The only completed prototype of the An-178 airlifter landed in Bydgoszcz, Poland, on October 9, after almost three years without knowing its whereabouts.
The tactical transport aircraft that competes with the Embraer C-390 Millennium has been hidden in Ukraine since the Russian military invasion in February 2022.
Flight data from FlightRadar24 shows that the aircraft, registered UR-EXP, only turned on its transponder when flying in Polish territory, near the border with Ukraine.
The An-178 is derived from the An-158, a high-wing, T-tailed regional jet.
The aircraft is similar in size to the C-390, but carries less payload, just 18 tons compared to the Embraer aircraft’s 26 tons.
The An-178 is 33 meters long, compared to the C-390’s 33.9 m; a wingspan of 30.57 m, compared to the Millennium’s 35 m; and 9.5 m high, compared to the Brazilian plane’s 11.8 m.
Development of the military variant began in 2009, and a prototype flew for the first time in May 2015.
Antonov intended to offer it as a replacement for older turboprops such as the An-12 and An-26, but relations with Russia deteriorated after the 2014 seizure of Crimea, and a plan to replace components of the aircraft with Western equivalents began.
In December 2021, Antonov completed the conversion of the UR-EXP prototype into the An-178-100R model, but months later the conflict with Russia destroyed much of the company’s facilities near Kiev. At the time, the Ukrainian government had placed an order for three aircraft with Antonov, which was also trying to fill an order for an An-178 from Peru. It is unclear what will become of the prototype, but Antonov has been using Poland as a base for its cargo flights
