Antonov An-32

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The Antonov An-32 (NATO reporting name: Cline) is a turboprop twin-engined military transport aircraft. Its first flight was in July 1976 and displayed at the 1977 Paris Air Show. It is oriented towards flying in adverse weather conditions, and was produced from 1980 to 2012, and remains in service. It is the fourth member of the Antonov An-24 family, succeeding the An-24, An-30 and An-26, and coming before the cancelled An-132.

Design and development

The An-32 is essentially a re-engined An-26. It is designed to withstand adverse weather conditions better than the standard An-26. Announced at the May 1977 Paris Air Show, the An-32 is distinguished from its predecessor by engines raised 1.5 m above the wing in order to avoid foreign object damage on rough, unprepared airstrips.

The type features high-lift wings with automatic leading-edge slats, large triple-slotted trailing edge flaps and an enlarged tailplane and a very large increase in power, giving improved take-off performance and service ceiling. The high placement of the engine nacelles above the wing allowed for larger diameter propellers, which are driven by 5,100 hp rated Ivchenko AI-20 turboprop engines, providing almost twice the power of the An-26's AI-24 powerplants.^[1]^[2]

Production from the Government Aircraft Factory in Kyiv, has included 123 aircraft for the Indian Air Force, which ordered the aircraft under strong foreign relations between then USSR leader Leonid Brezhnev and then India leader Indira Gandhi.^[1]^[2]

The majority of production has been for the Russian and Ukrainian Air Forces, with around 40 per year being built during the late 1980s to early 1990s.^[1] The estimated price for a modernised An-32 version is 15 million US dollars.^[2]

The last An-32 was produced in 2012.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

Production data

**Production**^[3]
Total	1976	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	2005	2007	2008	2010	2011	2012
373	1	1	5	29	31	26	54	28	48	11	49	47	10	4	8	5	2	1	4	1	3	5

Operational history

The An-32 has outstanding takeoff characteristics in hot and high conditions, up to Template:Convert and Template:Convert elevation, and is suitable for use as a medium tactical military transport roles as well as commercial roles. Operating as a cargo transport over the short and medium range air routes, the An-32 is suitable for air-dropping cargo, passenger carrying, medevac, firefighting, skydiving or paratrooping roles.

The An-32 entered service in the 1980s and served with the air forces of Ukraine, Russia, Bangladesh Air Force, the Indian Air Force, the Iraqi Air Force, the Mexican Air Force and the Sudanese Air Force.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

Variants

File:MNS An-32.jpg

A State Emergency Service of Ukraine An-32 firefighting aircraft dumps water on a forest fire.

An-32 : Twin-engined transport aircraft
An-32A : The first civil variant, the majority of the 36 aircraft built were delivered to various government factory enterprises, for use in transporting assemblies between plants.
An-32B : Improved version
An-32B-100 : Modernised version of the An-32B. Maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) increased to 28.5 tons, payload increased to 7.5 tons.^[4]
An-32B-110 : New avionics allowing aircraft to be operated by two crew members. Metric (Russian) avionics variant.^[5]
An-32B-120 : Imperial (non-Russian) avionics variant of An-32B-110.^[5]
An-32B-300 : Version fitted with Rolls-Royce AE 2100 turboprop engines, providing 4,600 hp each.^[6]
An-32LL (Letayushchaya Laboratoriya flying laboratory): The An-32 first prototype was equipped with a large SV-36P eight-bladed propeller and D-236 engine on the port side for testing, in place of the standard engine and propeller. The increased noise produced by the experimental installation (115-120 dB) outweighed the modest gains in performance.^[7]
An-32MP : Marine Patrol version.^[8]
An-32P Firekiller : Aerial firefighting version. Special category type certificate granted on 10 March 1995. A total of eight tons of liquid can be discharged from the two external tanks simultaneously or one after the other. Drops are conducted at 40–50 m above ground level and 240 to 260 km/h. Can be used as a cargo aircraft when not fighting fires.^[8]
An-32V-200 : A tactical transport/cargo aircraft outgrowth from the An-32B-100, with more modern avionics allowing two crew operation. Intended for export; despite reasonable interest few have been sold.
An-32 RE : Modernised version of the An-32B. MTOW increased to 28.5 tons, payload increased to 7.5 tons.^[4] New avionics.

Operators

File:S3-ACB Bangladesh Air Force An-32 (24081506344) (cropped).jpg

Bangladesh Air Force Antonov An-32 landing

File:An Antonov An-32 of the Indian Air Force.jpg

The IAF's Antonov An-32 transport aircraft, during the Republic Day Flypast 2024.

File:Sri Lankan Air Force Antonov An-32B SDS.jpg

Sri Lanka Air Force Antonov An-32B.

File:Sun Air Charter Antonov An-32 UA-320-1.jpg

Sun Air Charter An-32 at Lokichogio Airport.

File:Croatian AN-32B Ruzyne.jpg

Antonov An-32B of the Croatian Air Force.

File:Mexican Navy Antonov An-32B 2009 Belyakov.jpg

Mexican Navy Antonov An-32B taking off at Kyiv-Zhuliany in 2009.

Military operators

Besides aircraft in service in the Ukrainian and Russian Air Forces, more than 240 An-32 aircraft are being operated in various countries around the world.

File:AN-32 cargo plane of the Afghan Air Force.jpg

An Antonov An-32 of the Afghan Air Force

Template:Country data Republic of Afghanistan / Template:Country data Islamic State of Afghanistan / Template:Country data Islamic State of Afghanistan / Template:Country data Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

At least six were delivered to the Afghan Air Force from 1987. Three were used by the Taliban Air Force.^[9]^[10] -2 Units Active in 2024.^[11]