Antonov

Antonov, or Antonov Aeronautical Scientific/Technical Complex (Antonov ASTC) (Авіаційний науково-технічний комплекс імені Антонова, АНТК ім. Антонова), formerly the Antonov Design Bureau, is a Ukraine-based (since 1952) aircraft manufacturing and services company with particular expertise in the field of very large aircraft construction.

Antonov ASTC is a state-owned commercial company.

History
The company is named after Oleg Antonov, its founder and head designer of An-2, An-24, An-22 and other legendary planes.

The Antonov company lacks facilities for full construction of some aircraft, a result of Soviet industrial strategy that split military production between different regions of the USSR. This distribution minimized potential war risks, and prevented Soviet republics from developing self-sufficient economies. As a result, Antonov airplanes were often constructed by aerospace companies in Kharkiv (Ukraine), Novosibirsk (Russia), and Tashkent (Uzbekistan).

Products and activities
Fields of commercial activity of Antonov ASTC include:
 * Aircraft construction and manufacture
 * Airfreight services (Antonov Airlines)
 * Aircraft maintenance and upgrading
 * Aerospace related engineering support
 * Operation of the Gostomel airport (Antonov Airport)
 * Trolley bus construction and manufacture (a spin-off, using existing technical expertise).

Aircraft
Antonov's airplanes (design office prefix An) range from the rugged An-2 biplane (which itself is comparatively large for a biplane) through the An-28 reconnaissance aircraft to the massive An-124 Ruslan and An-225 Mriya strategic airlifters (the latter being the world's biggest aircraft in service). Whilst less famous, the An-24, An-26 and An-30 series of twin turboprop, high winged, passenger transport aircraft are important for domestic air services particularly in parts of the world once led by communist governments. The An-72/An-74 series of small jetliners is slowly replacing that fleet and a larger An-70 freighter is under certification. The An-70 is outwardly similar to the Airbus A400M design that has yet to fly in Western Europe.

Gliders

 * Antonov A-7
 * Antonov A-13