Russian outsize cargo carrier Volga-Dnepr Airlines (VDA) plans to resurrect series production of the Antonov An-124 Ruslan freighter, according to its president, Alexey Isaikin.
The Ulyanovsk-based Aviastar-SP plant, which manufactured the behemoth, delivered the last two of 56 production An-124s in May and June, assembled from airframe components held in stock since the main production run came to an end in 1995. Aviastar still has two unfinished airframes, but cannot begin final assembly as lacks of parts and equipment that formerly were supplied by more than 500 Soviet companies. "This supply chain is broken," said Isaikin. "To revive the program, we have to find new suppliers. Perhaps it will be cheaper to buy components from Western companies than to revive production in Russia or CIS countries,"
VDA plans to establish a working group to develop the business case and select new suppliers. At least three risk-sharing parties will be involved in the program — Antonov Design Bureau, VDA and Aviastar-SP plant. According to Isaikin it will take at least 18 months and $1.5 billion to prepare for renewed production. Unit cost of the An-124s will be $80 to $100 million.
"We think the market can take two or three airplanes annually — one for Volga-Dnepr, which plans to increase its fleet of An-124s to 20 — and two for other players," he says.
With this project in hand, VDA and Antonov Airlines have applied for a NATO military transport tender, Antonov executives said here Wednesday.
