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The An-178 is proposed to replace outdated aircraft like the Antonov An-12, An-26 and An-32.[5] The aircraft will have an avionics suite similar to the An-148, and will use Progress D-436-148FM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

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.[8]

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.[9] 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.[9] 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.[10] The aircraft made its Western debut at the 2015 Paris Air Show.[11][12]

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.[9]

Operators

Orders and letters of intent

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)
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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. 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.
  9. "Take-off Magazine : Antonov kicks off first An-178 assembly". fantasylab.ru.
  10. "Latest Antonov Cargo Jet On Show". Aviation Week. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  11. 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.
  12. "Paris Air Show 2015: An-178 – First Time In France". Retrieved 2017-12-29.
  13. "Photo Gallery: Editors' Briefing: The Fortnight In Aerospace And Defense - Aviation Week". aviationweek.com. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  14. "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.
  15. "Antonovs for Silk Way". Airliner World (July 2015): 8.
  16. "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)
  17. "Antonov Company Continues AN-178 Production for Peru". defense-aerospace.com. 15 April 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  18. ""World Air Forces 2016 pg. 21". Flightglobal Insight. 2015". 4 January 2016.
  19. "China provides boost to An-178 program with fifty-unit order | Cargo Facts". cargofacts.com. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
  20. "Interior Ministry to acquire 13 An-178 aircraft". www.unian.info. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
  21. "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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