The Ukrainian An-70 STOL aircraft, designed by Antonov, was used to realize an intercontinental airlift sortie. More than 9 hours were needed for the Antonov’s airlifter to reach Bangui, located in the Central African Republic. The aircraft was flying from Kiev.

23 600 kilograms of equipment were loaded inside the cargo bay of the said An-70 then. Next, the aircraft flew to Ndjamena in Chad, where take-off and landing operations, at maximum weight, were conducted. The temperature reached the value of of 33 degrees Celsius. After a 6-hours flight the air-plane reached, along with the cargo, Istres in France, where the transported French military equipment, coming from Africa, was unloaded.

Next, the An-70 returned to Kiev, with a stop-over in Leipzig. In total, the aircraft spent more than 20 hours in the air, and it has covered more than 13.6 thousand kilometers. The mission made it possible to test both the operational capabilities of the aircraft, along with the on-board systems and equipment, in conditions of a realistic sortie, for which the An-70 aircraft was designed.