially announced that in the near future the world will see a full-fledged replacement for the well-known An-12. According to them, it will have improved technical characteristics over its predecessor, but at the same time classiness and the ability to operate in the same directions have not been lost;
On the part of the government, emphasis has been placed on requirements for higher carrying capacity, safety, and, of course, reliability;
By July 2014, the design of the fuselage was completed, and by the autumn the first prototype had been created for experimental testing;
A full-fledged test process began only by the end of autumn 2014 and was completed closer to the beginning of the next 2015;
The long-awaited event, namely the first flight of this model was made in the early days of May of the same 2015. The whole process of creation and numerous tests took almost five years. This event was held at Gostomel (air terminal) in the Kyiv region;
After this event, the designers carried out the final assembly of the second fuselage, after which repeated tests were carried out;
From the end of autumn 2015 to the end of December of the same year, the main aircraft manufacturing company opened a competition for an open choice of a name for its “brainchild”. To our great disappointment, none of the proposed options interested the creators, moreover, it was stated that they all carry the wrong political connotation.

The result of the intensive work of the design aviation bureau was the An-178 model, which is a high-wing aircraft (pictured). Her characteristic features was the presence of:

engines in the amount of 2 units of turbofan type, which are located under the wings (pylon area);
classical system of aerodynamics (stabilizing tail unit is located immediately after the wings).

On the advantages and disadvantages of aircraft design

As you know, any product, even if it is released for the first time, has its own positive sides, as well as negative ones. The same can be said about airplanes, because they are the final product of the activities of both people and special equipment. With regards to the advantages of this model of airliners, it should be noted:

The aircraft took pride of place in the category of a new improved model that meets all the requirements;
By their own flight performance surpassed its well-known predecessors, for example:
as a representative of short-haul aircraft (medium size), it has improved payload parameters ranging from 18 to 20 tons, easily covers a distance of more than 5 thousand km, and climbs up to 10.1 thousand m;
the used turbofan engines allowed the aircraft to develop high cruising speeds (within 825-870 km/h);
the presence of an improved control system during development, which uses the latest computer systems, excluding the appearance of any even the most minimal errors in the piloting process.

There were also some negative points. First of all, the disturbed centering of the entire body (a mistake made at the development stage) became a significant drawback. As a result, in order to mechanically eliminate this moment on board before the flight, it is required to load ballast, the weight of which should not be less than 1.3–1.4 tons. Moreover, it must be in the form of special plates fixed directly behind the cockpit in which the pilots are located.

Due to the tense relations between Ukraine and Russia, the question arose of whether the former would continue to purchase certain components.

As statistics showed in 2016, there was no great demand for this aircraft and only 2 aircraft were made. Experts say that according to these indicators it is not possible to give a full and objective assessment of what is happening. What can have an impact is the detected minor malfunctions in the on-board system and automation. Serious errors associated with the design have a significant impact, which became the reason for their mass elimination.

Prospects for An-178

The political situation between the two states also made its own adjustments regarding both the production itself and subsequent operation. Initially, it was said that the production of aircraft would take place both on the territory of the Ukrainian state and the Russian one.

In fact, it was assumed that these two states would be the main users of this model, but on this moment, the question remains "in limbo". It is believed that at present this model has no analogues in its classification series, and this gives reason to believe that the An-178 aircraft has a good chance of being sold.

According to preliminary estimates by Ukrainian specialists, about 800 aircraft units can be sold in 10 or 12 years. At the time of release, the price of an aircraft structure was almost $40 million, and a batch order was within 100 samples. Now, increased interest has been shown by the states that are part of Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf. Contracts for the supply of 11-12 aircraft have been signed.

The buyers included representatives of the company from Iraq (1), China (1 - Beijing A / Star Aerospace Technology Co, 25 - Airspace Industry Corporation), Taqnia Aeronautics - 30 and Silk Way Airlines from Azerbaijan (10). The immediate plans of the manufacturing country are to completely abandon the purchase of Russian components, find a worthy replacement among new suppliers and double sales by 2020, especially since interest in this type of aircraft has already been noted. Only time will show how everything will be translated into reality, often negative forecasts are not justified and the demand for a particular product increases exponentially. You can see the An-178 in action in the video below.

In contact with

During the first flight tests of the first prototype of the new transport aircraft An-178 revealed a serious problem with the alignment of the machine, caused by significant miscalculations in the design.

“As a result, in order to ensure normal alignment, the aircraft is forced to perform all any lengthy test and ferry flights with an additional ballast weight of 1.32 tons in the form of a package of 15 steel plates weighing 85–90 kg each, laid immediately behind the cockpit,” – reports the bmpd blog.

An error with the An-178 balance calculation was found on the first prototype aircraft with serial number 001 and registration UR-EXP.

According to experts, it was with this ballast that the An-178 prototype flew to air shows in Le Bourget, and now to Dubai, and after landing, the ballast is promptly unloaded to hide the fact of its presence on the plane. At the same time, the constant presence of ballast worsens the characteristics of the aircraft, and without that, apparently, it is unlikely that they correspond to the advertising data declared by the Antonov State Enterprise.

Presumably, the reason for the incorrect centering of the machine was the decision made at the design stage in 2012 to increase the An-178 wing span by 2 meters, as well as the wing area from 88.5 to 98.6 square meters. m while maintaining the already designed fuselage unchanged. It is assumed that this decision was caused by the revealed calculated insufficiency of takeoff and landing characteristics in relation to the declared ones.

According to experts, the defect is "organic" and difficult to fix structurally. It is suggested that an increase in the length of the aircraft fuselage in the region of the center section and the nose can become a means of correcting the centering defect, but this will require serious redesign, the construction of a new prototype, and, in fact, new program testing of the redesigned aircraft.

In September, Ukraine presented the An-178 at the Dubai Airshow 2015 in the UAE. However, as Deputy Minister economic development and trade of Ukraine, the An-178 could not participate in demonstration flights, because it was “not ready for this,” RIA Novosti-Ukraine reports.

Let us recall that the long-promised and many times postponed presentation of the new aircraft of the An brand was held in Kyiv in April. An-178, as stated, should be a replacement for the old, still Soviet-era An-12 model. The aircraft was presented with great fanfare, but there are doubts whether there is a market for it.

In June current year Ukraine to produce aircraft, including An-178, together with Poland.

State Enterprise "Antonov" (Kyiv) to offer the market a promising transport aircraft An-178, built on the basis of the passenger An-158. Dmitry Kiva, general designer of the Antonov State Enterprise, called the An-178 advantage the possibility of transporting sea containers and certain types of military equipment.

An-178 is a promising Ukrainian short-haul transport aircraft, created on the basis of An-158, with a payload capacity of up to 20 tons.

Today SE "Antonov" is represented by a large aircraft concern. The morally and physically obsolete An-12 needs to be replaced, so the Antonov team decided to design a new An-178 multi-purpose cargo aircraft.

Advantages of the Ukrainian device

According to the plans of engineers, the model will be equipped with two turbojet engines, the task of which is to ensure high flight speed, reduce noise levels and increase flight performance. Among the features of the aircraft is the increase in the dimensions of the cargo compartment, which solves the problem with the possibility of transporting any packaged cargo directly on pallets and in sea containers.

The An-178, like all aircraft manufactured by the Antonov State Enterprise, will inherit the most important qualities of a transport aircraft: autonomy, all-aerodrome capability (the ability to land on any type of runway), unpretentiousness, high reliability and fault tolerance.

To reduce the cost of the transporter, the aircraft was unified with already created models. The main reason for this decision is the cost. civil aircraft. In the event of a choice between two aircraft with similar characteristics, the buyer will naturally choose the one that is cheaper both in price and in operation. The composition of the airframe and equipment of the An-178 is unified by 50-60% with the An-148 and An-158 variants, which in practice have proven all the necessary qualities for aircraft of this type. Thanks to unification, not only the price will decrease, but also the construction time of the aircraft. At the moment the work is going very fast. In 2014, a prototype fuselage was built.

According to the project, the designers decided to replace the standard four-engine turboprop scheme with a unique twin-engine turbojet. The fact is that the design of the aircraft is based on world needs. Special calculations were carried out, which showed that with the same hourly fuel consumption, twin-engine turbojet specimens have increased performance. This is possible due to the increased cruising speed.

The An-178 was designed according to the plan of a multi-purpose transporter with a special possibility, if necessary, of re-equipment for both civilian and military transport. The first order for the aircraft came from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, but the leadership of the State Enterprise is confident that orders from civilian airlines will soon appear.

Since the 178th has a unique ability to transport almost any type of packaged cargo, it is the only one worthy replacement for the An-12, which, although it was created in the 60s, is still widely used in many countries of Asia, Africa and the CIS . Also, the An-178 will be an excellent competitor to the Franco-German "Transal" S-160.

An-178 appeared not according to an initiative program, its idea was born to a greater extent in the military department of Ukraine. It is also the main customer.

Aircraft history

At the end of February 2010, the Antonov ASTC announced the start of designing a new An-178 cargo aircraft. According to the project, thanks to two turbojet engines, the transporter will have cruising speed 800 km / h, and the service ceiling will exceed the ceiling of the base unit by 3000 m. Completion of work on the prototype was scheduled for the end of 2014. At the beginning of 15, they planned to lift it into the air. In November 2014, ASTC began ground testing of an experimental vehicle. The end of testing was scheduled for March 2015. Also in November 2014, the assembly of the second prototype began. According to preliminary agreements, in addition to the Ministry of Defense, the first customers of the aircraft will be the UAE airline MaximusAir.

Considering the need similar aircraft for military and civilian structures, the absence of serious competitors (the Russian Il-214 and the Brazilian Embraer KC-390) and the relatively low market value of the An-178 (20-25 million dollars), the initial sales market for the aircraft will be about 800 units with a total cost of more than 14 billion dollars.

Today, according to its structure, Antonov State Enterprise is a large aircraft concern, where, under the general management, a full cycle of aircraft creation is carried out: from design and testing to serial production and after-sales support. One of the concern's promising projects is the An-178 multi-purpose cargo aircraft, designed to replace the outdated An-12 model.

State enterprise "Antonov"

It is the pride of Ukraine, one of the "think tanks" of advanced design ideas, a fusion of science and production. Aircraft models that have no analogues in the world have been created here more than once. For example, the super-lifting An-225 Mriya.

SE "Antonov" was originally created and still specializes in the development and production of transport aircraft civil and military purposes. The enterprise also produces passenger models, but it is the An transport aircraft that have earned the reputation of reliable, sometimes irreplaceable workers. The four-engine turboprop An-12, developed back in the 60s, is still actively used in the expanses of the former USSR.

The airline group includes:

experimental design bureau;
pilot plant;
flight test center;
serial aircraft factory;
10 National Treasure-level research complexes employing more than 6,500 highly qualified scientists and engineers.

Promising developments

Civil aviation is in dire need of promising models that meet high environmental standards, low-cost operation, with an optimal ratio of price and quality, convenience and safety. And if foreign partners have already switched to a new model range, Russian and Ukrainian airlines are forced to quickly catch up.

In the 2000s, Antonov State Enterprise actively began to develop new and modernize old models of An aircraft:

Narrow-body short-haul passenger An-148 and its improved version An-158.
Medium-haul military transport and cargo An-70, on which great hopes are pinned.
Upgraded An-124 "Ruslan".
A completely new transport twin-engine An-178, which, according to the designers, should replace the obsolete morally and physically worn-out An-12 aircraft.

New generation transporter

As conceived by the designers, the 178th model will join the family of transport vehicles in the next year or two. aircraft An. Potential customers are already waiting with interest for a new generation cargo aircraft. The first flight is scheduled for 2015.

The experience of operating cargo-passenger and transport aircraft shows that multi-purpose models come to the fore. This is exactly what the latest development of Ukrainian designers, the An-178 aircraft, is intended to become. Characteristics meet the latest standards.

The development of this aircraft in the line of transport "Anov" today is one of the main programs of the enterprise. The team is faced with the task of creating a worthy replacement for the veteran An-12, which for many years was one of the best transport aircraft on the planet. Trends in the development of the world market give hope that the An-178 will be in demand in both the military and civilian sectors.

Advantages

The model is planned to be equipped with two which will provide high flight speed, flight performance and reduce noise levels. The peculiarity of the aircraft is the increased dimensions of the cargo compartment, which allows transportation of almost all types of packaged cargo existing in the world. In particular, in sea containers and on pallets.

Like all "Antonov" aircraft, the An-178 will inherit such qualities necessary for a transporter as all-aerodrome, autonomy, high reliability, unpretentiousness, fault tolerance.

Cost minimization

In order to reduce the cost, the new An transport aircraft are unified with the models already developed and being produced. No matter how outstanding the characteristics of the aircraft, the most important indicator for civil aviation is the "issue price". With similar performance, the customer will prefer a cheaper model at the time of purchase and a more economical one during operation.

In terms of the composition of the airframe and on-board equipment, the An-178 are 50-60% unified with regional passenger aircraft new generation An-148 and An-158, which have already confirmed in practice all the declared characteristics. In addition to reducing technical risks, unification will reduce the time for creating an aircraft to 2-2.5 years. Today, work on the design of the An-178 is going very intensively. In the near future, it is planned to complete the construction of the first flight prototype. In 2014, the fuselage was built, it remains to mount the wings and install equipment.

Two motors instead of four

The creators are proud new concept An-178. The photo of the aircraft clearly demonstrates its main fundamental difference from the An-12 - only two propellers instead of four. The transition of developers from a four-engine layout to a two-engine one is not accidental. The design is based on an assessment of the needs of the global market. clearly traced modern trend development of ramp transport aircraft, when in the design and production of medium-class transport aircraft, aircraft manufacturers replace four-engine turboprop aircraft twin-engine turbojet.

Calculations show that with approximately the same hourly fuel consumption, twin-engine turbojet models have higher performance due to much higher cruising speed.

Scope of use

Any aircraft is designed for specific tasks. The 178th was conceived as a multi-purpose transporter, which can be easily converted for both civilian and military transport purposes, as well as for special structures (Ministry of Emergency Situations, medical services, etc.).

Initially, the order for the An-178 was submitted by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. However, Antonov State Enterprise is also counting on significant orders from civil aviation and cargo transportation companies.

A unique feature of the model is the ability to deliver all types of packaged cargo existing in the world (in containers and on pallets), including heavy-duty containers 1C (sea container) with transverse dimensions of 2.44 x 2.44 m. This makes the An-178 an indispensable vehicle for logistics support in commercial exploitation, in the armed forces, for use in emergency situations.

Worthy replacement for An-12 and S-160

The 178th was conceived as a high-tech replacement for the medium-sized turboprop four-engine transport aircraft of the An-12 model, which have produced about 1,400 copies over the past decades. "Starichkov" is still actively exploited in the CIS countries, Asia, Africa. Developed in the 60s, the An-12 actually does not have a worthy replacement in terms of aggregate specifications and commercial benefits.

Although the An-178 is structurally different from the An-12 and its operational characteristics do not replace 100% of the capabilities of the twelfth model, the 178th is still the best option replacement of the old transport fleet domestic companies.

For customers focused on Western technology, the An-178 is offered as an alternative to the outdated Franco-German model "Transal" C-160 - a twin-engine turboprop transport aircraft, of which 214 copies were produced in the 70-80s.

Military transport modification

The military department of Ukraine is the initiator of the creation and the main customer of the An-178. The decision that the army needed a new medium-class military transport aircraft was dictated by time. The resource of An-12 and S-160 is almost exhausted. Meanwhile, in many countries of the world, a whole range of tasks has been formed, ideally adapted to vehicles exactly this dimension.

The average carrying capacity of such aircraft is 11-13 tons (more than 70% of transport tasks), and the flight range is 2000-3000 km. The experience of using the An-12 and S-160 aircraft shows that transportation of wheeled self-propelled and non-self-propelled, as well as armored vehicles, is rarely carried out on them, and more than heavy aircraft- IL-76 and S-17A. The main task of medium military-technical cooperation is logistical support for troops, parachute landing of small units or cargo on platforms, transportation of the wounded and transportation light equipment, delivery of engines, equipment, etc.

Also, such aircraft are most often used for the delivery (including to hard-to-reach regions of the world) of goods on standard pallets and in containers. The breadth of the tasks to be solved is determined by the optimal transverse dimensions and dimensions of such a vehicle.

Competitors

In fact, the An-178 under development has only two potential competitors on the European market. The Ukrainian aircraft is close in class and capabilities to the new medium-haul jet transport Embraer aircraft KC-390, which is being created to replace the C-130. The Russian-Indian MTA project also has similar characteristics.

However, Embraer and MTA have a different development and application philosophy. First of all, the An-178 aircraft is smaller and takeoff weight, and is also created on the basis of an already existing platform - proven in practice regional jets An-148 family. This allows it to be made much cheaper than competitors and with significantly lower fuel consumption, which affects the cost of the aircraft's life cycle.

An-178: characteristics

Length - 31.6 m.
Load capacity - 15 tons.
Speed (cruising) - 800 km / h.
Wingspan - 28.91 m.
The practical flight range at maximum load is 3200 km.
The estimated cost of one aircraft is 20-25 million dollars.

Conclusion

An-178 is a transport aircraft that will replace the An-12. It can carry many loads various kinds. It is especially important that the model is able to transport even sea containers. The result is a unique and versatile cargo aircraft.

At the air show in Le Bourget, Ukraine presented the An-178 military transport aircraft, the first flight of which took place on May 7, 2015. An-178 is positioned on the market as a replacement for An-12 transport aircraft. New car will carry up to 18 tons of cargo and operate at the same airfields as the An-12, including unpaved runways. State Enterprise "Antonov" believes that the market for the An-178 may be about 800 units within 10-12 years. Its approximate cost will be 40-70 million dollars.

The An-178 is superior to the An-12 in terms of its main characteristics and transport capabilities. Compared to its predecessor, the An-178 will have a larger in size, including height, fully sealed cargo compartment, where sea containers and IATA containers can be transported; two jet engines instead of four turboprops; higher (by 225 km/h) maximum cruising speed and longer flight range (by 800 km) with a load of 10 tons. The practical ceiling of the An-178 is 3000 m higher. In general, it will have significantly better economic indicators.

A delegation led by First Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleg Gladkovsky, Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade Ruslan Korzh, and also CEO SC "Ukroboronprom" Roman Romanov.

In Le Bourget, Colonel General Yuriy Baydak, Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, spoke about the An-178. According to him, it is too early to talk about mass production, since only a prototype is presented at the exhibition. "After the completion of the tests, it is planned to prepare a technical assignment for the manufacture of a military transport aircraft, and even then we can talk about placing an order," the Ukrainian general said.

In his opinion, in general, the An-178 aircraft has very great prospects. "This is exactly the niche that has not been filled. The Ukrainian Air Force is armed with obsolete types of military transport aircraft, these are An-26 and Il-76 aircraft. Currently, the need for such an aircraft is at least 20 aircraft, which should come to replace the old modifications," Baydak noted. It is clear that if produced only for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the An-178 will literally be worth its weight in gold, the impoverished Ukrainian budget will not be able to pull it off.

According to Antonov General Designer Dmitry Kiva, at Le Bourget-2015 the company's representatives are conducting a very intensive negotiation process aimed at expanding international cooperation and promoting An aircraft to the world market. Among such projects are the creation of a new An-188 transport aircraft based on the An-70, further modernization of the An-124-100 Ruslan, and development of the An-132 light transport aircraft program.

The main problem of the An-178 is that about a third of its components are Russian production and now we have to look for a replacement. In general, the An-178 is, in fact, the last chance for the Ukrainian aviation industry to stay afloat. (provided that China is interested in this project), But will he be able to use it? With the current government in Kyiv - hardly.

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