Antonov State Enterprise (Kyiv), the designer of the An-70 military transport short takeoff and landing aircraft which recently entered service with the Ukrainian Armed Forces, has said that the aircraft could be equipped with turbojet engines made in the West.

President and Chief Designer of Antonov State Enterprise Dmytro Kiva at a press conference in Kyiv on Thursday welcomed the decision of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry to take the An-70 into the service of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

"The usage of An-70 opens opportunities for starting large-scale mass production of the aircraft," he said.

Kiva said that due to Russian aggression against Ukraine Antonov State Enterprise began work on replacing imported elements in all its programs. He confirmed that the An-70 aircraft project could be realized in cooperation with foreign partners.

"Yes, we're holding negotiations. This will be the modernized option… We're mulling the option of turbojet engines made in the West," he said.

Kiva said that the An-70 is superior to existing similar aircraft in several areas, including the European А400М aircraft.

"The An-70 documents are located in Ukraine," he said, adding that this opens up opportunities for modernization and the development of the program.

The chief designer said that the placement of the state order for the aircraft is open today.

"The Defense Ministry makes the decisions," he said.

Kiva said that customers have fully paid for research design, and that the production of two aircraft was financed by 5%.