Military and Aviation Secondary Dimension by Author: Lele万博manbext体育官网app官网

Following a mishap involving an old, fully-loaded Antonov-24, it was surprisingly discovered that this classic transport aircraft from the 1960s is still in operation within the Russian aviation sector. However, the decline of the Russian aviation industry in both transport and civil sectors is more than just about outdated aircraft models exceeding their operational lifespan.

▲ Antonov-24 is an extremely old model

The Antonov-24, a classic design from the Antonov Design Bureau, faced significant limitations due to the rushed and constrained circumstances of its development in the late 1950s. This is particularly evident in China's experience with the Antonov-24. Facing a shortage of civil airliners in the 1960s, China purchased 40 Antonov-24 aircraft in 1970 (as Soviet exports to China were not heavily restricted at that time), all of which were delivered by spring 1971, a remarkably fast process. Out of these, 6 were allocated to the Air Force, while the remaining 32 were put into civilian service.

▲ This was an extremely uncomfortable operational experience

The last Antonov-24 was retired from service in China in 1996, with a history marked by 7 accidents, making it one of the most accident-prone aircraft in the history of Chinese civil aviation. The reasons behind this are complex, involving inherent design flaws of the Antonov-24, operational difficulties, and the challenge for pilots accustomed to propeller-driven transport aircraft to adapt to its speed. Furthermore, the Antonov-24 was not designed to operate effectively in high-altitude and tropical environments, resulting in reduced passenger capacity in China (theoretically seating 44 passengers, but rarely carrying more than 35), leading to consistent operational losses.

▲ There were clear signs of discomfort in Chinese operations

Under these circumstances, the domestically replicated Y-7 faced similar repercussions despite some performance adjustments. Consequently, it became one of the least recognized models among the several transport aircraft developed domestically. Even the earlier development of the KJ-600 carrier-borne early warning aircraft in China did not utilize this theoretically most suitable platform, underscoring the deep-seated influence of the Antonov-24. Meanwhile, Russia's decision to continue operating the Antonov-24 until after 2030 is primarily out of necessity. Before the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian War, Russia possessed over 1,100 passenger aircraft, with more than 730 being imported, accounting for over two-thirds of the total. These aircraft handled more than 95% of passenger traffic annually.

▲ The Y-7 also had a small number of civilian models, but was not well received

In other words, of the challenging maintenance of more than 300 domestically produced Russian passenger aircraft, the basic models are short-haul and feeder aircraft with very limited passenger capacity, having effectively been overshadowed by European and American aircraft in the market. In March and June 2022, the Russian President/Prime Minister convened meetings to address the issue, ultimately deciding to invest 400 billion rubles to procure 1,036 domestically produced passenger aircraft, with the most crucial of them being the Il-96, SSJ, and MS-21. These respectively correspond to long-haul wide-body, feeder, and medium-haul trunk route operational requirements, with purchase quantities of 12, 142, and 270 aircraft. Subsequently, in Russian promotional materials万博manbext体育官网app官网, there frequently appear statements such as \"Assembled XX\" and \"XX currently under construction,\" however, even up to now, have not genuinely entered into passenger flight.