Photo from UNIAN
The An-70 military transport aircraft transferred by state-run Antonov enterprise, Ukraine's only aircraft manufacturer, to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry in January 2015, has successfully completed its test flight to deliver military freight to Africa, the company said in a press service.
Its total travel time exceeded 20 hours and the distance of the trip was 13,600 km, the press service said.
"The plane first flew from Kyiv-Antonov airport to Bangui in the Central African Republic. This flight lasted 9 hours 2 minutes. In Bangui, the An-70 took 23.6 tonnes of cargo on board. Then it had a scheduled stopover in N'Djamena, the Republic of Chad ... After a further six-hour flight, the An-70 arrived in Istres, France, which was the destination of the cargo. Then the plane headed to Leipzig, Germany, and afterwards it returned to Kyiv-Antonov airport," the company said.
The company noted that the aircraft had demonstrated its best flying and landing characteristics. What is more, its onboard handling equipment was tested in service.
As UNIAN reported earlier, in April 2014, Antonov completed state tests of the An-70 needed for the launch of large-scale production of this aircraft. On January 22, 2015, Antonov transferred the first aircraft to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry.
UNIAN memo. The An-70 aircraft is a mid-range cargo (operational and tactical, military transport) aircraft designed for transportation of commercial and humanitarian cargo and military personnel. It is a direct competitor of Airbus' A-400M military transport plane.
Antonov enterprise belongs to state-owned Ukroboronprom defense concern and is Ukraine's only manufacturer of transport, passenger and special-purpose aircraft. Some of the well-known designs include An-32, An-148, An-158, An-74, An-124, An-70, and An-225.