MOSCOW, JANUARY 15. /RIA NOVOSTI / -- Technical faults prevent mass production of the Russian-Ukrainian plane An-70, Vladimir Mikhailov, commander-in-chief of the Russian Air Force, told the press conference in Moscow on Wednesday.
"Only one thing, technical, is the impediment. During last year we could not move forward with the engine", he said, meaning the An-70's D-27 engine.
"Tests have proved it to have a short service life and low reliability", he added. "Specialists say the engine defies improvement", Mikhailov said.
Joint work done with Ukrainian specialists has found the engine to have a wrong air intake, "resulting in surge".
