Antonov developed the first long-range military transport aircraft, the An-8
<h1>From rise to fall</h1>
The predecessor of the Antonov Design Bureau was the 153rd Design Bureau of the USSR. On May 31, 1946, on the basis of the Chikalov Aircraft Factory in Novosibirsk, the 153rd Design Bureau was formed on the basis of the Chikalov Aircraft Factory in Novosibirsk, and the chief designer was Oleg Antonov. At that time, the first task of the Design Bureau was to develop light multi-purpose aircraft mainly used in agriculture.
In August 1947, under the leadership of Antonov, the 153rd Design Bureau developed the An-2 light multipurpose aircraft. The aircraft was named after the Soviet Air Force's Bo-2 light night attack low-flying trainer aircraft during the Great Patriotic War, the "Corn Machine". Due to its ease of handling and versatility, coupled with the unpretentious "corn machine" nickname, the An-2 was favored by Soviet leader Khrushchev. Subsequently, more than 60 An-2s landed in the Soviet Union, Poland and China.
An-2 light multi-purpose aircraft
On August 23, 1948, the Soviet Air Force officially equipped the An-2. A total of 18,000 aircraft were produced, and as of December 2012, there were still about 2,300 An-2s in use in 26 countries around the world, and before the birth of the An-3, the aircraft was the only model in the world that had been in continuous mass production for more than 70 years, and was included in the Guinness Book of Worlds.
In 1952, the 153rd Design Bureau moved from cold Novosibirsk to Kiev, Ukraine, with a warmer climate. At this time, the chief designer Antonov shouldered an important task entrusted by Khrushchev: to develop the first An-8 long-range military transport aircraft for the Soviet Air Force. Prior to the aircraft, the Soviet Air Force was equipped with only Mi-2, Il-12D and Il-14T short-range military transport aircraft. In 1956, the An-8 made its maiden flight. In 1959, the Soviet Air Force was equipped with the first Batch of An-08. A total of 151 aircraft were produced, becoming the first generation of military transport aircraft in the Soviet Air Force, and its performance was no different from that of the U.S. Air Force C-123.
An-12 military transport aircraft
In 1957, the 153rd Design Bureau began to develop the An-12 medium-range long-range military transport aircraft. In 1958, the An-12 began to be equipped with the Soviet Air Force. A total of 1248 aircraft were produced, and the performance was equal to that of the American C-130. To date, the aircraft is still in service in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Uzbekistan.
In 1959, the Design Bureau established an aircraft test range in the Kiev suburb of Gostomelli. In the same year, the 153rd Design Bureau developed the An-24 dual-purpose transport aircraft. The An-24 regional airliner was popular and was used on 30% of the routes of Soviet civil aviation. In 1965, the 153rd Design Bureau developed the world's first wide-body dual-use transport aircraft, the An-22. In May 196g, the Soviet Air Force began to equip the An-26 military transport aircraft. In 1982, the An-124 Ruslan large dual-use transport aircraft was introduced, and began to equip the Soviet Air Force and Soviet civil aviation.
In 1984, after the death of chief designer Antonov, the 153rd Design Bureau was named The Antonov Design Bureau. In 1988, the Antonov Design Bureau developed the first An-225 "Mulia" (Ukrainian for "Fantasy") large transport aircraft. The An-124 and An-225 also became world-famous heavy transport aircraft.
The World's First Wide-Body Dual-Use Transport Aircraft An-22
Before the birth of the An-225, the An-124 was the world's largest heavy-duty long-range transport aircraft, and its chief designer was Victor Tolmachev. It first flew on 24 December 1982 and entered service in 1987. The maximum take-off weight of the An-124 is 392 tons and the load capacity is 120 tons. From 1984 to 2004, the total number of mass production of the aircraft reached 55. At present, the Russian Ministry of Defense is equipped with 17 An-124-100s, the Russian Volga-I Dnieper Airlines is equipped with 12, and the Ukrainian Antonov route airlines are equipped with 12.
The An-225 "Mulia" is the world's largest super-heavy long-haul aircraft in terms of size and load, and the chief designer is still Victor Tolmachev. The aircraft was first tested on 21 December 1988 and commissioned in 1989. The maximum take-off weight of the An-225 is 600 tons, the load capacity is 253.8 tons, the maximum flight speed is 850 km / h, the actual range of full cargo is 4000 km, and the practical ceiling is 11600 meters. The aircraft has been responsible for the transport of the "Tempest" space shuttle on many occasions. Only 1 was built and was used by ukrainian airlines on the Antonov route.
In addition to the development of dual-use transport aircraft, from 1959 to 1960, the Antonov Design Bureau also developed the "Kiev-Sport" sports car. In 1984 and 1994, carbon fiber slide cars were developed for the Soviet Olympics and the Ukrainian Olympics, respectively. In 1993, a carbon fiber bicycle and a k12 "Kiev" carbon fiber body trolleybus were developed.
Antonov and the toddler talk about his model of an Ann transport aircraft
Before the collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991, the Antonov Design Bureau designed about 100 models (including improved models) of transport aircraft, becoming the Soviet Union's aircraft manufacturer that could compete with Boeing of the United States, Airbus Europe and Brazilian Aircraft Industry. The Kharkiv Aircraft Factory and the Kiev Aircraft Factory in Ukraine rank among the top three in the world with an annual output of 250 to 300 aircraft. Chief designer Antonov received the honor of "Father of the Soviet Transport Aircraft". The Ukrainian aircraft manufacturing industry, led by the Antonov Design Bureau, has played an important role in the development of the Ukrainian national economy. At that time, Ukraine ranked second in the aircraft manufacturing industry of the 15 republics of the Soviet Union, and its GDP surpassed that of Poland, ranking 18th in the world.
As the saying goes, thirty years of Hedong, thirty years of Hexi. Today, 30 years later, Ukraine's GDP ($154.8 billion) is less than a third of Poland's (about $509.9 billion). Since 2016, the once brilliant Antonov Design Bureau has not produced 1 aircraft and is in debt and in an embarrassing position.
The An-225 transport aircraft has been responsible for the transport of the Space Shuttle Tempest on several occasions
<h1>Reasons for decline</h1>
The decline of the Antonov Design Bureau was mainly based on two reasons: internal and external. First of all, from the internal point of view, there are mainly the following aspects.
First, there is a lack of scientific and forward-looking consideration for the development of the aviation industry.
On December 26, 1991, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the newly independent Ukraine took over the Antonov Design Bureau from the Soviet Union, and the chain between the Antonov Design Bureau and the aircraft manufacturing industry of the Soviet Republic was broken. At this time, due to the economic recession, the failure of the reform of the military enterprise and the cancellation of military orders, the former competitors of the Antonov Design Bureau, the Russian Tupolev Design Bureau, the Ilyushin Design Bureau and the Jakforev Design Bureau, were on the verge of collapse. However, the Antonov Design Bureau is unique in its landscape.
Under the leadership of chief designer Peter Barabuyev, the Antonov Design Bureau has over the years consolidated a system of designing, manufacturing and testing aircraft on its own. Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, on April 1, 1989, with the efforts and coordination of Barabyev, the Antonov Design Bureau established the Antonov Route Air Transport Company, which was mainly responsible for the delivery of goods for NATO and the European Union. The company was equipped with the world's only super-heavy long-range transport aircraft, the An-225 "Muria", as well as seven An-124 "Ruslan", 1 An-22, 2 An-12, 1 An-26 and 1 An-74T transport aircraft. The An-225 can undertake the transportation of 35% of the world's very large and super heavy cargo every year. The company ships hundreds of thousands of tons of cargo annually to more than 800 airports around the world. Even without military orders, the Antonov Design Bureau could rely on the "cash cow" of the Antonov Route Air Transport Company to support itself. In addition to not participating in the development of the An-2, Barabyev participated in the development of all transport aircraft of the Design Bureau, especially in the organization of the development of the An-22, An-124 and An-225. As a result, he enjoyed a high prestige in the Antonov Design Bureau.
An-124-100 transport aircraft operated by the Russian Volga-Dnieper company
After the independence of Ukraine, Barabyev not only maintained the design bureau, but also developed the An-38 light multi-purpose aircraft, the An-140 regional airliner (replacing the An-24 regional airliner), the An-148 jet regional airliner, and the An-70 military transport aircraft. In addition, technical improvements were made to the An-124 and digitally improved the An-125, and 4 new An-124s were procured and technically certified, named the An-124-100 military transport aircraft. In this regard, the Ukrainian government awarded Barabjev, the highest honorary title of the country, the "Hero of Ukraine Medal".
In May 2005, based on the formation of a large state group of companies in Russia, the Cabinet of the Ukrainian government announced the plan to form an Antonov State Enterprise, which should be the first heavy blow to the Antonov Design Bureau. According to the plan, the enterprise will be composed of the Antonov Design Bureau, the 410th Civil Aircraft Factory in Kiev and the Kharkiv State Aircraft Manufacturing Enterprise in order to concentrate on the development of Ukrainian civil aircraft. The plan was firmly opposed by Barabjev. He believes that the current situation of the aviation manufacturing industry in various countries is different, and it cannot be rushed and blindly chased the wind, even if a large national group company is established, it may not be able to get the expected effect. Not taking his opinion into account, Barabyev resigned as chief designer of the Antonov Design Bureau.
An-24 transport aircraft
The second is to neglect strict supervision over the appointment and dismissal of senior management personnel of enterprises.
With Barabuiev's departure, the leadership of Antonov's state enterprises collapsed.
According to Anatoly Wolfnyak, deputy chief designer of The Antonov State Enterprise, from 2005 to 2015, Dmitry Kiva not only did nothing when he was the chief designer of Antonov State Enterprise, but also let Antonov bear 3 billion hryvnia debts for Kharkiv State Aircraft Manufacturing Enterprise and Kiev AVAHT Aircraft Factory. The annual profits of the Antonov Route Air Transport Company sometimes amount to $100 million, but the money is not used for aircraft development and manufacturing, but instead goes into private pockets.
An-140 transport aircraft produced by the Kharkiv Aircraft Factory
In May 2015, the Cabinet of the Ukrainian government transferred the Antonov State Enterprise under the Ministry of Economic Development to the leadership of the Ukrainian Defense Industry Group Corporation, which should be the second heavy blow to the Antonov State Enterprise. At the same time as the plan was announced, Mikhail Gwozdev, a relative of Ukrainian car dealer and president of President Poroshenko, was appointed president of the Antonov State Enterprise. When he took office, he formed a leadership team of "tire repairmen" and claimed to make 72 An-158s, An-178s and An-132s in one year, with annual profits of billions of dollars, but the last aircraft was not produced. A year later, Gwozdev was dismissed.
Subsequently, in 2016 and 2017, Alexander Kochuba and the director of the tractor factory, Alexander Klivokorn, successively served as presidents of the Antonov State Enterprise. Kotyuba's promise to complete the Ukrainian government's plan to develop alternative Russian aircraft accessories and aircraft materials did not material, but only assembled an An-132D using Western and Russian parts. During his tenure as chief designer, Kochuba drastically cut the experts and lowered their salaries, causing strong resentment. When Krivokon was director of the Kharkiv Tractor Factory, the plant lost $1.5 million. The president, who is called a "tractor driver" by the company's employees, formed a leadership team that neither understands aircraft design nor production. At the same time, he also replaced 50% of the middle and grass-roots leaders of the enterprise, many of whom were laymen who did not understand corporate management. During his nine-month reign, Clevokong, like his former president and car dealer Gwozdev, was full of empty talk and accomplishless things.
Then in May 2018, Alexander Donets, an aircraft test engineer by training, ascended to the throne as president of the Antonov State Enterprise. But on June 9, 2020, he was announced to be relieved of his presidency and replaced by Alexander Los as president. According to the audit, Donets abused his power during his tenure and caused significant economic losses.
Antonov State Enterprise held a ceremony to celebrate the launch of the first An-178 military transport aircraft
Surprisingly, on October 9, 2020, Los, who had just been acting president for 4 months, suddenly submitted his resignation report. The reason is that Ross is only the nominal acting president, and the real president is a close associate of Abu Roman vyciusus, the general manager of the Ukrainian Defense Industry Group Corporation, Yuri Kiselev, vice president of aircraft sales at The Antonov State Enterprise. Los could not accept such an approach.
Since Abromavicius was dismissed as general manager of the Ukrainian Defense Industry Group corporation in September 2019, Kiselyov's appointment as president of Antonov was also in vain. On November 5 of the same year, Sergei Bechkov, former vice president of Antonov, was appointed president of the group.
Throughout the establishment of the Antonov State Enterprise in 2005 and the transfer of the enterprise to the Ukrainian Defense Industry Group Corporation in 2015, the Ukrainian government has neglected to effectively monitor it, resulting in the replacement of six presidents of the enterprise since 2015, nepotism in employment, neglect in production supervision, and lack of supervision in capital management.
The An-178 military transport aircraft conducted test flights
Third, there is a serious imbalance in the government budget invested in aviation enterprises.
According to Donets, former president of the Antonov State Enterprise, in the annual government budget, 54% of the budget is allocated to private companies, 10% of the budget is spent on import orders, and the budget of the Ukrainian Defense Industry Group Corporation accounts for only 36%. In the Ukrainian Defense Industry Group Corporation, the aviation industry and missile manufacturing should be pillar industries. In the past 10 years, except for the 50,000 US dollars a year legal salary received by the company's leaders, the company has not received a penny from the state. Employees believe that the Ukrainian government seems to be adopting fasting therapy to make the company die. Since 2015, the Ukrainian government has never treated Antonov state enterprises the same way that the United States treats Boeing or the European Union treats Airbus. Antonov hastily reformed in the context of domestic transformation and completely lost its status as an international brand.
Fourth, the Ukrainian Defense Industry Corporation has done nothing.
The original intention of the Ukrainian government in establishing the Defense Industry Group Corporation was to concentrate and tap the potential of Ukrainian industry and vigorously develop weapons and equipment. Practice has proved that the group company is not only inefficient, but also has a negative impact on the operation of Antonov state enterprises.
In September 2018, Abu Romavicius, general manager of the Ukrainian Defense Industry Group Corporation, announced that he would move the Antonov Design Bureau to the aircraft test range in the town of Gostomelli on the outskirts of Kiev, which was firmly opposed by the staff of the Design Bureau. In addition, on April 28, 2020, the Ukrainian Defense Industry Group Corporation smuggled Russian-made spare parts and accessories at a price of more than 1 to 2 times, embezzling up to 250 million hryvnia, causing a very bad impact. In this regard, the Antonov State Enterprise Union has written to President Zelenskiy to request the secession of the Ukrainian Defense Industry Corporation.
The An-70 medium military transport aircraft jointly developed by Ukraine and Russia
The fifth is to let talent management go unchecked.
Based on mismanagement and laissez-faire, antonov state enterprises have lost 4,500 aircraft manufacturing talents in the past five years. On April 12, 2021, chief designer Kiva pointed out in an interview with Ukrainian media that before 2016, Antonov State Enterprise had 135,000 aircraft manufacturing talents, and now there are less than 9,000 people left. These great aircraft builders went to Europe, the United States and China, and some to Russia. Kiva believes that this responsibility should be borne by former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and former Deputy Secretary-General of the National Security Council Oleg Gladkovsky.
From the perspective of external reasons, it is mainly based on Ukraine's feud with Russia. Since the first color revolution in December 2004, the Ukrainian government has proposed to join NATO and become a member of the European Union, which has not only led to the deterioration of political relations between Ukraine and Russia, but also seriously affected the cooperation between Antonov state enterprises and the Russian side.
First of all, it is necessary to cancel the joint development of the An-148 and An-178 with Russia.
The An-148 is a regional airliner developed by the Antonov Design Bureau in cooperation with Russia at the beginning of the new millennium to replace the Tu-134. According to the market sales assessment, by 2020, the market demand for this type of passenger aircraft including the CIS countries will total 590 aircraft. In addition, the An-178 military transport aircraft market demanded 400 aircraft. The Antonov Design Bureau believes that an-148 and An-178 can bring huge profits to the Ukrainian aircraft manufacturing industry and help the Ukrainian aircraft manufacturing industry out of the trough.
As of 2010, 241 companies from Russia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, the United Kingdom, Germany, Belarus, Italy, Kazakhstan, Canada, the Netherlands, the United States, Uzbekistan, France and Sweden have participated in the development of the An-148.
Subsequently, the Antonov Design Bureau began to cooperate with Russia in the development of the An-178 military transport aircraft to replace the An-12. According to the division of tasks, Antonov will undertake 41% of the development of the aircraft, and the Russian side will undertake 59%. The development mode of the machine is basically the same as that of the An-148. The Antonov Design Bureau believes that the development of the An-178 will benefit the newly established Antonov State Enterprise in 2005. Previously, the Antonov Design Bureau and the Kharkiv Aircraft Factory were independent state-owned enterprises. The above-mentioned development plan can help the Kharkiv Aircraft Factory to get out of the predicament of bankruptcy.
Secondly, cancel the joint mass production of TheAn-140-100 transport aircraft with Russia.
On September 27, 2012, the Antonov Design Bureau and the Russian Machinery Group Corporation signed a contract to mass-produce 40 An-140-100 dual-purpose transport aircraft. Ukraine's reliance on the Russian Samara Aircraft Manufacturing Company will greatly reduce the cost and price of aircraft production and improve production efficiency.
On April 25, 2018, the Model of the An-188 Medium Military Transport Aircraft jointly developed by Ukraine and Turkey was exhibited at the Eurasian Airshow 2018 in Antalya, Turkey
From 1999 to 2004, based on effective cooperation with the Osamaramara Aircraft Manufacturing Company, the Kharkiv Aircraft Factory produced 14 An-140s. The first color revolution in Ukraine in 2004 put Ukrainian-Russian cooperation in a difficult situation. From 2010 to 2014, the Kharkiv Aircraft Factory produced an average of only one An-140 per year. The second color revolution in 2013 led to the suspension of the An-140 and forced companies to borrow 200 million hryvnia to pay their employees. In 2019, ukrainian president Zelenskiy promised to help the enterprise pay off its loans when he inspected the enterprise. In March 2020, the Kharkiv Aircraft Factory received only 4 million hryvnia from the Ukrainian government. The suspension of production has led to a large number of employees leaving their posts. In order to survive, the aircraft manufacturer was forced to switch to plastic steel doors and windows for residential use.
Third, cancel the plan to jointly develop the An-70 with Russia.
In 2011, Russian Defense Minister Serdyukov said that the Russian Air Force would purchase 60 An-70 medium military transport aircraft by 2020. At the same time, Ukraine and Russia jointly agreed to spend about 75 million US dollars to develop this type of transport aircraft (the unit price of the aircraft is about 67 million US dollars). In the same year, Russia purchased the first An-70. In 2012, Ukraine and Russia jointly tested the An-70 and decided to assemble the aircraft at the Russian Kazan Gorbunov Aircraft Production Joint Enterprise. In December of the same year, the airborne equipment of the An-70 and the SV-27 propeller blades were improved, and a new photoelectric radar and TA12-60 auxiliary power unit were installed, reducing the weight of the aircraft by 500 kg.
After the second Ukrainian color revolution, the An-70 was ready for mass production. At this time, Ukraine unilaterally decided to cancel the joint development plan with Russia. In December 2014, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense said that the Ukrainian Air Force would be equipped with two An-70s. But due to a lack of funds, the plan failed.
In July 2015, Ukraine exhibited an improved model of the An-70 at the Paris Air Show in France, an an-188 (An-77) medium military transport aircraft. On April 25, 2018, the Antonov State Enterprise and Turkey jointly developed the An-188 model at the "Eurasian Airshow 2018" in Antalya, Turkey. Russia believes that Ukraine does not have the right to exhibit the An-188 model at the air show, because the aircraft follows the technology of the An-70. Although Russian parts are no longer used and Western engines are used instead, Russia has invested a lot of manpower and material resources in the aircraft and should have 50% of the intellectual property rights.
The office building of the Antonov Design Bureau (Antonov State Enterprise) is located in the urban area of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine
Finally, Russia lost the supply of some military aviation parts to Ukraine.
Due to the severance of military-technical cooperation with Russia, the Ukrainian Air Force was equipped with 125 Su-24 front-line bombers, Su-25 strike aircraft, Su-27 and MiG-29 fighters, and 92 Mi-8 and Mi-24 helicopters, losing the supply of Spare Parts for Russia. On December 10, 2020, Alexander Mironiko, deputy minister of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine in charge of weapons and equipment, said that by 2035, the Ukrainian Air Force plans to make technical improvements to the Su-25, Su-27 and MiG-29. The severance of cooperation between Russia and Ukraine not only makes it difficult for Ukraine to find partners, but also increases the cost of improving aircraft technology.
On March 22, 2018, Anastasia Dagaeva, the only authoritative body in Russia to study Russia's internal affairs, economy and international relations, wrote an aviation columnist at the Carnegie Center in Moscow, in his book "The Uninhabited Antonov – How Did the Russian-Ukrainian Political Struggle Destroy the Antonov Design Bureau?" The article pointed out: Time shows that based on the inextricable ties with Russia, the worse the relations between Russia and Ukraine, the smaller the living space of Antonov's state enterprises.