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Antonov favourite to win NATO heavy-lift contract
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| 06 May 2003 |
By Henry Ivanov, JDW Special Correspondent, Moscow. Additional reporting by Luke Hill, NATO and EU Affairs Correspondent, Brussels
Ukraine's Antonov Airlines is the favourite to provide regular heavy-lift services for NATO forces pending the introduction of dedicated military aircraft in Europe, according to sources in Germany and Russia.
NATO is looking at the possibility of having a pool of 20-25 An-124 and Il-76 heavy transport aircraft available at short notice.
Officials believe that the need to deploy NATO forces for anti-terrorist, peace support and humanitarian-relief operations means that the alliance cannot wait until the anticipated introduction of the Airbus Military A400M strategic transport aircraft.
Airbus Military expects a final contract for the procurement of 180 A400Ms by seven European NATO members will be signed in late May. However, the aircraft will not enter service until the end of the decade (Jane's Defence Weekly 9 April). Volga-Dnepr, the largest An-124-100 operator, conducted charter flights that were worth over $100 million to support military operations by European nations in 2002, including 260 flights to Afghanistan.
A NATO official told JDW that buying either Antonov aircraft, such as the An-70, or Boeing's C-17, was ruled out by nations early not only because of cost but also due to the complexities of setting up a fleet, establishing airbases and training crews. Leasing, as the UK has successfully done with four C-17s, also involves these complexities and therefore chartering emerged as the more favoured option even though availability risks are higher, the official said.
To overcome this risk, NATO may opt for several levels of availability - that is, contracting to have a number of aircraft ready immediately, while others would become available within days and weeks, the official said.
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