The Antonov An-32 (NATO reporting name: Cline) is a turboprop twin-engined military transport aircraft. 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 air strips. 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. 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. 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. The estimated price for a modernised An-32 version is 15 million US dollars. Production data Operational history The An-32 has outstanding takeoff characteristics in hot and high conditions, up to and elevation, 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. Variants 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. An-32B-110 : New avionics allowing aircraft to be operated by two crew members. Metric (Russian) avionics variant. An-32B-120 : Imperial (non-Russian) avionics variant of An-32B-110. An-32B-300 : Version fitted with Rolls-Royce AE 2100 turboprop engines, providing 4,600 hp each. 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