Silk Way from Azerbaijan has confirmed its interest in acquiring 10 Ukrainian An-178 aircraft.

This was announced by the president of the State Enterprise “Antonov” Alexander Donets in an interview for the news channel 112.ua.

“Our equipment is in demand and there are buyers. Here is the protocol of intent of the last meeting with representatives of Silk Way (Azerbaijan), which was signed on July 11. They confirmed their interest in acquiring 10 AN-178 aircraft,” he said.

As the president of “Antonova” has told, most likely it will be new version of the aircraft called NEXT with components supplied by Boeing subsidiary Aviall.

Answering journalist’s question about the future price of the plane, Alexander Donets said:

“We will be able to answer this question when we come closer to buying components from the shelves. At the same time, I want to draw your attention that about 60% of components of Western production are cheaper Russian analogues,”- said Alexander Donets

An-178 – Ukrainian short to medium range transport turbojet aircraft, developed by the Antonov State Enterprise on the basis of passenger An-158 (An-148-200). This is an average weight transport aircraft with a carrying capacity of 15-18 tons, (two standard marine containers).

It has speed of 825 km/h, the flight altitude is 12 km, and the flight range of 5,500 km. An airplane can land and take off from any airfield, including unprepared dirt fields, which makes it suitable for military use. According to expert rough estimates, the cost of the aircraft, depending on the modification, will be from $ 25 to 40 million USD.