state company native name type state owned company industry aerospace and defence founded novosibirsk ussr 31 may 1946 1946 05 31 headquarters kiev ukraine key people oleg antonov first chief prominent designer dmytro kiva chief products aircraft for various applications aircraft maintenance cargo air transport number of employees 13 700 2014 parent ukroboronprom divisions antonov serial production plant antonov airlines antonov airport website www.antonov.com antonov state company ukrainian formerly the antonov aeronautical scientific technical complex antonov astc ukrainian . and earlier the antonov design bureau is a ukrainian aircraft manufacturing and services company . antonov s particular expertise is in the fields of very large aeroplanes and aeroplanes using unprepared runways . antonov model prefix an has built a total of approximately 22 000 aircraft and thousands of planes are currently operating in the former soviet union and in developing countries . 1 antonov stc is a state owned commercial company . its headquarters and main industrial grounds are located in or adjacent to kiev . 2 on 12 may 2015 it was transferred from the ministry of economic development and trade to the ukroboronprom ukrainian defense industry . 3 in june 2016 ukraine s major state owned arms manufacturer ukroboronprom announced the creation of the ukrainian aircraft corporation within its structure thereby combining all aircraft manufacturing enterprises including the assets of antonov state company into a single cluster according to ukroboronprom s press service . 4 contents 1 history 1.1 soviet era 1.1.1 foundation and relocation 1.1.2 first serial aircraft and expansion 1.1.3 prominence and antonov s retirement 1.1.4 late soviet era superlarge projects and first commercialisation 1.2 independent ukraine 1.2.1 expansion to free market 1.2.2 production facilities consolidation 2 products and activities 3 major contractors and partners 3.1 contract and licensee manufacturers 4 chief designers 4.1 aircraft 4.2 gliders 5 see also 6 references 7 further reading 8 external links history edit soviet era edit antonov an 2 mass produced soviet utility aeroplane . foundation and relocation edit the company was established in 1946 at the novosibirsk aircraft production association as the top secret soviet research and design bureau no. 153 . it was headed by oleg antonov and specialised in turboprop military transport aircraft . the an 2 biplane was a major achievement of this period with hundreds of these aircraft still operating as of 2013 . 5 in 1952 the bureau was relocated to kiev a city with a rich aviation history and an aircraft manufacturing infrastructure restored after the destruction caused by world war ii . first serial aircraft and expansion edit an 12 cold war era tactical transport in flight . 47 year old an 12 still in operational condition in 2011 . the 1957 introduction of the an 10 an 12 family of mid range turboprop aeroplanes began the successful production of thousands of these aircraft . their use for both heavy combat and civilian purposes around the globe continues to the present ; the an 10 an 12 were used most notably in the vietnam war the soviet war in afghanistan and the chernobyl disaster relief megaoperation . in 1959 the bureau began construction of the separate flight testing and improvement base in suburban hostomel now the antonov airport . in 1965 the antonov an 22 heavy military transport entered serial production to supplement the an 12 in major military and humanitarian airlifts by the soviet union . the model became the first soviet wide body aircraft and it remains the world s largest turboprop powered aircraft . antonov designed and presented a nuclear powered version of the an 22 . it was never flight tested . in 1966 after major expansion in the sviatoshyn neighbourhood of the city the company was renamed to another disguise name kiev mechanical plant . two independent aircraft production and repair facilities under engineering supervision of the antonov bureau also appeared in kiev during this period . prominence and antonov s retirement edit antonov an 24 the soviet union s most common regional airliner . in the 1970s and early 1980s the company established itself as ussr s main designer of military transport aircraft with dozens of new modifications in development and production . after oleg antonov s death in 1984 the company is officially renamed as the research and design bureau named after o.k. antonov russian . . while continuing the use of kiev mechanical plant alias for some purposes . late soviet era superlarge projects and first commercialisation edit an 225 is the largest operating aircraft in the world . in the late 1980s the antonov bureau achieved global prominence after introduction of its extra large aeroplanes . the an 124 ruslan 1982 became soviet union s serial produced strategic airlifter . the bureau enlarged the ruslan design even more for the soviet space shuttle programme logistics creating the an 225 mriya in 1989 . mriya has since been the world s largest and heaviest aeroplane . end of the cold war and perestroika allowed the antonov s first step to commercialisation and foreign expansion . in 1989 the antonov airlines subsidiary was created for its own aircraft maintenance and cargo projects . independent ukraine edit this section needs expansion . you can help by adding to it . april 2013 antonov design bureau remained a state owned company after ukraine achieved its independence in 1991 and is since regarded as a strategic national asset . expansion to free market edit rollout of the first serially produced an 148 at antonov s hangar in kiev 2009 . an an 124 under maintenance seen in the far corner of the hangar . since independence antonov has certified and marketed both soviet era and newly developed models for sale in new markets outside of the former soviet sphere of influence . new models introduced to serial production and delivered to customers include the antonov an 140 antonov an 148 and antonov an 158 regional airliners . among several modernisation projects antonov received orders for upgrading hundreds of its legendary an 2 utility planes still in operation in azerbaijan cuba and russia to the an 2 100 upgrade version . 5 in 2014 ukraine cancelled contracts with russia leading to an 80 % income reduction in ukraine s defence and aviation industries . 6 production facilities consolidation edit during the soviet period not all antonov designed aircraft were manufactured by the company itself . this was a result of soviet industrial strategy that split military production between different regions of the ussr to minimise potential war loss risks . as a result antonov aeroplanes are often assembled by the specialist contract manufacturers . in 2009 the once independent aviant aeroplane assembling plant in kiev became part of the antonov state company facilitating a full serial manufacturing cycle of the company . however the old tradition of co manufacturing with contractors is continued both with soviet time partners and with new licensees like iran s hesa . 7 products and activities edit lt 10 tram kiev 12 trolley bus fields of commercial activity of antonov astc include aircraft design and manufacturing cargo air transport antonov airlines aircraft maintenance testing certification and upgrading aerospace related research and engineering aerial launch a joint russian ukrainian project of midair spacecraft space launch from aboard a modified version of the an 225 . 8 operation of the gostomel airport antonov airport medium capacity rail transport system radan construction of lt 10 trams construction and manufacturing of kiev 12 trolley buses a spin off using existing technical expertise . 9 major contractors and partners edit this section needs expansion . you can help by adding to it . april 2013 contract and licensee manufacturers edit kharkiv state aviation manufacturing enterprise kharkiv ukraine tashkent aviation production association formerly tashkent state aviation plant tashkent uzbekistan iran aircraft manufacturing industrial company hesa shahin shahr iran 7 voronezh aircraft production association vaso voronezh russia chief designers edit oleg antonov 1946 1984 petro balabuiev 1984 2005 dmytro kiva since 2005 aircraft edit antonov s aeroplanes design office prefix an range from the rugged an 2 biplane which itself is comparatively large for a biplane through the an 28 reconnaissance aircraft to the massive an 124 ruslan and an 225 mriya strategic airlifters the latter being the world s heaviest aircraft with only one currently in service . whilst less famous the an 24 an 26 an 30 and an 32 family of twin turboprop high winged passenger cargo troop transport aircraft are important for domestic short haul air services particularly in parts of the world once led by communist governments . the an 72 an 74 series of small jetliners is slowly replacing that fleet and a larger an 70 freighter is under certification . the antonov an 148 is a new regional airliner of twin turbofan configuration . over 150 aircraft have been ordered since 2007 . a stretched version is in development the an 158 from 60 70 to 90 100 passengers . aircraft name maiden flight remarks a 40 krylaty tank 2 september 1942 winged tank an 2 kukuruznik 31 august 1947 multi purpose biplane single engine utility transport . an 2 100 kukuruznik 10 july 2013 an 2 upgrade version refitted with motor sich kerosene fueled engine instead of original avgas . 5 an 3 13 may 1980 turboprop conversion of an 2 an 4 31 july 1951 float equipped an 2 an 6 meteo 21 march 1948 weather reconnaissance aircraft based on an 2 an 8 11 february 1956 medium military transport an 10 ukraina 7 march 1957 medium turboprop powered airliner an 11 motorised variant of the a 11 glider an 12 16 december 1957 military turboprop powered transport developed from an 10 an 13 1962 light aircraft developed from the a 13m motor glider an 14 pchelka 14 march 1958 light twin engine transport an 20 light turbocharged piston engine aircraft developed from cessna 210 citation needed an 22 antei 27 february 1965 extremely large turboprop transport an 24 20 october 1959 twin turboprop airliner an 26 21 may 1969 twin turboprop transport derived from an 24 an 28 september 1974 twin turboprop light transport developed from an 14 an 30 21 august 1967 an 24 adapted for aerial photography and mapping an 32 9 july 1976 twin turboprop hot and high transport up engined an 26 airframe an 34 4 september 1961 military transport developed from an 24 an 38 23 june 1994 twin turboprop light transport stretched an 28 an 40 cancelled military transport developed from an 12 an 44 cargo aircraft project developed from an 24 an 50 cancelled airliner project developed from an 24v an 51 civil piston utility aircraft an 52 light twin piston aircraft an 70 16 december 1994 large military transport powered by four propfan engines to replace an 12 an 71 12 july 1985 naval awacs development of an 72 an 72 cheburashka 31 august 1977 stol transport utilising the coand effect an 74 cheburashka 29 november 1983 civil version of an 72 ; version with engines below wings is called an 74tk 300 10 an 88 awacs project not completed an 91 twin engined cabin monoplane development of cessna 310 an 102 light agricultural aircraft an 122 further development of an 22 an 124 ruslan 26 december 1982 strategic airlifter ; largest aircraft ever mass produced an 126 heavy transport aircraft project an 132 transport aircraft based on an 32 an 140 17 september 1997 short range turboprop airliner to replace an 24 an 148 17 december 2004 regional jet for 68 85 passengers an 158 28 april 2010 stretched version of an 148 for 99 passengers an 168 business variant of an 148 an 171 stretched an 70 an 174 enlarged an 74 with engines below wings an 178 7 may 2015 military transport based on the an 158 an 180 cancelled medium propfan airliner around 175 passengers an 188 transport aircraft based on an 70 an 218 postponed propfan or