The successor to the legendary maize: Ministry of Industry and Trade announced the development of an aircraft to replace the An-2

In Russia, it is planned to create a new regional aircraft with a capacity of up to 14 people, which should replace the famous maize - An-2, the first flight of which took place on August 31, 1947. This was reported in the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation. The department also talked about the goals of the planned modernization.

“The aircraft is being created to increase the transport accessibility of remote regions of Russia and the development of local airlines to ensure regional and inter-regional passenger air traffic,” RIA Novosti quoted the text of the message.

In mid-August, it became known that the Ministry of Industry and Trade was planning to spend more than 1.2 billion rubles on research and development to create a light aircraft. The corresponding application is posted on the public procurement portal.

As noted in the department, the need to create a replacement for the An-2, the operation of which began back in 1947, is due to a significant reduction in their numbers, while these aircraft provide air traffic between the regions. At the same time, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in 15 regions of the Russian Federation aviation is the basis of the transport system.

“Based on the materials of the pre-project, for the design and development of a promising light multi-purpose aircraft for mass production and operation on local airlines, a standard aerodynamic aircraft with a passenger capacity of 9-14 people is recommended,” the statement of work says.

According to the materials presented, by December 2020, the first prototype of a new aircraft should be created, on which static tests will be conducted.

Previously, it was planned that the replacement of the An-2 will be a single-engine aircraft TVS-2DTS “Baikal”, developed by the Federal State Unitary Enterprise “Siberian Research Institute of Aviation named after S.A. Chaplygin. "

“TVS-2DTS is an experimental model of an aircraft designed to test new technologies. Taking into account the scientific and technical backlog obtained during the creation of the TVS-2DTS, a new production aircraft is being created as part of the LMS (light multi-purpose aircraft), ”the press service of the Ministry of Industry and Trade explained.

As a source of RIA Novosti in the aviation industry added, in September a decision will be made on the fate of the Novosibirsk biplane and the use of its features when creating a new aircraft.

• Aircraft TVS-2DTS
• © RT

“Simplify transport communications in the regions”

The project will be organized on the basis of proven solutions, but on a new technological basis, believes Igor Korotchenko, a member of the Public Council under the Russian Ministry of Defense, chief editor of the National Defense magazine.

“The need for local air services, it is very much present. Especially when from one small village, bypassing large airports, you need to get to another. To organize such a transport connection, a compact appropriate aircraft is needed. And if there is such a plane, it will greatly simplify transport communications directly in the regions, ”the expert added in an interview with RT.

According to Dmitry Drozdenko, an observer for Arsenal of the Fatherland magazine, the Ministry of Industry and Trade came up with a very good initiative. At the same time, he emphasized that the An-2 is a unique machine of its kind, which, despite its simplicity, is extremely reliable.

“We really need an airplane for regional and interregional lines. Because in Soviet times, this existed as a separate direction. It was possible to fly from Samara to Saratov on small planes. It was possible to move from the same Siberia. Because we have a huge country, distances are large, roads are bad, and there are not enough helicopters for everyone. And these planes were very much in demand. But with the collapse of the USSR, this whole thing disappeared. And now it’s starting to reborn. We are now restoring base airports, restoring small airports, and for them, respectively, we need equipment. We need airplanes that are adapted to work at field airfields, ”explained the source RT.

History of An-2

The development of the An-2, also known as corn maize or “Annushka”, was carried out in the 1940s by OKB-153 for civil and transport aircraft at the Chkalov Novosibirsk Aviation Plant (later becoming the Antonov state-owned enterprise) under the leadership of Oleg Antonov, chief designer.

The first flight of the prototype, which at that time had the designation CX-1 or CXA, took place on August 31, 1947, and a year later this piston single-engine biplane with a brace wing was adopted by the Soviet Air Force and the USSR Civil Air Fleet.

It is worth noting that no more than in February 2019 the Ministry of Defense purchased these multi-purpose light aircraft under the state defense order, as the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper reported with reference to the defense department.

An-2 is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the most long-released - it has been produced for more than 70 years. The reason for the popularity of the "corn" is its reliability, safety and practicality in service. In total, over 18 thousand copies were built, including with various modifications. He was involved in various aviation tasks, ranging from civilian, transport, and ending with the military. The plane was exported to 26 countries. However, its serial production is still conducted only in China.