Antonov An-70

Antonov An-70
Antonov An-70
Type:	Military transporter
Design country:	Ukraine
Manufacturer:	OK Antonov
First flight:	December 16, 1994
Commissioning:	In flight testing
Production time:	so far no series production
Number of pieces:	2

The An-70 is a medium and long-haul transport aircraft developed by Antonov . It was originally intended to replace the Soviet Union's An-12 and, after its dissolution, was jointly developed by Russia and Ukraine . The first flight was in 1994, but so far there has been no series production. The An-70 is powered by four Ivchenko Progress D-27 turboprop engines . After the Antonov An-22, it is the second Antonov aircraft type with counter-rotating propellers .

history

Project work for a successor to the An-12 began in the mid-1970s. After the rollout on January 20, 1994, the first flight of the prototype took place on December 16, 1994. During the fourth test flight on February 10, 1995 after a collision with the An-72 escort aircraft over Borodjanka near Kiev, this machine crashed into a forest and exploded. The seven-man crew under Sergei Maksimov did not survive the crash. The second prototype first flew on April 24, 1997. An engine failure on January 27, 2001 led to a crash landing in which the machine was severely damaged. The machine has been repaired and is again conducting test flights.

Antonov An-70 at the MAKS 2013

At the end of 1997 the German Armed Forces considered the Antonov An-70 as the successor to the Transall and an alternative to the Airbus A400M when selecting a larger European transport aircraft (Future Large Aircraft) . In the summer of 1998 a study commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Defense was carried out in Hallbergmoos near Munich together with Antonow, Russian and Ukrainian suppliers, DASA-Military Aircraft and DASA Deutsche Airbus. The investigation should clarify to what extent the An-70 corresponds to the requirements of the European air forces (European Staff Requirements) and how large the scope of any modifications that might be required would be.

The result showed that the An-70 met or exceeded the requirements of the ESR in terms of payload, speed, range as well as landing and take-off properties. The cockpit design at that time (five-man cockpit) and the engine control, however, did not meet the requirements and should have been completely redeveloped ("westernizing"). In addition, the materials, standards and other approval criteria did not meet western requirements and in some cases would have required extensive new developments.

But this was not the main reason not to consider the An-70 as a new European transport aircraft. The decisive factors were the risks of long-term industrial cooperation (30 years and more) and doubts about maintaining the necessary technical support for decades. Neither the DASA nor the contracting authority wanted to take on the risks. There was also a desire to achieve European independence when purchasing new defense technology. So, following the decision of other European governments, Airbus was ultimately commissioned to design the A400M.

At the MAKS 2009 aerospace trade fair , Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement to restart the project. In the meantime, the An-70 has been given new opportunities in a modernized form given the delays in the Airbus A400M project, but these have now become obsolete.

To start production, the An-70 was fundamentally revised, especially the engines, the lift aids and the cockpit equipment received an upgrade. The revised second prototype successfully completed the flight tests at the end of September 2012. Initially, three machines were to be built for the Ukrainian Air Force. The first hull of the new series was completed in December 2012 and presented to the Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov . According to Antonov, an agreement was signed with Volga-Dnepr Airlines in 2012 to promote the sale of the advanced An-70T. Accordingly, Volga-Dnepr should be the launch customer for the An-70T.

After Russia announced in 2013 that it would instead develop the Il-476 further, cooperation during the war in Ukraine was ended in 2014 . Yuri Tereschchenko, the new chairman of the Ukrainian umbrella organization of the Ukrainian arms industry, Ukroboronprom, is said to have declared in a press interview that no more military equipment would be delivered to Russia in the future. The Russian Prime Minister Medvedev announced in 2012 that the Russian company UAC would build the An-70 and set up a new plant for the Kazan Aircraft Production Association . However, Russia is planning an alternative to the An-70 with the Tupolev Tu-330 . On March 2, 2015, the An-70 was removed from Russia's official armaments list. Ukraine faced the problem of wanting to replace Russian components with Western components; French engines were also up for discussion.

At the 2015 Paris Air Show , Antonov President and chief designer Dmitry Kiwa announced that he wanted to develop the An-188 from the An-70. The propeller turbines on this aircraft are to be replaced by turbofans. In addition, a mixture of Ukrainian and Western components should be used. At the maximum take-off weight, 140 tons with a payload of 40 tons are targeted. This would make the aircraft comparable to the Airbus A400M.

In 2017 a project called An-77 was presented. In return, the An-70 is to receive four turbofans, four CFM56 -5A16 for the US market and four D-30KP for the Chinese market . In the version planned for China, the hull is to be extended by two meters.

Other versions

• An-70PS - SAR version
• An-70T - civil cargo plane.
• An-112KS - Tanker version rejected by the US Air Force based on the An-70, with two jet engines.

technology

Loading space of the UR-NTK

The An-70 is a military transport aircraft with four propeller turbine engines that requires a short take-off and landing distance. The loading space (cross-section 4.00 m × 4.10 m) can accommodate up to 47 t payload. Goods weighing up to 20 t can be deposited from high and low heights. With a payload of 20 to 35 tons, the An-70 has a range of 5000 to 6600 kilometers. It flies at a cruising speed of 750 km / h.

A feature of the An-70 are the two counter-rotating propellers powered by the Progress D-27 engine. The front propeller has eight blades, the rear six blades. The counter-rotation eliminates the propeller twist and improves the propulsion efficiency, which allows a higher cruising speed with reduced fuel consumption (about 25% compared to turbo engines). In addition, the noise emission is reduced. In addition, the reduced engine torque statically simplifies the suspension of the engine on the wings. The disadvantages of this drive concept - a higher gear weight and higher maintenance costs for the gear - are outweighed by the advantages.

In order to achieve the lowest possible minimum speed in addition to a high cruising speed for the operation of short take-off and landing routes ( STOL ) , extensive wind tunnel studies were carried out. In more than 1400 hours of wind tunnel , 22 aircraft models with ten different wings and four different flap configurations were examined. Most of the wind tunnel tests were carried out with an engine simulation. The results were wings with a moderate supercritical profile, together with a multiple subdivided landing flap system ( Fowler flaps ) with a double slat, which allows a flap deflection of 65 ° or 85 ° in the outer flap area. This unusually high flap deflection was made possible by the Coandă effect , which is generated by the strong and even propeller air flow. In addition, the wings and the horizontal stabilizer have slats . The result was wings with a maximum lift coefficient of up to 7.2. This allows, for example, a final approach speed of 176 km / h.

Antonov An-70 on approach for landing

The fuselage and the wings of the An-70 are made of conventional lightweight construction. The cell is designed for 45,000 flight hours and 15,000 landings. The elevator and rudder units consist of a torsion box made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic . The rudder is divided into three parts, the elevator is divided into two parts. This increases the survivability of the aircraft when it is hit by light hand weapons.

The An-70 can operate from unpaved runways. A 700 m take-off distance is sufficient to be able to take off with 20 to 30 t payload. The flight, navigation and system information is processed digitally and displayed on screens in the cockpit. An on-board monitoring and diagnosis system facilitates maintenance and repair of the aircraft. With the automated, autonomous load management system of the aircraft, different goods can be taken on board and deposited again from the air or on the ground. Four electric trolleys on two running rails, which are attached to the upper shell of the aircraft, can lift loads of up to 12 t into the hold and move them in the hold. The loading area is also equipped with two electric winches with a pulling force of 1.5 t.

Technical specifications

Parameter	Data
crew	3 +2 load masters
length	40.73 m
span	44.06 m
height	16.38 m
Wing area	200 m²
Cargo space dimensions	Length: 19.10 m Width: 4.00 m Height: 4.10 m
Empty mass	73,000 kg
normal takeoff mass	112,000 kg
Max. Takeoff mass	135,000 kg
Max. Payload	47,000 kg
Top speed	785 km / h
Cruising speed	750 km / h at an altitude of 9,600 m
Landing speed	176 km / h
Service ceiling	12,000 m
Range	without payload: 7800 km with 35,000 kg payload: 3,500 km with maximum payload: 1,350 km
Takeoff route	700 m with 20,000–30,000 kg payload 1,800 m with maximum payload
Landing route	1,900 m
Engines	four Ivchenko Progress D-27 propeller turbines with 10,440 kW each

See also

• List of military transport aircraft

literature

• Rudolf Höfling: Antonov. Aircraft since 1946 . Motorbuch, Stuttgart 2013, ISBN 978-3-613-03518-8 , p. 110-112 .

Web links

Commons : Antonov An-70  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• An-70's uncertain future (English, 2003) ( Memento from September 25, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
• Manufacturer site (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Ulrich Unger: A heavy blow for the “Soviet FLA” - the crash of the prototype endangers the An-70 transporter program. In: Flieger Revue 3/1995, pp. 40–43.
2. ↑ Number three propeller-hub failure led to Siberian An-70 crash. In: FlightGlobal. April 17, 2001, Retrieved August 25, 2019 . 
3. ↑ An-70's uncertain future (English, 2003) ( Memento from September 25, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
4. ↑ After A400M disaster: Will the An-70 project be revived? , (German, 2010)
5. ↑ Upgraded AN − 70 passes flight tests successfully, information on antonov.com, accessed on June 29, 2012 ( Memento of November 14, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
6. ↑ flightglobal.com: antonov seeks customers for new look an-70, accessed on November 11, 2013
7. ↑ ukraine completes fuselage, accessed on November 11, 2013 ( Memento from February 5, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
8. ↑ An-70 on Antonov's website ( Memento from March 30, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
9. ↑ defenseindustrydaily.com: message from April 3, 2014
10. ↑ www.aero.de: UAC takes over production of 70 Antonow An-70, accessed on June 29, 2014
11. ↑ The Russian Defense Ministry has removed the development of the Russian-Ukrainian military transport aircraft AN-70 from the state weapons program , correspondent March 2, 2015
12. ↑ Iran as a customer for the An-70 , correspondent March 6, 2015
13. ↑ An-188 instead of An-70
14. ^ Paris Air Show 2015: Antonov reveals An-188 strategic transport aircraft
15. ↑ Flug Revue: Antonov wants to convert AN-70 with US engines , from July 5, 2017, accessed on August 11, 2019
16. ↑ www.globalsecurity.org: An-77 / An-170, accessed on August 11, 2019
17. ↑ ICAS 2002 CONGRESS, AN-70 STOL AIRCRAFT CHARACTERISTICS AT HIGH ANGLES
18. ↑ http://www.compositesworld.com/articles/ukrainian-aerospace-developer-employs-clean-sheet-design
19. ^ Antonov-70. Retrieved August 25, 2019 . 
20. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento from September 7, 2011 in the Internet Archive )