Ukrainian Antonov Company will start the development of new An-178 transport aircraft in 2012, Lenta.ru reports with reference to “Ukrainian National News”.

According to the enterprise’s Chief Designer, Dmitry Keeva, the design bureau is working on several programs besides An-178. However, the new transport aircraft is the top-priority one for Antonov. Antonov Company plans to take part in several air shows and exhibitions in 2012, Keeva noted, including exhibitions in Germany, China and some other Asian countries.

The plans of An-178 development, which is being created on the basis of An-158, have been unveiled by Antonov Company in February 2010. The previous status of the program has not been specified. The Ukrainian company has offered India to take part in the project in April 2010; however, the Indian partners have not taken any decisions on this respect yet.

The detailed technical specifications of the new Antonov transport aircraft are yet unknown. Presumably, the weight-lifting ability of An-178 will be 15-18 tons and its price may reach $25 million. As expected, An-178 will replace Аn-26 and Аn-32 aircraft.