Greg Hennessy wrote in message . ..
On 20 Sep 2003 20:29:31 -0700, (Kevin Brooks) wrote:


OK, but if it is so great, why again are the Russians dumping this
program that they are a partner in?

FWICS most of w.r.t noise w.r.t dumping it comes from single member of the
russian brass who doesn't like antonov. Given its Russia we are talking
about, one could speculate w.r.t his motivation.

But regardless, it does sound as if it is likely to become a dumpee in
the case of the Russian Air Force.


And how about those engine
problems...?

Compared to something whose power plants and propeller designs haven't left
the drawing board yet. Engines which will have to deliver twice the horse
power of any turbo prop ever put into service in the west, methinks it wont
be the 1st or last time problems have been seen with a new engine design.

Actually, I was not comparing it to the A400 (of which I am no
tremendous fan), just noting that the An-70 has to date been a rather
troublesome project, and not a very realistic option for the Europeans
(despite the past rhetoric out of Germany). Having the prototype go
crunch was bad, continued engine reliability problems are just icing
on the cake. IMO the Euros would have been better off going with a
joint force (similar to the NATO AWACS fleet) of a combination of a
few leased C-17's for oversize hauling, complemented by C-130's/C-130J
stretches, along with a few Airbus passenger/freighter convertables
tossed into the mix. That would have given them a credible short term
capability while the A400 is developed; or alternatively, keep that
force and dump A400 development. Use of proven aircraft (and the An-70
most definitely does not meet that description) for the near-term
would be smart.

Brooks



greg