Antonov An-178
An-178 | |
---|---|
Role | Military transport aircraft |
National origin | Ukraine |
Manufacturer | Antonov Serial Production Plant[1] |
Design group | Antonov |
First flight | 7 May 2015 |
Status | In production |
Number built | 1 (2015) |
Developed from | Antonov An-158 |
The Antonov An-178 (Ukrainian: Антонов Ан-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 first flight was on 7 May 2015.[2][3][4]
The An-178 is proposed to replace outdated aircraft like the Antonov An-12, An-26 and An-32.[5] The aircraft will have avionics suite similar to the An-148, and will use Progress D-436-148FM engines.[citation needed]
The An-178 is a potential competitor for the Alenia C-27J Spartan from Italy, EADS CASA C-295 from Spain, Lockheed Martin C-130J from the United States, Embraer KC-390 from Brazil and the Ilyushin Il-276 from Russia.[6] The company plans to build more than 200 of the aircraft.[7]
On 18 December 2015, Antonov and Тaqnia Aeronautics signed a Memorandum to deliver 30 An-178s to the Royal Saudi Air Force. Taqnia's President, Ali Mohammed Al−Ghamdi, noted that the An-178 had been selected because "its price and low operational costs are important advantages in comparison with other airplanes of this class".[8][9]
Design and development
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.[citation needed] It can shift 18 tonnes over 1,000 km, or 10 tonnes over 4,000 km.[10]
The aircraft was derived from the 99-seat An-158 regional airliner and was fitted with the commonized F1 fuselage nose section with the identical flight deck, wing panels, empennage and most of the onboard systems.[11] The fuselage however was newly created with an enlarged diameter that had grown from 3.35 m to 3.9 m, which has resulted in an enlarged cargo hold - the cargo cabin cross section increased to 2.75 m by 2.75 m.[11] Aside from the wing structure, outer panels (including winglets), front fuselage nose, cockpit and nose landing gear which come from the An-158, there is an extra pair of tandem main-wheels on each side.[12] The aircraft made its Western debut at the 2015 Paris Air Show.[13][14]
There are reports that future production-standard aircraft will have a longer wingspan while retaining the organic wing panels of the An-158. Its maximal takeoff weight would increase to an estimated 56 tons. Later production variants would need turbofan engines with a thrust of about 9,500 kgf to have the characteristics required. The planned engine may be the new-generation in-development Ivchenko-Progress AI-28 turbofan. The decision was made to fit the An-178 prototype with less powerful D-436-148FM engines in the interim. The D-436-148FM is a derivative of the production-standard D-436-148 with an upgraded fan, which boosted the takeoff thrust to 7,800 kgf and at emergency power rating to 8,580 kgf.[11]
Operators
Orders
- Maximus Air - Letter of intent[15]
- Silk Way Airlines - launch customer, firm order for 10 aircraft placed in May 2015[16][17]
- Royal Saudi Air Force - Letter of intent for 30 aircraft[18]
- Iraqi Army - 2 on order[19]
- A-Star - China Beijing technology company placed order for 50 aircraft and proposed to established joint production in PRC[20]
- Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine - ordered 13 aircraft[21]
- Ministry of the Interior of Peru - ordered 1 aircraft[22]
Specifications
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Capacity: 70 Paratroopers
- Length: 32.95 m (108 ft 1 in)
- Wingspan: 28.84 m (94 ft 7 in)
- Height: 10.14 m (33 ft 3 in)
- Max takeoff weight: 52,400 kg (115,522 lb)
- Powerplant: 2 × Progress D-436-148FM Turbofan
- Maximum speed: 990 km/h (620 mph, 530 kn)
- Cruise speed: 825 km/h (513 mph, 445 kn)
- Range: 4,700 km (2,900 mi, 2,500 nmi)
- Ferry range: 5,300 km (3,300 mi, 2,900 nmi)
- Service ceiling: 13,000 m (43,000 ft)
See also
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
References
- ^ "Завершено стапельне складання фюзеляжу першого екземпляру нового транспортного літака Ан−178 (Ukraine)" [Fuselage jig assembly of the first AN−178 transport is completed]. Antonov. 29 July 2014. Archived from the original on 24 March 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Cite error: The named reference
companion
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Reed Business Information Limited (2015-05-07). "An-178 transport makes 1h debut flight". flightglobal.com. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
{{cite web}}
:|author=
has generic name (help) - ^ "Ukrainian aircraft manufacturer Antonov releases video about its new An-178".
- ^ "Украина готовит новый транспортный самолет Ан-178 (фото)" [Ukraine is preparing a new transport aircraft An-178 (photo)] (in Ukrainian). news.bigmir.net. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
- ^ "ГП "Антонов" готово начать наземные испытания Ан-178" [SE "Antonov" is ready to begin ground testing AN-178] (in Russian). vpk.name. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
- ^ ""Антонов" планує збудувати більше 200 літаків АН-178" ["Antonov" plans to build more than 200 AN-178] (in Ukrainian). Televiziyna Sluzhba Novyn. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
- ^ "Antonov and Тaqnia Aeronautics signed a Memorandum on delivery of 30 AN−178s to Royal Saudi Air Force". Antonov. 18 December 2015. Archived from the original on 24 March 2018.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Saudi Arabia has purchased 30 Ukrainian aircraft which are likely to be named after an infamous Nazi collaborator". Sputnik International. 18 December 2015.
- ^ Dalløkken, Per Erlien (17 April 2015). "De lagde verdens største transportfly. Midt i konflikten med Russland er en ny prototyp klar" [New prototype ready]. Teknisk Ukeblad. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
- ^ a b c "Take-off Magazine : Antonov kicks off first An-178 assembly". fantasylab.ru.
- ^ "Latest Antonov Cargo Jet On Show". Aviation Week. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- ^ User, Super. "New Antonov An-178 plane debuts in Paris". bunews.com.ua. Archived from the original on 2017-12-29. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
{{cite web}}
:|last=
has generic name (help) - ^ "Paris Air Show 2015: An-178 – First Time In France". Retrieved 2017-12-29.
- ^ "Photo Gallery: Editors' Briefing: The Fortnight In Aerospace And Defense - Aviation Week". aviationweek.com. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
- ^ "Silk Way Airlines signs a firm order for ten Antonov An-178 freighters after the successful first flight". World Airline News. 2015-05-15. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
- ^ "Antonovs for Silk Way". Airliner World (July 2015): 8.
- ^ "Antonov and Taqnia Aeronatiques signed a Memorandum on delivery of 30 AN−178s to Royal Saudi Air Force". antonov.com. Archived from the original on 24 March 2018. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ ""World Air Forces 2016 pg. 21". Flightglobal Insight. 2015". 4 January 2016.
- ^ "China provides boost to An-178 program with fifty-unit order | Cargo Facts". cargofacts.com. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
- ^ "Interior Ministry to acquire 13 An-178 aircraft". www.unian.info. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
- ^ "Український Ан-178 переміг в тендері для МВС Перу транспортні літаки C-27J Spartan та CASA C-295". October 31, 2019.
External links
Media related to Antonov An-178 at Wikimedia Commons