The wings are high-mounted and back-tapered with blunt tips and a negative slant. Two turbofans are mounted in long pods mounted on top of the wings. Round air intakes extend from the front of the wings’ leading edges. The engines were placed on the leading edge of the wings to increase lift for STOL capability, with the jet exhausts blowing over titanium panels on the upper surface. The engine position also gives good Foreign Object Damage (FOD) protection. The fuselage is circular with round, solid nose, upswept rear section, and a flush cockpit. The rear fuselage has a hinged loading ramp with a rear fairing that slides backwards and up to clear the opening. Up to 7.5 tons can be airdropped, and there are folding side seats for 42 paratroops or 52 passengers. The swept-back, untapered fin features back-tapered flats high-mounted on the fin forming a T.
The An-72P is a maritime patrol variant with bulged observation windows, liferaft provision, cameras as well as offensive armament, including underwing rocket pods, a podded cannon on the undercarriage sponson and bombs that can be mounted in the rear fuselage and dropped through the open rear ramp. The An-74 derivative of the An-72 featured improved avionics and radar together with an extended wingspan and increased range. It was designed to operate in the polar regions where it can land on ice floes for resupply or rescue work. The An-71 AEW aircraft also featured the extended wingspan, along with a large radar dish on top of the tail.
Specifications | |
| Country of Origin | Russia |
| Builder | ANTONOV |
| Role | Medium-transport, STOL |
| Similar Aircraft | C-160 Transall, G.222 |
| Wing Span | 84 ft, 9 in (25.8 m) |
| Length | 87 ft, 2 in (26.6 m) |
| Height | 8.2 m |
| Weight |
26,500 kg takeoff weight 30,500 kg Max. takeoff weight |
| Engine | 2 Lotarev D-36, 62.8 kN thrust each |
| Maximum speed | |
| Cruising speed | 720 km/h |
| Landing speed | 165 km/h |
| Airfield |
Takeoff roll: 400-450 m Landing roll: 350-400 m |
| Range |
3200 km maximum 1200 km with maximum payload |
| Ceiling |
11000 m maximum 8000 m cruise |
| Armament | None |
| Payload | 32 passengers or 5000 kg of cargo |
| Crew | Three |
| Cost | |
| User Countries | |
