Antonov
AN-124 Condor
Photo: Unknown May 1992
Barksdale AFB (BAD)
Shreveport, Louisiana

Antonov State Company, formerly the Antonov Aeronautical Scientific-Technical Complex (Antonov ASTC), and earlier the Antonov Design Bureau, is a Ukrainian aircraft manufacturing and services company. Antonov's particular expertise is in the fields of very large airplanes and airplanes insensitive to runway quality. Antonov (model prefix An-) is the most common airplane brand on the planet, with total of 22,000 aircraft built and thousands of planes currently operating in the former Soviet Union and the developing countries. 

Antonov StC is a state-owned commercial company that established in 1946 in Novosibirsk as a top-secret Soviet Research and Design Bureau#153, headed by Oleg Antonov and specialized in turboprop military transport aircraft. The An-2 biplane is a major achievement of this period. In 1952, the Bureau was relocated to Kiev, a city with rich aviation history where aircraft-manufacturing infrastructure was being restored after the World War II destruction.

PHOTOS        
General Aviation Aircraft Commercial AIrcraft      

AN-2
Annushka / Colt

AN-22
A
ntei / Cock

AN-124
Rusian / Condor
   

HISTORY

First serial aircraft and expansion

In 1957, the bureau successfully introduced the An-10/An-12 family of mid-range turboprop airplanes into mass production (thousands of aircraft were manufactured). The model have been seeing heavy combat and civil use around the globe to the present day, most notably in the Vietnam War, Soviet war in Afghanistan and the Chernobyl disaster relief megaoperation.

In 1959, the bureau began construction of the separate Flight Testing and Improvement Base in suburban Hostomel (now the Antonov Airport).

In 1965, the Antonov An-22 heavy military transport enters serial production, supplementing the An-12 in major military and humanitarian airlifts of the Soviet Union. The model became the first Soviet wide-body aircraft and remains the world's largest turboprop-powered aircraft to date. Antonov designed and presented a nuclear-powered version of the An-22 which, however, never entered flight testing phase.

In 1966, after major expansion in the Sviatoshyn neighborhood of the city, the company was renamed to another disguise name "Kiev Mechanical Plant". Two independent aircraft production and repair facilities, under engineering supervision of the Antonov Bureau, also appeared in Kiev during this period.

Prominence and Antonov's retirement

In 1970s and early 1980s, the company established itself as USSR's main designer of military transport aircraft with dozens of new modifications in development and production. After Oleg Antonov's death in 1984, the company is officially renamed as the Research and Design Bureau named after O.K. Antonov (Russian: Опытно-конструкторское бюро имени О.К. Антонова) while continuing the use of "Kiev Mechanical Plant" alias for some purposes.

Late Soviet-era: superlarge projects and first commercialization

In late 1980s, the Antonov Bureau achieved global prominence after introduction of its extra large airplanes. The An-124 "Ruslan" (1982) became Soviet Union's serial-produced strategic airlifter. The Bureau enlarged the "Ruslan" design even more for the Soviet space shuttle programme logistics, creating the An-225 "Mriya" in 1989. "Mriya" has since been the world's largest and heaviest airplane.

End of the Cold War and perestroyka allowed the Antonov's first step to commercialization and foreign expansion. In 1989, the Antonov Airlines subsidiary was created for its own aircraft maintenance and cargo projects.

Expansion to free market

Since independence, Antonov is busy with certifying and marketing of its models (both Soviet-era and newly-developed) to free commercial airplanes' markets. New models introduced to serial production and delivered to customers include the Antonov An-140, Antonov An-148 and Antonov An-158 regional airliners.

Production facilities' consolidation

During the Soviet period, not all Antonov-designed aircraft were manufactured by the company itself. This was a result of Soviet industrial strategy that split military production between different regions of the USSR to minimize potential war loss risks. As a result, Antonov airplanes are often assembled by the specialist contract manufacturers.

In 2009, the once-independent "Aviant" airplane-assembling plant in Kyiv became part of the Antonov State Company, facilitating a full serial manufacturing cycle of the company. However, the old tradition of co-manufacturing with contractors is continued, both with Soviet-time partners and with new licensees like Iran's HESA.

Source: Wikipedia

AIRCRAFT      
       
Model NATO Year Type
A-40 Krylaty Tank   1942 Winged tank
An-2 Kukuruznik Colt 1947 Multi-purpose, biplane, single-engine utility transport.
An-3 Colt 1980 Turboprop conversion of An-2
An-4 Colt 1950 Float-equipped An-2
An-6 Meteo Colt   Weather reconnaissance aircraft based on An-2
An-8 Camp 1955 Medium military transport
An-10 Ukraine Cat 1957 Medium turboprop-powered airliner
An-11     Motorised variant of the A-11 glider
An-12 Cub 1957 Military turboprop-powered transport, developed from An-10
An-13   1962 Light aircraft developed from the A-13M motor glider
An-14 Pchelka Clod 1958 Light twin-engine transport
An-20     Light turbocharged piston engine aircraft, developed from Cessna 210
An-22 Antei Cock 1965 Extremely large turboprop transport
An-24 Coke 1959 Twin-turboprop airliner
An-26 Curl 1969 Twin-turboprop transport, derived from An-24
An-28 Cash 1974 Twin-turboprop light transport, developed from An-14
An-30 Clank 1967 An-24 adapted for aerial photography and mapping
An-32 Cline 1976 Twin-turboprop hot-and-high transport, up-engined An-26 airframe
An-38 Cash 1994 Twin-turboprop light transport, stretched An-28
An-50     Airliner project, developed from An-24V
An-51     Civil piston utility aircraft
An-52     Light twin-piston aircraft
An-70   1994 Large military transport, powered by four propfan engines, to replace An-12
An-71 Madcap 1985 Naval AWACS development of An-72
An-72 Cheburashka Coaler 1977 STOL transport, utilizing the Coandă effect
An-74 Cheburashka Coaler 1983 Civil version of An-72; version with engines below wings is called An-74TK-300
An-88     AWACS project, not completed
An-91     Twin-engined cabin monoplane development of Cessna 310
An-124 Ruslan Condor 1982 Strategic airlifter; largest aircraft ever mass-produced
An-140   1997 Short-range turboprop airliner, to replace An-24
An-148   2004 Regional jet for 68–85 passengers
An-158   2010 Stretched version of An-148 for 99 passengers
An-174     Enlarged An-74 with engines below wings
An-178     Military transport based on the An-158
An-180     Medium propfan airliner, around 175 passengers (cancelled)
An-204      
An-218     Propfan- or turbofan-powered widebody airliner (postponed)
An-225 Mriya Cossack 1988 An-124 derived strategic airlifter; largest aircraft ever built; only one has been put into service
OKA-38 Storch     Copy of Fieseler Fi 156
SKV     Basis for An-14
T-2M Maverick     Ultralight trike for recreational club use and special forces requir