Antonov An 3

The Antonov An-3 is a Soviet (later Ukrainian and Russian) civil multipurpose and agricultural aircraft. It is essentially a turboprop-powered development of the An-2 designed to upgrade or replace it. The first example flew as early as May 13, 1980, but because of a lack of official interest in the project, work proceeded very slowly–flight testing was not complete until 1991. It is one of the few turbine-powered biplane designs to date.

The project was revitalised in the late 1990s when it was taken over by Polyot State Aerospace Enterprise, and a marketing campaign began in earnest in 2000, although sales have been limited. It is available in two forms, the basic agricultural aircraft (An-3SKh—"Selsko-Khosiajstwenni", Agricultural) and a civil transport version (An-3T) able to carry 12 passengers or 1,800 kg (4,000 lb) of cargo.

Although it is designated An-3, this number is not assigned sequentially. Antonov assigned it to the plane because it was meant to replace the An-2.

Another attempt to replace the An-2 on Soviet farms was made in the 1970s with the WSK-Mielec M-15 Belphegor, but it failed.

From 2007, the “Polyot” Production Association started to upgrade the first 10 An-2s of the Russian Airborne Troops to An-3T-10 standard. The overall requirement is estimated at approximately 200 aircraft.