Ukroboronprom undertakes marketing push for Antonov An-178 airlifter

Ukraine’s state-owned enterprise Ukroboronprom is marketing the Antonov An-178 military airlifter to prospective clients in the Middle East, starting with Kuwait, Interfax Ukraine and Defence Blog report.

The Antonov An-178 is based on the An-148/158-series of regional jet airliners and is designed to replace legacy short/medium-range transport aircraft, such as the Antonov An-12 Cub.

When Antonov revealed the An-178 in 2015, it explicitly stated that it was aiming to provide a markedly cost-effective solution, especially in comparison to comparable Western aircraft. Antonov also promised to expand the An-178’s versatility, such as adapting it for the air-to-air refueling (AAR) role.

However, as with many of Ukraine’s marquee defence programs, the An-178’s success seems to be hinged to Kiev’s success in securing an overseas partner to co-fund and induct the platform. The An-132D came to fruition as a result of Saudi Arabia joining and co-funding the program.

In May of this year Ukroboronprom signed a memorandum-of-understanding (MoU) with Turkey’s Aselsan to provide an integrated avionics suite for the An-148-family, which includes the An-178.

In 2016, Antonov had posited the option of integrating General Electric or Pratt & Whitney turbofan engines in place of the Ivchenko Progress D-436, which currently powers the An-178.

Antonov intends to secure sales for 20 An-178 aircraft for the next five years. Its target markets include Central Asia, South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and Turkey.

Having first flown in May 2015, the An-178 can carry 15 tons in payload to a range of 2,040 km (and at 18 tons 990 km). It is powered by two Ivchenko Progress D-436 turbofan engines, which Antonov claims will provide lower operating costs than four or even turboprop engines.

The An-178’s main competitors in its category are the Lockheed Martin C-130J/LM-100J Hercules and Embraer KC-390. While the Hercules and KC-390 each possess greater payload capacity, Antonov can pitch the An-178 as a niche short-haul heavy transport aircraft. Air arms with limited or non-existing long-range transport requirements could use the An-178 for heavy payload tasks. Alternatively, countries with C-130-class (and/or larger) platforms can use the An-178 to handle domestic logistics transport work.

Bilal Khan Founder

Founder of Quwa, Bilal has been researching Pakistani defence industry and security issues for over 15 years. His work has been cited by Pakistan's National Defence University (NDU), the Council of Foreign Relations, Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, Centre of Airpower Studies and many others. He has a Hons. B.A in Political Science and Masters of Interntional Public Policy from Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

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