http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/compa...yyk?li=BBnb7Kz
Boeing stepped in to rescue the Ukrainian plane maker Antonov, known for
producing the world's largest aircraft.
The firm had ceased production because of its heavy reliance on Russian imports,
which had collapsed after Moscow's annexation of Crimea in 2014.
But, Boeing's parts, equipment and services unit, Aviall, is set to now provide
the components and Antonov plans to build eight aircraft a year from the end of
next year. The deal, which was signed at the Farnborough International Airshow,
was confirmed to CNBC via email on Friday.
President of Antonov, Oleksandr Donets, told Reuters in an interview that the
next step is to build a storage facility with Aviall.
"This warehouse will deal with products, materials, metals, non-metals — with
all components we are not able to get from our former partner, the Russian
Federation," he said.
Donets added that the warehouse would be funded by the Boeing subsidiary.
Antonov builds a range of passenger, cargo and transport aircraft. The latest
under development is the An-132, a twin-engined turboprop used for military
transportation which is being jointly developed with Saudi Arabia.
Still the biggest
In 1988, Antonov completed what is still the world's largest "heavier than air"
aircraft to be used as part of the Soviet space shuttle program.
The An-225 Mriya is powered by six turbofan engines and is also the heaviest
aircraft ever built, with a maximum takeoff weight of 640 tons. It also has the
largest wingspan of any aircraft in operational service.
It was the only example ever completed as Russia's economy struggled badly
through the 1990s, forcing the end of the country's attempts to fly a manned
space shuttle.
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