[ hot topic ] ntonov An-70 is a tactical-andtheater-level short take-off and landing (STOL) military transport aircraft which is doubly unique. On the one hand, the An-70 could be regarded a long laster among the most promising high-tech developments in the aircraft sector. Began to be developed by Antonov Design Bureau twenty-five years ago, the An-70 was to replace the obsolete An-12 turboprop. Yet the airplane has not been put into assembly-line production to date but, instead, is still being prepared for service use approval by the militaries of Ukraine and Russia.
14 / Ukrainian DEFENSE REVIEW / April-June 2013
An-70 has unique performance capabilities that still remain unattainable to any other military transport aircraft in the mediumpay-load category. The An-70 can provide air transportation for almost any of weapons and equipment types used by a motorized infantry brigade.
On the other hand, the An-70 has unique performance capabilities that still remain unattainable to any other military transport aircraft in the medium-payload category. This latter – and main – unique feature of the An70 is what gives hope for the future of this aircraft, both in market and military terms. Developed by the Antonov Design Bureau headquartered in Kiev, the An-70 was originally engineered with an eye to meeting the number-one requirement – that is to take off from and land on unpaved unequipped airstrips as short as 600 meters. Even after taking off from an airstrip that short, the An-70 can carry a 20 ton payload to 3,000 kilometers -– a task of which none of the currently existing aircraft is capable. If operated from a concrete airstrip 1,800 meters long, the airlifter is able to deliver a payload of 35 tons to as far as 5,100 km. In exceptional instances, when permissible g load level is 2g (2.5 g standard or 3 g for takeoffs from unpaved runways), the airplane can carry a 47-ton T-80U MBT to 3,000 kilometers. The high capabiliti es are, to a great degree, ensured due to the use of a unique Uk