Currently, the" good name "of the Ukrainian aviation industry makes a "safety margin" of the An-124-100 Ruslan aircraft, which will finally go out of airworthiness in the 2040s. The corresponding dates of the disappearance of the Ukrainian aircraft industry are predicted by Defense Express.
The publication came to this conclusion after analyzing orders for the products of the Ukrainian company "Antonov" on the domestic and international markets. It is noted that in the market of the CIS countries, where Ukrainian aircraft could enjoy the greatest popularity, Antonov loses the competition of the European company Airbus.
At the same time, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine does not order the development of new military transport aircraft like the An-188 from Antonov, preferring the outdated An-70. The agency admits that Kiev has abandoned the idea of promoting Ukrainian aircraft for export and looking for a replacement for the An-124-100 Ruslan.
In July, the first Deputy General Director of the United Aircraft Corporation, Sergey Yarkov, said that the Russian PAK TA would surpass the Ukrainian An-124 Ruslan in its characteristics.
In July 2018, Ruslan Pukhov, a member of the Public Council under the Ministry of Defense, director of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, said that the possibility of producing the An-124 "Ruslan" aircraft by the Russian industry is questionable.
Ivan Potapov