KYIV. Oct 6 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Military transport short take-off and landing plane An-70, which has been a part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces since January 2015, has passed a direct test in Africa and transported military cargo, the press service of Antonov state enterprise (Kyiv) has reported.
“Board loading and unloading equipment of the An-70 was directly tested. All tasks were fulfilled to a high professional standard,” reads the report.
The press service said that the An-70 flew from Kyiv to Bangui (the Central African Republic) where it took on military cargo of 23.6 tonnes, which was delivered in six hours to Istres (France). The An-70 then flew to Leipzig (Germany) and returned to Kyiv. The An-70 spent more than 20 hours in the sky and flew 13,600 kilometers proving high flight, take-off and landing performance and low fuel consumption, reads the report.
An An-70 modified under NATO requirements, the AN7X is considered as a new basic European medium-haul transport aircraft. The An-70 exceeds its existing analogues; including the A400M (the purchase and operation costs of the An-70 are twice lower). The maximum weight capacity of the An-70 is 47 tonnes.
