Antonov An-178

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]

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)
Program cost US$ 150-200 million
Unit cost
US$ 40-70 million[2]
Developed from Antonov An-158

The An-178 is proposed to replace outdated aircraft like the Antonov An-12, An-26 and An-32.[5] The aircraft will have avionics suite similar to the An-148, and will use Progress D-436-148FM engines.

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
Antonov An-178 rollout
The Antonov An-178 prototype in flight

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.[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

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
  1. "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.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  2. "В Киеве презентовали новый самолет АН-178" [New An-178 aircraft was demonstrated in Kyiv] (in Ukrainian). companion.ua. Archived from the original on 20 April 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  3. Reed Business Information Limited (2015-05-07). "An-178 transport makes 1h debut flight". flightglobal.com. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  4. "Ukrainian aircraft manufacturer Antonov releases video about its new An-178".
  5. "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.
  6. "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.
  7. ""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.
  8. "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.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  9. "Saudi Arabia has purchased 30 Ukrainian aircraft which are likely to be named after an infamous Nazi collaborator". Sputnik International. 18 December 2015.
  10. 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.
  11. "Take-off Magazine : Antonov kicks off first An-178 assembly". fantasylab.ru.
  12. "Latest Antonov Cargo Jet On Show". Aviation Week. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  13. 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.
  14. "Paris Air Show 2015: An-178 – First Time In France". Retrieved 2017-12-29.
  15. "Photo Gallery: Editors' Briefing: The Fortnight In Aerospace And Defense - Aviation Week". aviationweek.com. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  16. "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.
  17. "Antonovs for Silk Way". Airliner World (July 2015): 8.
  18. "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.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  19. ""World Air Forces 2016 pg. 21". Flightglobal Insight. 2015". 4 January 2016.
  20. "China provides boost to An-178 program with fifty-unit order | Cargo Facts". cargofacts.com. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
  21. "Interior Ministry to acquire 13 An-178 aircraft". www.unian.info. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
  22. "Український Ан-178 переміг в тендері для МВС Перу транспортні літаки C-27J Spartan та CASA C-295". October 31, 2019.

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