The An-70 upgrade led to the replacement of the SV-27 propfans of the D-27 engines with more sophisticated ones, with the pitch between the front and rear props increased by 300 mm. This resulted in noise reduction and propfan performance improvement. In addition, a modified engine FADEC and propfan control system was introduced as well as the TA-12-60 auxiliary power unit was ousted by the TA-18-200-70 one from the Aerosila scientific and production in Stupino (Moscow region), which features an expanded operating conditions bracket.

The avionics suite underwent heavy upgrade owing to its transition to advanced electronic componentry and the need of accomplishing new missions in line with the customer’s requirements specified more accurately. In the cockpit, TV-type CRT displays were replaced with six colour multifunction liquid-crystal displays. The ball of the electro-optical system designed for night landing on unpaved airfields and round-the-clock airdrop operations appeared under the nose section. Antonov news release stressed: “The mathematical models and algorithms embodied in the aircraft control system and aircraft components remained the same. This ensured the continuity with the earlier performed stages of the trials and guarantees the suitability of the results produced”.

The An-70 first flight after two-years upgrade programme took place in Kiev on 27 September 2012. Its preliminary test programme designed for 20 sorties was completed with success in December 2012, and the aircraft entered the final phase of its official trials, which provides for 75 test sorties, according to Antonov Designer General Dmitry Kiva.

The flying and ground crews involved in the programme had been trained at Antonov’s Training Centre, where an An-70 flight test stand was introduced. The stand is designed for testing aircraft systems, particularly, the fly-be-wire system, and checking their fail safety as well as for preparing pilots or various situation possible during the trials and for pilot training.

According to the official information released by Antonov, the An-70 had logged about 670 flights exceeding 710 flight hours by March 2013, including about 30 sorties totalling about 50 hours after the recent upgrade programme. In April, the aircraft was painted in a new dark-gray colour scheme meeting the current standard of the Russian Air Force.

The An-70 is planned for production by a pool of Russian and Ukrainian companies. The final assembly site for the An-70s intended for the Russian Air Force Military Transport Command expecting about 60 aircraft of the type has been changed repeatedly in recent years. Russian Premier Dmitry Medvedev voiced the latest decision in June 2012. A new production facility was to be built on Gorbunov KAPO’s premises in Kazan, with the fuselage panels supposed to be supplied by the Avistar-SP plant in Ulyanovsk and the wings and empennage by the Antonov plant in Kiev.

The D-27 engine co-production will be run by Motor Sich in Zaporozhye and Salut in Moscow, while Aerosila in Stupino will supply SV-27 propfans and TA-18-200-70 APUs. The first production An-70s were expected to be made in Kazan in 2015–16, with the plant possibly manufacturing up to 12 aircraft a year by the end of the decade.

However, the reshuffle of the leaders of the Russian Defence Ministry, which took place in November 2012, may cause a revision of the plans. At the late-December conference chaired by the new Russian defence minister General of the Army Sergei Shoigu and dedicated to the acquisition of advanced aircraft for the RusAF Military Transport Command, it was said that a decision on the An-70 procurement could be put on the back burner until the completion of the aircraft’s test programme. The Russian Defence Ministry will bankroll the trials and completion of the first production-standard aircraft in Kiev, but abstain from allocating money for the launching of An-70 assembly in Kazan so far. A decision on series acquisition of An-70 aircraft and, hence, on their production in Russia is expected to be made later this year based on the outcome of the An-70’s official test programme and talks with Ukraine about the intellectual property matters pertaining to the programme.

By the way, on 21 December 2012, the fuselage of the first production-standard An-70 airlifter (c/n 01-04) was taken out of the stocks in a ceremony at the Antonov aircraft production plant in Kiev. The fuselage was then moved to the final assembly shop. It is the first of the two production-standard An-70s ordered by the Ukrainian Defence Ministry in 2004 and laid down by Antonov as far back as 2001. The other production An-70 c/n 01-05 is at the fuselage sections assembly stage. The set of wings to fit the two aircraft was ordered from TAPC in Uzbekistan. The first production-standard An-70 built in Kiev may be completed in 2014.