Russia and Ukraine to resume production of Antonov airplanes

The Ukrainian aircraft company Antonov and the Volga-Dnepr group have signed an agreement on resuming the production of An-124-100 Ruslan civil airplanes in Russia and Ukraine. The agreement has been signed at the international air show MAKS-2003. In addition, it is planned to upgrade the aircraft so that to meet noise requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

The aircraft An-124-100 Ruslan, the world's largest transport aircraft, was created in the late 1970s. The production of the aircraft involved over 500 enterprises throughout the former Soviet Union.

Sources in Antonov noted that to date the Defense Ministry of the Czech Republic was also interested in these aircraft, and an agreement on supplying the first three Ruslan airplanes had already been made.