The Aviastar-SP Plant in Ulyanovsk in the Volga area has started preliminary work to resume the production of the Antonov An-124 Ruslan (NATO reporting name: Condor) plane in Russia, according to a document available on the state procurement website.

Aviastar SP vows to resume An 124 production in Russia 001 A Russian An-124 Ruslan strategic airlifter in Moscow' sky
(Credit: Russian MoD)

In particular, the plant will decide on the equipment that will be necessary to manufacture the upgraded version of the plane, the document reads.

"The state of the equipment required to produce the An-124 plane and its fitness for further use will be evaluated and the difficulty of work to remove equipment to vacate manufacturing sites will be assessed," the document reads.The state of the Aviastar-SP Plant’s assembly facilities will be analyzed and a list of existing equipment required to repair, service and upgrade operational An-124 planes will be made.

Besides, a list of existing equipment required "to produce upgraded An-124-100M aircraft" will be drawn up. Upgraded An-124-100M planes are planned to be made "with the use of electronic simulation."

After the work is completed, a report on the state of the equipment, the necessity to dismantle, displace, mothball it and dispose of it will be made.

The maximum value of the contract will be 9.5 million rubles ($148,960).Earlier, Military Transport Aviation Commander Vladimir Benediktov said in an interview with Echo Moskvy radio station that Russia was studying an option to resume the production of the aircraft.

According to Vice-President for Transport Aircraft at Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) and CEO of the Ilyushin Aviation Complex Alexei Rogozin, the production of a modified An-124 Ruslan heavy long-range transport plane can be resumed.

The An-124 Ruslan heavy transport plane is designed to transport large cargo, military personnel and armament. It has a maximum cargo-carrying capacity of 120 tons, a maximum speed of 865 km/h (537 mph) and a maximum payload range of 4,800 kilometers (2,982 miles).According to the US Military Balance analytical book, the Russian Aerospace Force operates nine An-124 aircraft. Ten Ruslan planes are used by the Volga-Dnepr Company.

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