News Breakbulk & Project Cargo
$ 21 million ESOCA study in December to look at “ short- , mid- and long-term solutions for strategic air transportation needs ,” an Airbus spokesperson said .
He said the 20-month study will take existing heavy transport aircraft , including the military Lockheed Martin C-5 Galaxy , which can carry around 130 tons , as reference points “ in terms of the payload and dimension .”
“ We will investigate more detailed specifications during the project ,” the spokesperson told the Journal of Commerce . The study will also analyze the future demand for heavy-lift aircraft from civilian airline and military operators .
“ All currently available aircraft in the market have been in service a long time , so we expect that there will be business for military and civil orders ,” the spokesperson said .
Blagovisniy , a former senior executive at Antonov Airlines , expected Antonov to keep its AN-124s flying at least for the next 15 to 20 years through regular maintenance and upgrades .
Heavy air freight executives are already mindful of the potential shortage of heavy-lift capacity which Russia ’ s invasion of Ukraine has exacerbated .
“ The market for air transportation of heavy-lift and project cargo has decreased significantly over the last
three years ,” Blagovisniy said . “ This is primarily due to the Russia-Ukraine war which has reduced the availability of aircraft to transport such cargo .”
He pointed out there were around 20 AN-124s operating globally before the war started , including around seven operated by Antonov Airlines and 12 by Russia ’ s Volga-Dnepr Airlines . There was also a single Antonov AN-225 Mriya capable of carrying 250 metric tons operated by Antonov Airlines .
But Russian attacks in the early days of the 2022 invasion destroyed the AN-225 and damaged a AN-124 while Antonov Airlines aircraft are now dedicated to carrying military-related cargo .
The Volga-Dnepr aircraft have been largely grounded by sanctions against Moscow , with only two operating between Russia , China and other Russia-friendly nations , according to Blagovisniy and aircraft tracking data .
This leaves just four AN-124s open for the commercial heavy-lift sector , although at least two are allocated to Europe ’ s strategic airlift international solution ( SALIS ) program which provides urgent humanitarian assistance , Blagovisniy said .
email : keithwallis @ hotmail . com
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