Completion of the An-70 design refinement may take another five years, before this next generation airlifter meets requirements of the Russian air force, said Alexey Fedorov, president of Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC).

Meantime, the new edition of the Armament Program, which the Russian government is going to put into force by the end of this year, calls for An-70 deliveries to commence in 2012.

Heads of Russian and Ukrainian MoDs signed an agreement on An-70 deliveries to both the Russian air force and Ukrainian air force at MAKS’2009 air show.

Since the aircraft was shaped in the 1980s – 1990s timeframe, its drawings need “digitizing” so that the whole of the manufacturing documentation comes in a 3D form, which is a must for cost-efficient production, UAC president said.

He suggested the year of 2016 as a “realistic” target for An-70 production start and estimated requisite funding at 0.5billion US dollars, to cover design refinement and production line preparations.