September 23, 2003 at 9:47 am
Havin looked at Flanker Man’s photos of the two jets I happened upon an idea. The A-40 looks like being a larger more expensive airframe to procure and maintain – so wouldn’t it be possible to transfer the ASW suite from it into a Be-200 airframe (perhaps one with turbo-props – as proposed)? If so, wouldn’t the cost difference (especially as the Be-200 has a good chance of lucrative export sales) make it more likely for the Russian Navy to finally get a nice, shiny new ASW platform.