State Enterprise "Antonov" (Kiev) suggests that the United States organize cooperation on the development of the medium-sized military transport (MTC) program An-77, which is an upgraded version of the short-range take-off and landing An-70.

According to the press service of the enterprise, proposals for cooperation within the framework of the An-77 program were transferred to the American side during a visit to the Antonov State Enterprise by the delegation of the Transport and Infrastructure Committee of the House of Representatives of the US Congress.

According to the Ukrainian side, the An-77 can occupy a niche between the C-130 with a commercial load of up to 21 tons and the C-17 - up to 76 tons.

"GP" Antonov "proposed to organize cooperation on this project with the broad participation of American aircraft manufacturers and equipment suppliers. The implementation of such a project will require interaction with the bodies of state aviation regulation and control - the State Aviation Service of Ukraine and the FAA USA. At the same time, an important step should be the conclusion of the intergovernmental agreement BASA (Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement), "- said in a statement on the site of the enterprise.

As it was reported, the AN-70 version, unified to the requirements of NATO, with a maximum carrying capacity of 47 tons - An-7X received high marks from specialists and was considered at a certain stage as a basic variant of the new European medium transport.

State Enterprise "Antonov" - the leading Ukrainian developer and manufacturer of aircraft, a recognized world leader in the niche of transport aircraft of the most widespread use. According to the government's decision, in 2015 the state enterprise "Antonov" is included in the state concern "Ukroboronprom".