Antonov Company is ready to develop a version of An-148-300 aircraft fitted with skid landing gear intended for operation in Arctic Region, UNIAN reports.

It was stated by the President – General Designer of Antonov Company, Dmitry Keeva, at «Russian-Ukrainian relations: realities and prospects» International conference. «There are versions of the aircraft (An-148-300) equipped with skid landing gear suitable for operation in Arctic Region», - Keeva said adding that Antonov Company has developed similar versions of An-12 and An-72 aircraft before.

He also said that such version of the jet is relevant for Russia. At that Keeva noted that An-148 aircraft are being manufactured in cooperation with VASO, which does not fulfill its commitments full-scale.

«We are manufacturing wings in Kiev and delivering them to Voronezh, while VASO is manufacturing components of the empennage and engine nacelle and delivering them to us. This year we received a letter from VASO saying that their production program has changed and they are unable to supply the required number of components. In fact they are able to deliver only 2-3 kits», - Keeva said adding that this fact puts the performance of Antonov’s contracts in jeopardy.

He encouraged the Russian enterprise to pull together since the parties have signed the agreement. He also noted that the Ukrainian party has manufactured two kits of wings for VASO and they are stored in Kiev at the moment.