Summary The Antonov An-70 has a high cruising height and fuel efficiency and is designed for various weather conditions. The An-70's wings generate lift for short takeoffs and landing on small runways. The aircraft's short life was due to an unsuccessful bid for the FLA program, a bad crash in 2001, and a partnership breakdown between Russia and Ukraine.
First flown on December 16th, 1994, the Antonov An-70 is a four-engine transport aircraft that was developed by the Antonov Design Bureau (now called Antonov Company ) to replace many older military transport aircraft. Discover the story behind the Antonov An-225's groundbreaking mission carrying the Soviet space shuttle. The Antonov An-70 high-wing design The An-70 was designed with a maximum capacity of 47 tons to transport heavy vehicles, personnel, and cargo.
According to the Antonov Company, the transport aircraft has a length of 40.65m, a height of 16.4m, and a wing span of 44.
06m. The An-70 also has very high fuel efficiency and a high maximum cruising height. Despite its size, this aircraft could travel through all kinds of weather, avoid bad situations, and navigate the skies relatively easily.
Flight Characteristics Antonov An-70 Specs Cruise Speed (km/h) 700-750 Operational Range: 35 tons (km) 5100 Maximum Ceiling (m) 12000 Source: Antonov.com Data in the charts from Antonov is provided in metric units based on the companies' geographical location. The wings on the An-70 are positioned high on the aircraft.
This was a great design choice by the engineering team at Antonov because the high lift that is generated by the wings of the transport aircraft is perfect for obtaining enough takeoff and landing speeds for runways that are less than optimal for regular aircraft. One of the main reasons that the An-70 is seen as beneficial is because the transport aircraft can be used in all kinds of weather conditions and can operate from a variety of runway lengths, which makes the An-70 extremely versatile. Antonov Company says that the An-70 "can be operated from poorly-prepared short unpaved airfields 600 to 800 m long.
" The International Council of Aeronautical Sciences , commonly referred to as ICAS for short, says that "In order to achieve high maximum lift coefficient values for short takeoff and landing conditions, the An-70 has been equipped with a double-slotted double-hinged flap with conical extension". "The achieved high-lifting properties of the wing of the AN-70 aircraft have permitted to obtain the small takeoff/landing speeds that in combination with a high thrust-to-weight ratio of the aircraft at takeoff and utilization of the highpower braking (wheels brake, propellers reverse thrust, spoilers deflection - ground spoilers) on the pre-spinning signal of the landing gear during touchdown provided the unique aircraft performance". - International Council of Aeronautical Sciences The design of the Wings significantly influenced how the aircraft operated and opened up the range of missions it could be a part of.
Propulsion and other technical specs The An-70 is powered by 4 Progress D-27 propfan engines, which were developed by Ivchenko Progress (now called Ivchenko-Progress ZMKB), a state-controlled design bureau located in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. The engines are produced by Motor Sich, which is also headquartered in the same city. Over time, the D-27 has had a few variants, including the D-27A and D-27M.
Additional variants based on the D-27 engine core used for other aircraft include the D-127, Al-127, D-227, D-527, D-627, D-727, and the Al-727. An archived report from Forecast International regarding the Antonov An-70 mentions that the propulsion was made by 4 "D-27 turbofan engines, each driving six-bladed counter-rotating propellers." Furthermore, the report provided additional details about the technical specifications of the military transport aircraft, including cargo capacity, performance, and seating.
Cargo Capacities Antonov An-70 Cargo Volume, to ramp 11,578 cu ft Cargo Compartment Area 800.86 sq ft Source: Forecast International Performance Antonov An-70 Range with Maximum Speed 1,617 nm Normal Cruise Speed 400 kt Balanced Field Length 5,905 ft Short Takeoff Length 2,297 ft Source: Forecast International Data in the charts from Forecast International is provided in Imperial units based on the companies' geographical location. The An-70 could have a crew of as few as 3 and as many as 5, including a pilot, a copilot, a flight engineer, and two loadmasters who handle the cargo during the flight.
A '90s contract that never happened During the early 1990s, the An-70 made an unsuccessful bid to meet the European Staff Requirements for the Future Large Aircraft (FLA) program. Antonov proposed making a "Western" style aircraft called the An-7X. The An-7X would have had additional improvements, such as in-flight refueling, among others.
However, the Airbus A400M was ultimately chosen for the Future Flight Aircraft (FLA) because of its advanced capabilities. Furthermore, a small battle was brewing between governments that wanted to see the aircraft through and certain contractor concerns. Additionally, FlightGlobal mentions that the Airbus Military Company (AMC) rejected the possibility that the Antonov An-70 could be used for the European Future Large Aircraft (FLA) program.
The bad crash of 2001 On January 27th, 2001, one of the two prototypes of the An-70 crashed near the Omsk Tsentranly airport in Russia. It was a cold day at the airport, and after the aircraft had fueled up, it made its taxi and takeoff roll. A few seconds after getting airborne, one of the D-27s had an overspeed warning combined with additional sensor issues and some negative thrust based on the aircraft's angle at the time.
This led to the aircraft crashing hard a few hundred feet from the runway. The investigation found that the root cause was most likely an engine or propeller malfunction. Luckily, the prototype aircraft was fixed and is still in service today.
Russia's and Ukraine's Antonov An-70 joint venture ended after the invasion of Crimea In the early 1990s, after the fall of the USSR, the An-70 program became a joint venture between Russia and Ukraine. Subsequent development happened between 2008 and some of 2014. However, after the invasion of Crimea, the partnership between the two countries was over.
However, a lot can be learned from the An-70 program in the interim, which could benefit cargo transportation for years to come. There is said to be indisputable evidence of guilt for those being investigated..
