OREANDA-NEWS. On 26 August 2009 was announced, that at MAKS-2009 air show, Victor Livanov, Vice President of United Aircraft Building Corporation JSC (UAC), Dmytro Kiva, General Designer of ANTONOV ASTC, and Aleksey Isaikin, President of Volga-Dnepr group of companies, signed the technical requirements on design of modernized version of AN-124-100 Ruslan freighter. These works will be performed within the program of assumption of the AN-124 aircraft serial production.

The technical requirements were developed by UAC JSC and ANTONOV ASTC together with Volga-Dnepr group of companies, the launch customer of AN-124-100, within their cooperation on AN-124 program.

The new aircraft will have payload of 150, flight range with maximum payload of 4000 km (15000 km in ferry flight). The crew will be reduced to 3 persons. Essential part of the requirements concerns the deep upgrading of the aircraft equipment and improvement of its operational characteristics.

"For 19 years of commercial operation, AN-124-100 aircraft became an irreplaceable mean of complex production logistics of super heavy and oversized cargoes. No one other freighter has such abilities", - said Aleksey Isaikin, President of Volga-Dnepr group of companies.

According to Dmytro Kiva, General Designer of ANTONOV ASTC, "modernization and assumption of serial production of the "Ruslan" is one of the most important joint Ukrainian-Russian programs. Owing to its realization, our countries will keep the leading positions in the market of super heavy and oversized cargoes airlift. Besides, it will contribute to development of science, technique and economy, because more than 280 enterprises of Russia and about 80 companies of Ukraine will be involved in the program".

During five recent years, the demand for transportations with heavy ramp transport aircraft is growing. According to the marketing investigations of Volga-Dnepr group of companies, the total market demand for AN-124 is estimated as many as 100 airplanes till 2030. In the technical and economical basis for assumption of AN-124 serial production, worked out by United Aircraft Building Corporation – Transport Aircraft, this figure is up to 70 aircraft.