Russia, U.S. mull joint production of An-124 transport planes

Thanks to Tango III for pointing out this article: http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showpost.php?p=1581770&postcount=527

Russia, U.S. mull joint production of An-124 transport planes

The United States is considering a Russian proposal on the joint production of An-124 Condor heavy-lift transport aircraft, a Russian deputy prime minister said.

The An-124 was designed by the Antonov Design Bureau in 1982, and was produced in Ukraine’s Kiev and Russia’s Ulyanovsk plants until 1995. Although there are no An-124s being built at present, Russia and Ukraine have reportedly agreed to resume production in the future.

“We have discussed a full-scale project, which includes the joint production of the plane, setting up a joint venture, shared rights, sales to Russian and American customers – both civilian and military – and the creation of a scheme for post-production servicing,” Sergei Ivanov told reporters in Washington.

The An-124 is similar to the American Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, but has a 25% larger payload.

The aircraft has a maximum payload of 150 metric tons with a flight range of around 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles).
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I would like to see the U.S. seriously look into this venture. And it would be a good idea to look into a limited number of An-225’s. American engineering could turn these cold war relics into some serious C-5 replacements.