The State-owned company SpetsTechnoExport, in charge of exports of Ukrainian defense industry equipment, issued a press release stating its version of the inability to deliver the An-178 to the Peruvian National Police in a proper and timely manner.
The release, which comes to answer/refute what was reported by different Peruvian press media, reads as follows:
As of December 9 of the current year, there has been a constant media attack in the Peruvian press to discredit the above-mentioned contract. As a result, this information has been published in the Ukrainian and Russian media.
We inform such information disclosed is not objective.
As of today, the contract is in force, however, due to the lack of financing from the client – the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Peru – the contract is being performed with a delay. Therefore, the resolution of the financing problem does not depend on the Ukrainian party. The above-mentioned problem is the result of the rejection of the bank guarantee by the Peruvian state and private banks, including the guarantees issued by the first-class European bank, which is included in the list of first-class banks approved by the Central Reserve Bank of Peru. Precisely this reason is the factor that aggravates and essentially changes the balance of the contractual commitments.
Simultaneously, the Ukrainian party is making its best efforts to resolve the issue. At the moment «Spetstechnoexport», as a conscientious executor of the contract, continues negotiations on the settlement of the aggravated circumstances beyond the control of the parties to the contract.
We inform as well that as of today SFTE «Spetstechnoexport» has not received any payment from the customer and the Ukrainian party manufactures the aircraft on its own account.
The stipulations of the contract are confidential information, therefore they are not subject to disclosure by any of the parties.
SFTE «Spetstechnoexport» requests the media to check carefully the unverified information, which may affect not only the contract performance but also the image of Ukraine.
Additionally:
It will be recalled that in November 2019 SFTE «Spetstechnoexport», which is a part of the State Consortium «Ukroboronprom», signed with the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Peru the contract for delivery of the multipurpose transport aircraft AN-178. The contract signing opened the Latin American market for the new generation of Antonov aircraft.
The multipurpose transport aircraft AN-178 designed by the State Enterprise «Antonov» is a further development of the AN-148/AN-158 series of certified regional jetliners.
The maximum flight altitude of the AN-178 is 12.2 km, the flight range is 5500 km, the maximum speed is 825 km/h, the cargo capacity is up to 18 tons. The aircraft is capable of operating at different airfields, including the ones in high mountains and natural terrain.
The first flight of the AN-178 was performed in May 2015. Since then, import substitution measures of aircraft equipment have been taken. The AN-178 was shown to the world community at aerospace exhibitions in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Turkey, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates.
Whether coincidentally or not, today was also the day Antonov demonstrated the first An-178-100R №001 military transport aircraft designed for certification testing, one year after the signing of the contract between the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense and Ukroboronprom for the purchase of 3 aircraft.
