Turkey showed interest in the Ukrainian An-178 aircraft, this issue was discussed at a meeting of Interior Minister of Ukraine Arsen Avakov and Interior Minister of Turkey Süleyman Soylu.
“Our An-178 aircraft is presented at the modern technology exhibition in Istanbul, which we are honored to attend. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine plans to purchase 13 such aircraft for the State Emergencies Service to eliminate fires and for the National Guard. I hope the Turkish side will pay attention to our An-178,” the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs quoted Avakov as saying.
In turn, the Turkish interior minister praised the An-178 and expressed interest in this aircraft.
“The An-178 is a very good aircraft. In addition, our Mi-17 helicopters are being modernized in Ukraine, six of which we have already received. For us, this is an example of very successful cooperation with you,” Soylu said.
Avakov invited him to visit Ukraine. “I really hope that you will visit Ukraine at the end of the month. We will have large-scale exercises that you should see. In addition, I will show you new modernized models of the Mi-8 helicopter. And Airbus will present the helicopters that they supply for the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine,” he said.
In response, Soylu suggested that he would most likely come to Ukraine.
The multi-purpose transport aircraft An-178 was developed at the Antonov state-owned enterprise, which is part of state-run Ukroboronprom. About 200 companies from 15 countries are involved in production cooperation under the An-178 program.
The flight altitude of the An-178 is 12 km, the range is 5,500 km, and the maximum speed is 825 km/h. The aircraft has a modified fuselage shape, a ramp for loading and unloading oversized cargo and is capable of transporting up to 18 tonnes of cargo, including heavy sea containers. It can land and take off from any airdromes, including unpaved ones.
The An-178 made its first flight on May 7, 2015. In July 2018, Ukroboronprom presented the An-178 at the Farnborough Airshow international aerospace show, where the aircraft performed a demonstration flight.
Ukraine International Airline (UIA) jointly with ATASS-Boryspil bus operator (earlier it carried passengers from the Boryspil international airport to the central railway station of Kyiv) launched intermodal transportation between Vinnytsia and Boryspil International Airport, the press service of the UIA has reported.
The UIA combined services connecting Vinnytsia and Kyiv are operated daily on Neoplan buses. Buses depart from Terminal D, Boryspil International Airport, at 20:25, and Terminal Square, Vinnytsia airport, at 03:00.
“UIA baggage and hand baggage allowance applies to this type of travelling. Meanwhile, passengers are not required to check-in their luggage for the bus service. Animals, bulky sporting equipment, non-folding wheelchairs, and weapons are not permitted for transportation by bus,” the press service said.
The press service said that this is the first time UIA launches an intermodal service. The intermodal service is successfully provided by some European airlines.
The Ukrainian airline SkyUp has expanded its fleet with the eighth aircraft – Boeing 737-800, the airline reported on its Facebook page.
According to the report, the new Boeing 737-800 with a UR-SQG tail number landed at Boryspil airport (Kyiv) on June 7.
The airplane will be a reserve aircraft of the main fleet, sometimes it will perform one-time charter flights on the order of corporate clients.
The airline’s fleet also consists of five medium-haul Boeing 737-800s (189 seats) and two medium-haul Boeing 737-700s (144,149 seats).
SkyUp Airline LLC was registered in Kyiv in June 2016.
SkyUp airline plans to expand its own fleet by two new medium-haul Boeing 737-700s by the end of 2018, as well as to get one wide-body Airbus A330 into wet leasing. “In the near future, we expect to get the second airplane [Airbus A330], just like our first one, into wet leasing. Sky Up will not operate in a “dry” form wide-body aircraft in the next two or three years. This is outside the company’s strategy,” Commercial Director of Join UP! tour operator Oleksandr Alba said at a press conference in Kyiv.
According to him, this year the company will replenish its own fleet of aircraft with two Boeing 737-700s, one of them will be received in the near future, the second one by the end of 2018.
He said now Sky Up planes perform flights to Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia, Albania, Georgia, and Montenegro.
“In the near future we will open sales on domestic flights, as well as on regular foreign flights,” he said, adding that the launch of regular flights is expected by the end of this summer.
Ukraine and Malaysia are working out plans to expand bilateral military and technical cooperation, and the Malaysian side shows its interest in procurement and joint production of a wide range of Ukrainian weapons, the press service of the Ukroboronprom State Concern reported on Tuesday.
According to the report, military and technical cooperation between Ukraine and Malaysia became the subject of negotiations between Ukroboronprom Head Pavlo Bukin and Malaysia’s top military leadership, which were held as part of the 16th Defense Services Asia 2018 (DSA) exhibition, which is taking place in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) on April 16-19.
According to the report, Bukin, in particular, held a meeting with Chief of Army General Tan Sri Dato Zulkiple Bin Hj Kassim during which they discussed the possibility of supplying the Malaysian side with Ukrainian-made 4×4 combat vehicles. During the talks, the chief of the Malaysian army expressed his country’s interest in acquiring Ukrainian ATGMs from Luch Design Bureau. At the same time, the sides stressed the need to intensify the work of the bilateral commission on military and technical cooperation, the report says.
Bukin also held talks with Chief of Navy Admiral Tan Sri Ahmad Kamarulzaman Hj Ahmad Badaruddin, during which they discussed the possibility of supplying to Malaysia the floating docks manufactured by Pallada Kherson State Plant, part of Ukroboronprom, as well as the possibility of establishing cooperation for their production with a Thai manufacturer.
In addition, as part of the exhibition, Bukin met with Commander of the Royal Malaysian Air Force General Dato Seri Affendi Buang.
“The sides discussed a range of issues on cooperation in the field of aircraft building. In particular, they talked about the possibility of supplying to Malaysia the Antonov airplanes with the possibility of localization of production facilities. A separate topic of the talks was also the possibility of supplying Ukrainian vertical take-off and landing UAVs to the Malaysian side,” the report says.
