Russia, Ukraine to build AN-70 military planes

Representatives of the Kiev aircraft factory Aviant and the Omsk manufacturing union Polet signed a two-year agreement to produce a series of AN-70 military transport planes. Aviant informed a Rosbalt correspondent that the planes will be assembled in Ukraine from Polet parts.

Preliminary data shows that the overall number of planes needed between the two countries totals over 200. However, while Ukraine's Defense Ministry has only ordered 5 planes thus far, India, the United Arab Emirates, China, and a few other Asiatic countries have already shown interest in the planes. 'We have found a common denominator and defined a valuable policy with the Russian party. We look optimistically to the future,' noted Aviant general director, Oleg Shevchenko.