The famous Soviet biplane An-2 will receive a new turboprop engine with a power of up to 1600 hp. The project is being led by the United Engine Corporation, the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade reported.

The department emphasized that the issuance of a type certificate for the aircraft opens up opportunities for upgrading the board. SibNIA named after S. A. Chaplygin has now become the official developer.

SibNIA Director Vladimir Barsuk noted that after modernization, the An-2 in Russia increased its fuel reserve by 700 liters, and the flight duration increased by 3-4 hours.

In total, over the past 3 years, SibNIA has returned 16 previously inoperable An-2s to service, Barsuk specified. Currently, the rights to the biplane belong to Airbus Military corporation.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade did not specify which engine is being referred to, but the VK-1600V is easily guessed. However, it has 1600 hp only at maximum power mode, while the standard is 1400 hp. For the An-2, this is more than enough, as the basic ASH-62IR engine produces 1000 hp.

The LMS-901 is also being built to replace the An-2. But things are not going very smoothly there yet — the "Baikal" faced fuselage limitations.