The national news agency Ukrinform reported that Antonov Company will build three An-178 aircraft, ordered by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, without Russian components. The roundtable meeting “Import substitution: the potential for domestic production and strengthening the independence of the state. In order to build An-178 aircraft without Russian components, Antonov Company will have to replace 54% of all parts used for the aircraft. In particular, these are the life support system, transport equipment, supervision system, and special systems. Antonov Company are conducting measures to substitute imports and strengthen cooperation within the concern. As these are new opportunities for the development of high-tech products, which are needed by the defense industry and the economy in general.
The Antonov An-178 is a short-range medium-airlift military transport aircraft designed by the Ukrainian Antonov company and based on the Antonov An-158 (An-148-200). It was announced on 5 February 2010, rolled out on 16 April 2015 and the maiden flight was on 7 May 2015. The An-178 is proposed to replace outdated aircraft like the An-12, An-26 and An-32. The aircraft will have an avionics suite similar to the An-148, and will use Progress D-436-148FM engines. The An-178 is a potential competitor for the Embraer KC-390 from Brazil. The company plans to build more than 200 of the aircraft. An-178 is a high-wing transport aircraft with moderately swept wing, winglets and a T-tail.
The airframe is made of aluminium alloys and composite materials. The fuselage is semi-monocoque with a circular cross-section. The retractable landing gear consists of two main wheel bogies and a dual nose wheel. The flight control system is dual duplex fly-by-wire system, consisting of two parts: FCS-A and FCS-B, each of which is responsible for two control channels. The flight control surfaces include ailerons near the wing tips, four control spoilers, six lift-dump/speed-brake spoilers, rudder and elevators, with an emergency mechanical cable back-up system. The powerplant consists of two Progress D-436-148FM turbofan engines, mounted on pylons under the wings and an auxiliary power unit. It can shift 18 tonnes over 1,000 km, or 10 tonnes over 4,000 km.
In December 2020, for the first time since Ukraine’s Independence, the Ministry of Defense ordered three new An-178 transport aircraft from Antonov Company under state guarantees. In May 2021, Antonov Company completed the construction of the fuselage of the first of three An-178s. The assembly of the first aircraft is at the final stage at Antonov’s production facility. Antonov launched the construction of the fuselage of the second of three An-178s. Antonov State Enterprise and earlier the Antonov Design Bureau, is a Ukrainian aircraft manufacturing and services company. On 12 May 2015 it was transferred from the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade to the Ukroboronprom (Ukrainian Defense Industry).