The Antonov/Taqnia An-132 was an improved version of the
Antonov An-32
The Antonov An-32 ( NATO reporting name: Cline) is a turboprop twin-engined military transport aircraft.
Design and development
The An-32 is essentially a re-engined An-26. It is designed to withstand adverse weather conditions better than the ...
twin-engined turboprop
military transport aircraft
A military transport aircraft, military cargo aircraft or airlifter is a military-owned transport aircraft used to support military operations by airlifting troops and military equipment. Transport aircraft are crucial to maintaining supply ...
that was under development jointly by Saudi Arabia and Ukraine. It was cancelled in April 2019.
Development
Origins
The origins of the An-132 can be found in the
Antonov An-24
The Antonov An-24 ( Russian/ Ukrainian: Антонов Ан-24) ( NATO reporting name: Coke) is a 44-seat twin turboprop transport/passenger aircraft designed in 1957 in the Soviet Union by the Antonov Design Bureau and manufactured by Kyiv, I ...
, a Soviet short-range passenger turboprop aircraft developed in the late 1950s by the. The principle advantage of this aircraft over others was its ability to operate in rugged and undeveloped airfields. For this reason, the An-24 became a popular aircraft in Soviet aviation, and subsequently friendly countries in
Comecon
The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (, ; English abbreviation COMECON, CMEA, CEMA, or CAME) was an economic organization from 1949 to 1991 under the leadership of the Soviet Union that comprised the countries of the Eastern Bloc along wi ...
. Design work was conducted by the Antonov Design Bureau, and manufactured in large quanitites at the Kiev Aviation Plant, Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant, and Irkutsk Aviation Plant.
In the 1960s, a military variant of the aircraft, the
Antonov An-26
The Antonov An-26 (NATO reporting name: Curl) is a twin-engined turboprop civilian and military transport aircraft, designed and produced in the Soviet Union from 1969 to 1986.Gordon, Yefim. Komissarov, Dmitry & Sergey. "Antonov's Turboprop Twi ...
, was produced for the
Soviet Air Forces
The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...
.
In the 1980s, at the request of the Indian Air Force, for operating in the high altitude environments of Northern India, the An-26 was fitted with more powerful
Ivchenko AI-20
The Ivchenko AI-20 is a Soviet turboprop engine developed by the Ivchenko design bureau in the 1950s. It has been built in large numbers, serving as the powerplant for both the Antonov An-12 transport and the Ilyushin Il-18 airliner.
Design and ...
engines. This version of the aircraft was designated as the Antonov An-32. Production of the An-32 continued after the fall of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
at the Aviant Aviation Plant.
Partnership with Saudi Arabia
A revolution occurred at the beginning of 2014 in Ukraine, resulting in a deterioration of relations between the new Ukrainian government and Russia. Due to inheriting the industrial supply chains of the Soviet Union era, Antonov was heavily associated and reliant on partnered industries in Russia. As a result of this crisis, the company began to search for other partners. In late 2014, Saudi Arabia initiated the negotiation of a development of new aircraft with Ukraine, focussing on a modernised version of the An-32, replacing Soviet and Russian systems with western components.
The new An-132 would receive a number of updates from the old An-32. The
Ivchenko AI-20
The Ivchenko AI-20 is a Soviet turboprop engine developed by the Ivchenko design bureau in the 1950s. It has been built in large numbers, serving as the powerplant for both the Antonov An-12 transport and the Ilyushin Il-18 airliner.
Design and ...
engines manufactured by
Motor Sich
The Motor Sich Joint Stock Company ( uk, АТ «Мотор Січ») is a Ukrainian aircraft engine manufacturer headquartered in Zaporizhzhia. The company manufactures engines for airplanes and helicopters, and also industrial marine gas tur ...
would be replaced with
Pratt & Whitney Canada PW150
The Pratt & Whitney Canada PW100 aircraft engine family is a series of turboprops manufactured by Pratt & Whitney Canada. Pratt & Whitney Canada dominates the turboprops market with 89% of the turboprop regional airliner installed base in 201 ...
turboprop engines, widely used in many regional airliners. The American firm
Honeywell
Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building technologies, performance ma ...
would provide aircraft avionics and
Auxillary Power Unit units would be supplied by
United Technologies
United Technologies Corporation (UTC) was an American multinational conglomerate headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut. It researched, developed, and manufactured products in numerous areas, including aircraft engines, aerospace systems ...
. The aircraft would also feature British-made propellers, French air management systems, and many other European and American components that would replace the original Russian parts. This modernisation process would result in the An-132 possessing twice the range of the original An-32, as well as improving cargo capacity from 6,700kg to 9,200kg.
A Saudi Arabian government owned company named Taqnia served as the major partner in the project. The company wished to develop a production line in Riyadh by 2017, with the goal of both Saudi Arabian and Ukrainian production lines being operational in 2018.
Design

The An-132 is a turboprop-powered transport aircraft. While the An-132 inherits the aerodynamic features of its predecessor, the
An-32
The Antonov An-32 ( NATO reporting name: Cline) is a turboprop twin-engined military transport aircraft.
Design and development
The An-32 is essentially a re-engined An-26. It is designed to withstand adverse weather conditions better than the ...
, many of its Soviet and Russian origin parts are replaced by Western European and American made components.
It is powered by a pair of
Pratt & Whitney Canada PW150
The Pratt & Whitney Canada PW100 aircraft engine family is a series of turboprops manufactured by Pratt & Whitney Canada. Pratt & Whitney Canada dominates the turboprops market with 89% of the turboprop regional airliner installed base in 201 ...
turboprop engines, which drive an arrangement of six-bladed R408 propellers supplied by
Dowty Propellers
Dowty Propellers is a British engineering company based in Brockworth, Gloucestershire that specialises in the manufacture, repair and overhaul of propellers and propeller components for customers around the world. It is owned by General Elect ...
. This arrangement produces 5,071
shp SHP or shp may refer to:
* Saint Helena pound, currency
* Sacred Heart Preparatory (Atherton, California), a US school
* Seton Hall Preparatory School, West Orange, New Jersey, US
* Shaft horsepower
* Shapefile, for GIS software
* Shek Pai stop ( ...
, allowing the aircraft to achieve "
hot and high
In aviation, hot and high is a condition of low air density due to high ambient temperature and high airport elevation. Air density decreases with increasing temperature and altitude. The lower air density reduces the power output from the airc ...
" takeoff performance, and operate in sparse conditions.
The aircraft features
Honeywell
Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building technologies, performance ma ...
avionics, a
Liebherr
Liebherr is a German-Swiss multinational equipment manufacturer based in Bulle, Switzerland, with its main production facilities and origins in Germany.
Liebherr consists of over 130 companies organized into 11 divisions: earthmoving, mining, ...
air management system and a
Hamilton Sundstrand
Hamilton Sundstrand was an American globally active corporation that manufactured and supported aerospace and industrial products for worldwide markets. A subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation, it was headquartered in Windsor Locks, Con ...
-supplied
Auxiliary Power Unit
An auxiliary power unit (APU) is a device on a vehicle that provides energy for functions other than propulsion. They are commonly found on large aircraft and naval ships as well as some large land vehicles. Aircraft APUs generally produce 115&n ...
(APU).
Operational history

The Antonov An-132 struggled to compete with European and American competitors and lacked access to its previous Russian aligned customers. An initial order of 80 aircraft by the
Royal Saudi Air Force
The Royal Saudi Air Force ( ar, الْقُوَّاتُ الْجَوِّيَّةُ الْمَلَكِيَّةْ ٱلسُّعُوْدِيَّة, Al-Quwwat Al-Jawiyah Al-Malakiyah as-Su’udiyah) (RSAF) is the Military aviation, aviation branch o ...
was publicised in 2015 as being highly useful for both military and civilian purposes. However, with the
RSAF already negotiating the purchase of extra
Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules
The Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. The C-130J is a comprehensive update of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, with new engines, flight deck, and other systems.
The C-130J is the newest v ...
, as well as
EADS CASA C-295
The CASA C-295 (now Airbus C295) is a medium tactical transport aircraft that was designed and initially manufactured by the Spanish aerospace company CASA.
Work on what would become the C-295 was started during the 1990s as a derivative of ...
at the time, little space was left for the An-132. The initial Saudi Arabian commitment to the project was $150 million USD, which covered one third of the development costs, and two thirds of testing costs. The production of an An-132D technology demonstrator began in 2015. On a snowy winter morning of December 2016, the completed prototype was rolled out at
Sviatoshyn Airfield
Sviatoshyn Airfield ( Ukrainian Аеродром «Святошин»), formerly known as ''Svyatoshino'', is an industrial airfield in Kyiv, Ukraine, located 11 km northwest of city center. It is part of the Antonov Serial Production Plant, s ...
in
Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
.
The aircraft was open for public examination, with Antonov praising its characteristics in demanding situations such as desert environments.
In March 2017, the prototype embarked on its maiden flight to Riyadh, for testing in desert conditions. At the same time, 50 Saudi engineers undertook training at the Antonov Technical School. However, production lines had yet to have been established in Saudi Arabia. At the Paris Air Show in June 2017, it was revealed that the Saudi Arabian production line was scheduled to begin production. A Saudi Arabian derived variant was announced, stating that a significant part of the aircraft would be built using composite materials, produced in Saudi Arabia.
In 2017 and 2018, the An-132 prototype continued with flight tests.

At Aero India in February 2019, representatives from Ukraine and India discussed offering the An-132 as a potential replacement for their existing fleet of An-32 transport aircraft. The aircraft performed a number of demonstration flights during the air show.
In April 2019, Antonov CEO
Oleksandr Donets
Oleksandr Donets ( uk, Олександр Дмитрович Донець (''Oleksandr Dmytrovych Donets''), born 4 February 1966) is the current head of Antonov State Company, a large Ukrainian aircraft manufacturing and services company.
Bio ...
announced that cooperation had been suspended, indicating that Taqnia was no longer a partner in the project. Saudi Arabia neglected to comment on this occurrence. The primary reason for this change suggested by aviation experts is that the RSAF decided to focus their efforts towards building their fleet of already operated aircraft, such as the
C-130J Super Hercules
The Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. The C-130J is a comprehensive update of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, with new engines, flight deck, and other systems.
The C-130J is the newes ...
. Others have suggested that the project was dropped as part of the anti-corruption campaign and consolidation of government spending by
Crown Prince
A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wife ...
Mohammed bin Salman
Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud ( ar, محمد بن سلمان آل سعود, translit=Muḥammad bin Salmān Āl Su‘ūd; born 31 August 1985), colloquially known by his initials MBS or MbS, is Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia. ...
, or that the project was never taken seriously by Saudi Arabia to begin with.
In 2021, the aircraft’s registration was revoked by the
State Aviation Administration of Ukraine
The State Aviation Administration of Ukraine ( uk, Державна авіаційна служба України) is an agency of the Ukrainian government under the Ministry of Infrastructure responsible for civil aviation.
The head office is i ...
as its airworthiness certificate had expired. The prototype was very heavily damaged during the
Battle of Antonov Airport
The Battle of Antonov Airport, also known as the Battle of Hostomel Airport, was a military engagement which occurred at the Antonov Airport in Hostomel, Kyiv Oblast, during the Kyiv offensive of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
On 24 F ...
in 2022.
Variants
* An-132D: Initial production version of the aircraft. 1 produced.
Undeveloped variants
Antonov has studied a number of An-132 variants that have not gone beyond the concept stage.
* AN-132ISR: Electronic warfare variant.
* AN-132MPA: Maritime patrol variant.
* AN-132 Gunship: Lightly armed gunship for counter insurgency activities.
* AN-132ME: Medical evacuation variant.
* AN-132SAR: Coast guard and search & rescue variant.
* AN-132FF: Fire fighting variant.
Operators
Former operators
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...
*
Antonov State Enterprise
Antonov State Enterprise ( uk, Державне підприємство «Антонов»), formerly the Aeronautical Scientific-Technical Complex named after Antonov (Antonov ASTC) ( uk, Авіаційний науково-технічни� ...
- 1 prototype An-132D. In 2021, the aircraft’s registration was revoked by the
State Aviation Administration of Ukraine
The State Aviation Administration of Ukraine ( uk, Державна авіаційна служба України) is an agency of the Ukrainian government under the Ministry of Infrastructure responsible for civil aviation.
The head office is i ...
as its airworthiness certificate had expired.
Cancelled orders
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries by area, fifth-largest country in Asia ...
*
Royal Saudi Air Force
The Royal Saudi Air Force ( ar, الْقُوَّاتُ الْجَوِّيَّةُ الْمَلَكِيَّةْ ٱلسُّعُوْدِيَّة, Al-Quwwat Al-Jawiyah Al-Malakiyah as-Su’udiyah) (RSAF) is the Military aviation, aviation branch o ...
- Initial order of 80 aircraft in 2015, then reduced to a commitment to purchase 6 aircraft. Cancelled in favour of increasing the size of its fleet of
Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules
The Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. The C-130J is a comprehensive update of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, with new engines, flight deck, and other systems.
The C-130J is the newest v ...
tactical transport aircraft.
Accidents and incidents
* On 24 February 2022, the only prototype model An-132 with registration number ''UR-EXK'' was damaged during the Battle of Antonov Airport.
The left wing of the aircraft was damaged beyond repair, in addition to significant shrapnel damage to the engine and fuselage. At this time, the aircraft was not airworthy.
Specifications (An-132)
See also
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Antonov Taqnia An-132
2010s Ukrainian cargo aircraft
Ukrainian military transport aircraft
An-132
The Antonov/Taqnia An-132 was an improved version of the Antonov An-32 twin-engined turboprop military transport aircraft that was under development jointly by Saudi Arabia and Ukraine. It was cancelled in April 2019.
Development
Origins
Th ...
High-wing aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 2017
Twin-turboprop tractor aircraft