Russia’s New Diamond Twin Will Replace the An-2

Having teamed up earlier this year on a project to conceive lightweight multi-purpose airplanes for passenger transportation, Russian and Austrian designers have recently revealed the first models of what they envision as low-cost 9- and 19- seat aircraft powered by two diesel engines.

Rostec (the Russian Technologies state corporation) and Diamond Aircraft signed the agreement at the Paris Air Show in June, although at the time very little was said about the airplane itself. Two months later, when opening MAKS 2013 in Moscow, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev mentioned the project in his speech. “The use of new composite materials is centerpiece of the Russo-Austrian program on development of multi-role airplanes,” he remarked.

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