Antonov announces development of An-188 strategic transport aircraft

ngatimozart

Super Moderator
Staff member
Verified Defense Pro
At the Paris Air Show, Antonov announced plans to develop a new An-70 variant powered by four turbofan engines.

Additionally, the aircraft will feature an enlarged wing, and western avionics & equipment.

The An-188 obviously targets the same strategic transport aircraft market as the Airbus A400M, the Kawasaki C-2 and the developmentally challenged An-70

Paris Air Show 2015: Antonov reveals An-188 strategic transport aircraft - IHS Jane's 360
Yes saw that. Would be interesting if it comes out with western engines and avionics. That would make it far more attractive in the west. Actually I think if they took it closer to C17 size say a 60 tonne payload with a fairly cavernous fuselage and western engines and avionics then they could have a good seller on their hands. RR engines Airbus type fly by wire controls could be a winner.
 

ngatimozart

Super Moderator
Staff member
Verified Defense Pro
Yeah, but where would they get the money to develop that?
Maybe the Saudis. A Saudi company is in the process of beginning to manufacture a variant of the AN 32 with PWC engines, western glass flight deck and avionics. This will be known as the AN 132. It's being built in the Saudi Kingdom.
 

Feanor

Super Moderator
Staff member
Maybe the Saudis. A Saudi company is in the process of beginning to manufacture a variant of the AN 32 with PWC engines, western glass flight deck and avionics. This will be known as the AN 132. It's being built in the Saudi Kingdom.
Is this a real project? Or just some political posturing? I saw the news myself, but Antonov has made many announcements that often amount to less then nothing.

Yeah, but where would they get the money to develop that?
And who would be buying it? So far Antonov has spent the past two decades reworking Soviet projects over and over again, with almost no market success. Their biggest market for aircraft has always been the Russian government. It's the biggest buyer of the An-148, and the An-140 (both produced locally), and was the planned customer for the An-70 (again with local production). And while the An-70 was actually wanted by the military, or rather the VDV specifically, the other two were being bought as part of government aid programs for the factories in question.

They re-designed one Soviet transport into a commercial aircraft (An-74 to An-148) and the results have been pathetic. Now they're proposing the same with another?

It's really sad to see them go down this path. Maybe they could learn from Sukhoi's experience, who managed to make inroads on the commercial market after hiring and working closely with Boeing consultants.
 

FormerDirtDart

Well-Known Member
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #6
On nothing more than pure conjecture, I would think a possible candidate for providing capital the develop the An-188 might be Beijing A-Star Airspace and Technology Corporation. They're already working with Antonov to build the An-178. Seem's that if developed the An-188 could be a formidable competitor for the under development Shenyang Y-30
 

John Fedup

The Bunker Group
On nothing more than pure conjecture, I would think a possible candidate for providing capital the develop the An-188 might be Beijing A-Star Airspace and Technology Corporation. They're already working with Antonov to build the An-178. Seem's that if developed the An-188 could be a formidable competitor for the under development Shenyang Y-30
The field seems to be getting a lot of overlap. An-188, Y-20, Y-30, A400M and C-130J. If the Y-20 gets some decent engines, it could be an interesting choice for some air forces that want an almost C-17 clone.
 

Feanor

Super Moderator
Staff member
On nothing more than pure conjecture, I would think a possible candidate for providing capital the develop the An-188 might be Beijing A-Star Airspace and Technology Corporation. They're already working with Antonov to build the An-178. Seem's that if developed the An-188 could be a formidable competitor for the under development Shenyang Y-30
I doubt it. China already got a lot of Antonov's tech on the Y-20 project. I doubt they need another Antonov bird that fills the same role, but isn't locally designed or optimized to Chinese requirements. It would have been an interesting project for them maybe 5-10 years ago. But they went for the Il-76 then. And when the Uzbek factory failed to produce, they cancelled the deal, and instead bought used Il-76s.

I'm not sure that they're in on the An-178 either. Earlier there were Ukrainian articles claiming that the An-178-111 variant was going to be built in Germany. A lot of it seems to be smoke and mirrors. Until we see a solid contract, I'd consider it all very questionable.
 

John Fedup

The Bunker Group
I doubt it. China already got a lot of Antonov's tech on the Y-20 project. I doubt they need another Antonov bird that fills the same role, but isn't locally designed or optimized to Chinese requirements. It would have been an interesting project for them maybe 5-10 years ago. But they went for the Il-76 then. And when the Uzbek factory failed to produce, they cancelled the deal, and instead bought used Il-76s.

I'm not sure that they're in on the An-178 either. Earlier there were Ukrainian articles claiming that the An-178-111 variant was going to be built in Germany. A lot of it seems to be smoke and mirrors. Until we see a solid contract, I'd consider it all very questionable.
What are your thoughts as to engines for the Y-20 or the An-188?
 

Feanor

Super Moderator
Staff member
What are your thoughts as to engines for the Y-20 or the An-188?
It remains to be seen. The An-178 currently flying with older, more reliable, but under-powered D-436 engines. The intended new engine for it is still under development. And the An-188 is supposed to carry 4 of these. Maybe they could use western ones, but that would require more work, and be more expensive.

As for the Y-20, do you think China would opt for Ukrainian engines on the Y-20? Currently they're using D-30s from Russia. They're also pouring money into their own WS-20 for it. If the WS-20 program falls behind, they could have the early serial batches use the D-30 as well, while integrating a domestic engine on later variants. They've already gone that route with their J-10s, and domestic Flankers.

I doubt they would sink money into a Ukrainian engine, given the volatile situation, and their relationship with Russia. There's also the hiccup they've had with their Zubr class hover crafts.
 

KiwiRob

Well-Known Member
I doubt they would sink money into a Ukrainian engine, given the volatile situation, and their relationship with Russia. There's also the hiccup they've had with their Zubr class hover crafts.
Are the Chinese Zubr coming from Almaz or Morye?
 

Blackshoe

Defense Professional
Verified Defense Pro
In (not-really)-related news, I saw one of the An-124s flying in near where I live a couple months ago (Boeing has their 787 factory nearby). I was quite proud of myself for being able to recognize it as an Antonov.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.
 

John Fedup

The Bunker Group
One has to wonder that a solid revamp of the An-124 with Western avionics and engines would be looked upon by the marketplace. Can't see a completely a new Western design anytime soon. As long as the C-17 fleet and C-5M can endure for the next 20 years, I guess it doesn't matter.
.
 

Feanor

Super Moderator
Staff member
One has to wonder that a solid revamp of the An-124 with Western avionics and engines would be looked upon by the marketplace. Can't see a completely a new Western design anytime soon. As long as the C-17 fleet and C-5M can endure for the next 20 years, I guess it doesn't matter.
.
It all comes down to a finance question. There was a plan for resuming an upgraded An-124 variant in production, with Volga-Dnepr pushing for it, stating they wanted to buy a starting batch of 20. They tried to get the Russian MoD to pick up another 20 or 40, to start production. But the Russian MoD never picked up the order, instead choosing a less ambitious incremental upgrade for their existing An-124 fleet. It's possible that Russia will go ahead with the project on their own.

But as you see, once again, it's all tied into Russia. Not to mention the production facility planned for the new An-124 was the Ulyanovsk plant. The same one that is currently producing the Il-476.
 
Top