Moscow does not plan to allow the supply of components and assemblies in the interests of the Ukrainian concern Antonov until the Ukrainian side makes serious concessions related to the An-124-100 Ruslan program.
Kommersant writes about this in an article devoted to Ukraine’s intention, as reported by the Ukrainian media, to create a joint venture in Belarus on the basis of the Minsk Civil Aviation Plant so that the Antonov State Enterprise could gain access to Russian components, bypassing Ukrainian sanctions and establish serial production An-148/158/178 aircraft.
At the same time, the United Aircraft Company and the office of Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin refrained from commenting, and Antonov officially confirmed the fact of negotiations, but refused to disclose details, the newspaper notes.
Kommersant’s source in the Russian aviation industry does not rule out that the idea of creating an enterprise in Belarus could have belonged to the Verkhovna Rada deputy and owner of the Motor Sich company Vyacheslav Boguslaev.
“He is doing everything to load the capacity of his company, especially since the An-148 production in Voronezh is being closed, leaving three aircraft for the Russian armed forces. There are no plans for more deliveries of Ukrainian engines under this program,” said the publication’s source in the aviation industry.
But the Russian leadership is not ready to give the green light to the supply of components and assemblies in the interests of Antonov until the Ukrainian side makes serious concessions related to the An-124-100 Ruslan program (25 aircraft from the Russian Ministry of Defense, 12 from at Volga-Dnepr Airlines), the publication notes.
According to industry sources, there are two options: either negotiate the supply of new engines for the Ruslans from Ukraine, or send the D-18T engine (pictured) for modernization and repair to Zaporozhye. The second option is extremely risky, says one of the publication’s interlocutors, since in conditions of confrontation (sanctions of the National Security and Defense Council, termination of the economic cooperation agreement, etc.), sending an engine to Ukraine does not mean guarantees of its return.