Voronezh Aircraft Manufacturing Company (VASO) handed over the first An-148-100E jet to Russian air forces on December 6th 2013 in Borisoglebsk (Voronezh Region). The solemn handover ceremony was held in the air force academy named after N.E. Zhukovsky and Y.A. Gagarin, press-service of VASO reports.

The Minister of Defense, General of the Army, Sergey Shoygu; Commander-in-Chief of the Russian air forces, Lieutenant General Viktor Bondarev; Governor of Voronezh Region, Alexey Gordeev; President of United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), Mikhail Pogosyan; CEO of VASO, Vitaly Zubarev, etc. took part in the handover ceremony. 

We remind you that VASO signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense (MoD) for delivery of 15 An-148-100E jets. The deliveries will be completed by 2017. According to the contract one jet was delivered to the MoD in 2013, VASO will deliver 4 ones in 2014 and four more in 2015, three An-148s - in 2016 and the rest three jets – in 2017.

VASO carries on a tradition of supplying aircraft to the air forces, which traces its roots in times of the Great Patriotic War, when the enterprise manufactured over 36000 Il-2 aircraft, VASO noted.

“This contract with the Ministry of Defense means a lot for our enterprise, - CEO of VASO Vitaly Zubarev, said. - It helps us create new jobs, provides our enterprise with workload, allows us to improve our financial situation and increase the amount of assignments to budgets.  And I am glad to say that VASO has successfully accomplished its task and delivered the first jet on time”.

The An-148 jet delivered to the MoD is fitted with all the necessary units, instruments, removable and ground equipment, tools, etc.

“UAC, government of Voronezh Region and governor of Voronezh Region, Alexey Gordeev, did a great job to make it possible to sign the contract between VASO and the MoD. The government of this region asked to sign the contract with VASO, because the enterprise is the only manufacturer of An-148 aircraft in Russia. President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, approved this provision with his edict in early 2013; the enterprise signed the contract a few months later. It should be noted that this contract was signed by VASO (without participation of UAC) and the enterprise is fully responsible for its implementation in accordance with a law on State Defense Order”, - press-service of VASO explained. 

This An-148-100E aircraft features a two-class cabin layout seating 68 passengers (60 passengers in economy class and 8 ones – in business class). An-148 jets aircraft will join the fleet of special-purpose airbase number 800 of the military-transport aviation of the Russian air forces. The jets will be deployed at Chkalovsky airfield (Moscow Region).