India chooses Ukrainian An-178 cargo plane over Russian Il-214
Russian aircraft experts are concerned that India suspended a preliminary contract for the development and production cargo aircraft for the country. According to the contract, Russia was to build Il-214.
However, according to Russian expert Vladimir Tuchkov, recent actions by India show that Delhi intended to terminate the contract with Russia and sign a similar contract with Ukraine. Unlike the Russian Il-214 which has not been tested, Ukraine has proposed the An-178 which has already been tested and is in production.
The Ukrainian State Corporation, Antonov and the Indian company, Reliance Defence Ltd., signed an agreement of intent on the joint development and production of a multifunctional medium cargo aircraft. The project is long-term and calls for the building of 500 aircraft, with a total cost of 5.3 billion dollars over the next 15 years. The aircraft needs to be multifunctional and able to carry loads up to 20 tons and perform landing operations, as well as take on 50 to 80 civilian passengers. The production volumes in the contract call for 200 aircraft for the Indian military and 300 for civilian aviation, Tuchkov writes.
This data has been confirmed on Antanov’s company website where the signing of the contract was reported.
According to Tuchkov, the main reason for cancelling the contract with Russia is not so much the quality of the Ukrainian aircraft, but the fact that it has already been tested. The An-178 was tested in 2015 and was launched successfully. At the same time Il-214 is still in the development stages. Obviously, India is not interested in waiting several more years until it is launched.
“It comes down to the development of the Il-214 which was started in 2000… Despite the fact that the joint venture already exists, this year the agreement has been cancelled because no Il-214 has been built yet. Not only is there no prototype, but also no working documentation. And meanwhile, Antonov has a flying prototype of an aircraft, and was realizing an active marketing policy. During the exhibition Defexpo India 2016, the Ukrainian delegation held eight negotiations with the Indian Minister of Defense and High Command of the Armed Forces of the state. As a result, India found the Ukrainian proposal more favorable,” the expert writes.
It is worth noting that according to the official data of the Ilyushin Design Bureau, the project for the Il-214 aircraft has been delayed. The first flight is planned for 2019 while an An-178 similar to Russian aircraft in its characteristics and functions was air-tested a year ago and holds manufacturing and supply contracts.